 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kny
Date: 2000-08-25 16:00
Where can I find information about clarinet mouthpieces?? Or can anyone tell how the physical characteristics of the mouthpiece affects the playing, sound etc??
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-08-25 18:06
Kny,
If you read through the many, many messages about mouthpieces that are here you'll come to a conclusion very quickly:
If there were a way to correlate physical dimensions to how a mouthpiece will work in your system (clarinet & barrel & ligature & reed & embouchure & your oral cavity) we'd be able to delete half the messages! There's no real correlation - a mouthpiece is not played by itself but as part of an overall system.
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Author: Bob Gardner
Date: 2000-08-26 01:37
As Mark said it is part of the system. You are a major part of the system so your job is trying to find out what best works in your system. There are quite a few stores that will let you try various mp out for a week or so. They will charge you fee for whatever ones you don't buy. So with three or four good grade mp try a couple of good reeds of differant hardness 2, 2 1/2 and then maybe a couple of different lig. Work with different combinations and see if there is one that works best for you and your clarinet.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-08-26 16:02
The WW & BW catalog has mp comparison tabulations and many-many for sale [as do the other inst. discounters], and give some generalized advice on selection. Its a jungle out there!!! Luck, Don
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Author: Fred
Date: 2000-08-27 01:06
Kny, I find that there is a great deal more technical information about mouthpieces today than was ever considered by any but the elite 20yrs ago. The Vandoren web site gives a great breakdown of the technical aspects of their mouthpieces, and the Woodwind and Brasswind site goes even farther. From these sites, you can draw some generalizations about mouthpieces and their characteristics vs. design. For instance, a very wide tip opening using a softer reed is generally considered more of a jazz set-up, with smaller tip openings (to varying degrees) and harder reeds generally favored for concert settings.
Does that tell you very much? Not really. That is part of the glorious frustration of the clarinet. Why should a mouthpiece play differently than its' "identical" twin? But it happens all the time. Most of us don't have the option of playing dozens of mp's before selecting one without extensive mail-ordering, and that can be very slow indeed when you test them three at a time. So, familiarize yourself with the names of some respected mp manufacturers, try as many of them as you can playing the music you want to play, and take the pick of the litter.
P.S. - Whatever you pick, it probably won't be your last mouthpiece. Frustration must be addicting.
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