 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jkelly32562
Date: 2009-06-23 18:15
I am a band director is south Georgia, and I am seeking some advice on starting clarinets.
I know that the reed is the life of the horn and I am contemplating starting all of my beginner clarinets on Legere reeds. I think traditional cane reed maintenance and care is a major downfall of 12 year old clarinet players and if I can eliminate this hurdle it may set them up for success. I would consider weening them to cane say in the 7th grade etc, but for the first year I am thinking of putting them on legere just so they can learn the horn without fighting the reed.
Any thoughts?
Jonathan
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2009-06-23 19:07
Nope, beginning Clarinetists will break the tip constantly.
Just have them buy a good reed - there are premium reeds that come in soft strengths and are quite consistant.
Rico Grand Concert #2 for instance.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
Post Edited (2009-06-23 19:08)
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2009-06-23 19:32
I agree totally with David on that one. Good quality reed get them in the habit of finding differences between new one and broken in one. My 10-12 year old students know of that task so they always use the Rico reed guard for two reeds and have always a back up that they have played on and then they alter between those two so they always have a reed on hand when the other one brakes down(usually like David said they brake the tip).
It's also amazing how much better Grand Concert or Vandoren Traditional perform better and last much longer than plain Rico or Mitchell Lurie.
I also show them couple of tricks.
1.How moving the reed up and down can alter the resistance feel from the reed.
2. How to flatten the tip against the mouthpiece table(they still yet to brake a reed during that process)
3. The suction test to check if the reed has warped.
Vandoren and Rico reeds are also available almost everywhere but Legere isn't.
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Author: William
Date: 2009-06-24 00:05
As a retired clarinetist band director with 34 yrs of experiance at the middle school level, I always started my begining students on Rico #2 reeds because they were easy to get an initial sound on and cheap--important because of constant "my reed broke", etc. That, however, was before the Legere reed. Now, my successor uses #2 & 2.5 Legeres because of their durability in the hands of sixth graders. And they are good for the beginning clarinetist who isn't so much interested in the quality of their first sound as in the fact that they can even get one and learn the first few notes to "Hot Cross Buns" (or any other such tune they can run home to show off to mom & dad). If I were still teaching, I would be using the Legeres for beginners, as well as the rest of my middle school single reed sections instead of cane. Recommendation: Legere #2-2.5 for your beginners, depending on the tip opening of their mouthpieces.
FWIW--many of the band students at my old middle school come from families that cannot afford to pay rent for their childs school instrument, much less quality cane reeds, books or private lessons. Over 70% of our current families qualify for free lunch, so all of their band related expenses are provided by the school district--books, instruments, reeds, etc. No child is ever turned away from my old band room for lack of "means". In my 11th year of retirement, I still return to my old school every Wednesday and volunteer beginning lessons for those students that need a little extra help (and also donate an occassional Legere).
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Author: clariniano
Date: 2009-06-24 20:13
I like the Legeres, and have seen a few school music teachers use them with great success in their beginning classes. I have all my beginners and some of my intermediates use them, and I use them regularly (though not usually in a chamber or solo concert). I believe in ruling out all problems with the equipment, plus there's always the chance of mold too on cane reeds. I actualy fid the Legeres quite durable with most students, a nick that would probably damage a cane reed rarely affects a Legere. I've had tips split on cane reeds, but only once in all the Legeres I have used (and I use the Legeres a lot more!)
Meri
Please check out my website at: http://donmillsmusicstudio.weebly.com and my blog at: http://clariniano.wordpress.com
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-06-25 02:14
I have to agree with William and Mari. Although I do not teach young beginners anymore my wife taught in the Baltimore city school system for 31 years and had many young clarinet beginners each year. Reeds were always a problem, because of money and because they constantly got broken, chipped and dirty. I think it's much different when you teach a private student when you can take a few minutes at each lesson to make sure the student learns reed care and position but you can't do that when you have a class of beginners that you may see once a week. With that said, if I were teaching young beginners again I might very well use a Legere reed, I would at least try them for the first year or so just to avoid the frustration the students have when the reed won't play well from one to another. I would certainly use them in a class room full of young students. You may be able to get a discount for a school buying a small quantity. ESP
http://eddiesclarinet.com
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