 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Erdinet
Date: 2005-07-30 12:19
I could not find any mention of this in "the archives" so I apologize if this has been covered before.
I teach junior high school band. I would say the overwhelming majority of my students are not going to continue much beyond high school. Last year for all clarinets and saxophones I spent almost $1000 of my budget on reeds. (Orange box Ricos....ptheeeew!) Professionally, on some of my doubles I have recently started experimenting with Legere reeds.
My question is, does any one here have any experience using Legere reeds in a school setting? How about using them with younger students of limited ability? How do the reeds hold up in this situation? I am not convinced that the benefits of using a synthetic reed (limited adjustment, durability) out weigh my concerns.
So, what do you think clarinet board?
Fire away.
Adam
"There is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over."
-Frank Zappa
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-07-30 12:27
They would work really well. The reeds don't get clogged up by food like a wood reed would, and are a lot more durable. Yes, they do rip if banged, but less than a wood reed would. Also the reed won't be affected by temperature nearly as much so that's another bonus for marching band to use them. Sound wise they are very close.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-07-30 13:34
What!! The students don't have to buy their own reeds!! No wonder schools' budgets are out of sight.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Ben Redwine
Date: 2005-07-30 14:10
Hello,
What is a student strength reed? Your mouthpiece facing and playing style determine the strength of your reed, not your age or your shirt color. This sounds like Legere reeds are at least twice too expensive. I guarantee they are not making the student strength reeds in a different way than the professional strength reeds. I've tried Legere reeds marching in my US military band gig. They last about 3 parades, then they seem to "collapse" against my facing and are then really dead. I get more parades out of a cane reed. I also play semi regularly with a clarinetist that uses Legere reeds all the time. It is impossible to tune with this person. Other than that, I like the idea of a synthetic reed.
Ben Redwine
RedwineJazz, LLC
410 798-8251
clarinet@redwinejazz.com
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-07-30 14:22
'I guarantee they are not making the student strength reeds in a different way than the professional strength reeds."
--------------------------------------------------
I'll have to get one of the professional models which I have on order to compare to the student model which I have in front of me right now - the color is different and the smoothness is different.
They are not the same
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2005-07-30 14:22
"I guarantee they are not making the student strength reeds in a different way than the professional strength reeds."
Sorry Ben, but the student reeds are different from the regular Legeres.
I have some samples here - they are not as well finished as the regular ones. It's almost like they managed to duplicate a Rico orange box #2.
I'd rather have students playing Legeres than the dreaded orange box.
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Author: Ben Redwine
Date: 2005-07-30 14:45
Hello,
Sorry, mea culpa. I was wrong, I guess. I have never seen nor tried a student Legere. Maybe it plays better than the pro version.
Ben Redwine
RedwineJazz, LLC
410 798-8251
clarinet@redwinejazz.com
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-07-30 14:48
No, they don't play as well. The regular legeres are much better playing.
But I'd think it to be ideal for a marching band setup
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2005-07-30 14:59
"But I'd think it to be ideal for a marching band setup"
One of my favourite things about living in Canada: no marching band!
Least favourite thing: spelling "favourite" with a "u".
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Author: pewd
Date: 2005-07-30 17:17
one of the bands where i have students allows legeres for marching season. they seem to hold up better to the rigors of being crammed into the stands, playing outdoors, etc.
but the can be torn - the tips can split if you bang them on something. and its a costly replacement. but many of the kids manage to make it through the 3+ months of marching on one legere.
middle school kids are hard on equipment - i imagine they would be breaking more of the legeres than you'd want to pay for. they're always banging their horns on the stands, brushing the mouthpieces up against their clothing, etc. - all of which results in broken reeds. e.g., i don't think most beginners would get through much longer than a month without breaking a legere.
i don't think they sound as good as cane, but i did have one student make all-region playing a legere.
i don't understand why you're buying reeds for them - thats part of playing a clarinet - learning the responsibility of having enough good reeds, how to care for them, etc. i tell new students to budget a new box of reeds every 4-6 weeks or so - thats a normal part of playing a reed instrument.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Erdinet
Date: 2005-07-30 18:42
I work in a lower middle class income district. Most of the parents work 2 to 3 jobs a piece.
In addition to the fact that it is easier to spend some money on buying reeds for the kids than failing the entire saxophone and clarinet sections for not being prepared by buying boxes of reeds. I agree that budgeting for a box of reeds every 4-6 weeks is a normal part of playing. The problem is the overwhelming majority of kids don't care about that. Their normal playing routine is to show up for band, play and bring the instrument home as little as possible. Of course I am still trying to change the culture of my band (I have only been there for two full years at this point.) But, it is difficult to penalize a clarinet or saxophone player for not having a reed since the brass section cannot be penalized in a similar way... Administrators like an equitable distribution of expectations (what can I say, its still not an ideal world).
As I said in my original post most of these kids are not very serious about playing at this point. They do not even own their own mouthpieces, though I do recommend that to them at the start of every year. Would I prefer them to buy their own reeds and mouthpieces? Absolutely. But, the question I am asking is to try to find out if there is a way to work out a less than ideal situation using Legeres.
"There is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over."
-Frank Zappa
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Author: GBK
Date: 2005-07-30 19:01
Erdinet wrote:
> But, it is difficult to penalize a clarinet or saxophone
> player for not having a reed since the brass section
> cannot be penalized in a similar way...
Brass players must carry valve oil, slide oil, mutes, etc...
Kids not buying their own reeds?
These are the same kids who come to school with $150 Nike shoes and their own cell phones, pager and Walkman.
Student doessn't have a reed for band? Send him back to class. By the 2nd or 3rd time, a new reed will suddenly appear.
When you change the attitude of the administration, the kids and/or parents will suddenly find the couple of dollars to afford a few reeds.
Have a sit down chat with your building principal. Tell them how you want the students to learn "self responsibility" because it is a huge part of music making.
Legere reeds are an excellent choice for beginners. One reed can last an entire semester if the students are instructed how to take care of it...GBK (retired public school music educator)
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Author: Rick Williams
Date: 2005-07-31 13:01
Forgive the slightly long story but when I took up clarinet again I started taking lessons from Ann Wilcheck-Schussler in Evansville, IN. Ann teaches woodwinds at about half the HS's and middle schols in the area and plays with the EPO.
I was trying Legere's, which on principle she opposed. Then after hearing me, she tried them and the next thing I knew she was switching most of the schools over to them as well as using them when she teaches. These are some big schools with huge bands.
As far as I've heard over the last two years it has been overall a positive experience and time saver. I heard that they had a few problems with some sax players splitting them during marching band but that issues was resolved.
If you'd like to email me directly I'll send you her email and you can ask Ann about her experience with them, but from everything I've heard it has been a problem solver for her.
Best
RW
Best
Rick
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