 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2008-06-26 00:01
Some of you may know that I suffer from embouchure dystonia. <www.embouchuredystonia.com> This is a disorder which usually ends the careers of wind musicians. The statistics state that only around 10% of those affected are able to return to their careers.
I can’t remember exactly how long I’ve had this disorder but my estimates are somewhere from 10 to 15 years. During this time I have repeatedly tried numerous mpcs and found them all too resistant even when playing with a Rico Royal 1.5 reed. The right side of my mouth simply couldn’t take the pressure and the next morning I wound up with my usual deep vertical line on the right side of my upper lip as well as involuntary contractions in my right cheek which produced a kind of permanent looking smile. After a day or two the effects would go away and I would always wind up saying “I’m never going to play again, ever!” Long spaces of time would go by before I’d get the nerve to try again. The love of the instrument always kept propelling me back to keep trying again.
Several people have tried to help me along the way. Dave Spiegelthal sent me mouthpieces to try, Sherman Friedland gave me advice, and Brad Behn certainly went the extra mile more than once to find a facing that would allow me to play the chalemeau as well as the entire clarion region with a low level of resistance. All of the mpcs were faced beautifully, however my dystonia problem made them all too resistant for me.
I contacted Chris Hill and told him about my disorder. He suggested that keeping my mouth as closed as possible would probably help and that I probably needed something like a Morgan duckbill style so I wouldn’t have to open my mouth too wide. So I went around looking for an RM-06 and wasn’t having any luck. Then Chris contacted me and told me that he found an RM-10, I told him I wanted it and he went out and bought it for me! The first facing Chris sent me was a close tip with a medium long facing. Again, it was too resistant for me to play. I told him that I lived in a senior housing complex and needed a low volume output mpc. I also told him that I like playing with soft reeds. He felt inspired and told me that I needed a totally different kind of facing. Chris was going to take the RM-10 that he purchased and turn it into a close tip, short facing, Zinner style mpc. (I did try a JC2 Zinner mpc in the distant past and found it too resistant.) The facing was reworked, the table needed work to produce the slight “dip” and he also reworked the baffle. Chris told me that he had to match the facing to the baffle to the player.
When I received the mpc, I must admit I was in my usual, skeptical “I’ve been through this countless times before” attitude and really wasn’t expecting success. I slapped on an old Rico Royal 1.5 and found the open G to play at a comfortable resistance level. The right side of my mouth did not feel over burdened. After checking out the chalemeau, I ventured into the clarion section. I was simply amazed! With a real soft reed I was playing the entire clarion region without over burdening my dystonia weakened muscles! And, the next morning, the right side of my embouchure facial area looked normal! I had no idea that anyone could take a regular hard rubber mpc and give it Zinner characteristics. I thought a special mold was required for that.
Now if you’re thinking that it was just the close tip and the short facing that produced these results, I tried that route with JodyJazz’s new model #2 mpc and it was too resistant for me, again using a soft Rico Royal reed.
We have more than a few exceptional mpc refacers and I won’t mention names because I might leave somebody out. IMO, I believe Chris Hill is most definitely a member of this elite group and thanks to him, after roughly 15 years of numerous mpc trial failures, I’m playing again!
Sorry about the long posting but this has been such a long, tedious, frustrating and disappointing road for me to travel.
Thanks Chris!
Disclaimer: I received no special considerations or discounts, i.e., I am paying full price plus all postage costs. And as for this posting, I did receive permission from Chris to reveal the work that he did on the RM-10.
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Author: Bill
Date: 2008-06-26 02:40
It's great to read your story. I'm glad you're playing.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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