 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Kel
Date: 2005-07-22 14:56
In the big band I play in I almost always play two saxes, usually alto and tenor, once in a while tenor and bari, and occasionally clarinet. When I am warmed up on clarinet and playing it regularly I have no significant pitch problems. When the clarinet sits on its stand for 45 minutes or more each hour and I play it cold I am flat. Adjusting instantly from a sax embouchure compounds the problem. Fibracell reeds help avoid a dry reed, but they seem to play even flatter than cane. If I play clarinet any length of time I must pull the barrel out slightly. When I first pick it up I'm flat with everything pushed tight. Do the basic Click barrels sound good enough to use? Does anyone have other tricks or suggestions?
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-07-22 15:40
A few suggestions from one who has doubled similar combinations of instruments for many years:
1) Legere (rather than Fibracell) reeds in my experience play closer to cane reeds, both sound-wise and intonation-wise.
2) You don't need an adjustable barrel on the clarinet -- just use a standard barrel with plenty of cork grease on the cork. Start with the barrel pushed full-in, then plan on pulling out periodically as the horn warms up -- there's no way around that -- you MUST adjust pitch (on ANY wind instrument) as its temperature changes. It's just as quick to pull a standard barrel out a bit as it is to change the setting on a Click or other adjustable barrel.
Hope this helps.
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Author: 3dogmom
Date: 2005-07-22 15:58
After reading your story, I'm just wondering whether a shorter barrel would be a better choice for you. It would bring your cold pitch up, and you could still pull out as need be. It's a problem.
Sue Tansey
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2005-07-22 17:33
Kel,
I agree with David's suggestions.
I recently started using Legere reeds on both clarinet and saxophone in big band. It took me about a week on each horn to become used to the playing characteristics of Legere and to find the reed strength and cut of reed that's best for me.
On clarinet I've had the best results with the "3 Dot" reed. It's a prototype that's not available in stores yet. They can be ordered directly from the Legere company. I find the tonal qualities and response of the 3 Dot to be closer to a good cane reed than the regular Legere reed. (The regular model isn't shabby by any means!)
Frankly, I had a more difficult time with Legere reeds on saxophone. I wasn't happy with the results I was getting with them on my Morgan 3C mouthpiece. Believe me, I tried all of the reed strengths in both the regular and studio cuts. Finally, I switched from my 3C to my Morgan 5L mouthpiece. For whatever reason(s), that did the trick. I discovered that a #2.75 regular Legere reed works very well on the 5L mouthpiece. So, I'm now using Legere on both horns for big band doubling. Personally, the Legere studio saxophone reed didn't do anything for me. I guess that I'm used to saxophone reeds that have a thicker cut.
If possible, when you make a switch to clarinet silently blow some air through the instrument to warm it up and to use those few moments as a way to reset your embouchure and get yourself back into a clarinet mode. It's a big change to go from tenor to clarinet! This also might help with your intonation.
Another thing I've found to be a great help to me in making rapid embouchure changes in doubling is the duckbill beak design that Ralph Morgan uses for his clarinet mouthpieces. I feel much more comfortable switching to a Morgan beak than with a more typical kind of beak used in most other clarinet mouthpieces. I normally use a RM28 clarinet mouthpiece for big band playing.
Roger
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Author: allencole
Date: 2005-07-23 14:52
Lots of big band guys opt for the short barrel. I find that shaving a couple of mm off the length is very handy after playing tenor or bari. Also, the Legere reeds do really well on clarinet in these situations.
My solution for big band gigs is a Click-Barrel and Legere reeds on my clarinet.
You can always lengthen or pull out the barrel as the horn warms up, but I rarely play clarinet in a big band LONG ENOUGH to warm up!
Allen Cole
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-07-23 15:11
Kool thread. Helps me understand big band/tenor playing better.
thanks, all
Bob Phillips
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