 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Rachel
Date: 1999-03-21 19:14
Im trying to get a full rich tone. Does anyone have any ideas?
If so e-mail me
PS I have a vito clarinet and i know its not the best but i want a good sound with what i have.
thanx
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-03-21 19:49
I have already sent you an email but am posting the same information here.
The main things for a good sound are embouchure and breath support. These take a lot of work to develop. However it does help to have a really good quality mouthpiece and good quality reeds.
Mouthpieces - Any of these should help. There are other good ones of course but the first two are relatively inexpensive and the third one is generally easy to find.
Hite Premier
Fobes Debut
Vandoren B45
Reeds - Again there are a lot of possibilities. The Vandorens, Mitchell Luries, and Rico Royals are usually easy to find.
Vandoren
Vandoren V-12
Mitchell Lurie
Mitchell Lurie Premium
Rico Royal
Grand Concert
Oliveri
Glotin
DON'T use plain Rico or the Flavorreeds
In the hands of a professional who is using a good mouthpiece and reeds, the Vito would sound pretty good as the professional has developed the necessary embouchure and breath support. You just never happen to hear a pro playing a student grade instrument. You just hear students and they sound poor for quite a long time and would even sound poor on pro equipment. The clarinet itself is the least important element of a good sound.
Mainly PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.
Long tones (i.e. hold notes for as long as you can) help develop the breath and embouchure.
Please visit the bulletin board on a regular basis. It's better for people to answer you there as other people will have the same questions and can benefit from any answers rather than just answering your questions via e-mail.
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Author: vinnie
Date: 1999-03-22 16:36
the Vito is not a bad beginner horn and can actually sound pretty good. The use of a Fobes debut with 2-3 Vandoren reeds makes a nice combination. I've also changed the plastic barrel for wood and the tone is considerably different. Fobes is a sneezy sponsor and the details can be found there, a great price for a nice mthpc.
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Author: Pam L
Date: 1999-03-24 02:52
Rachel - just wanted to pass on a word of encouragement about your Vito. As Dee said, there are lots of different things that can make you sound better. I played (and competed) on a Vito for years and did fairly well. The biggest equipment "help" that I got was when my teacher sold me a good mouthpiece and convinced me to use better reeds. I only switched to my Buffet when my teacher thought I was ready, which was after 7 years of playing and 3 years of private lessons. And, even after getting my Buffet, I used my Vito all through college for marching band. Keep practicing - I'm sure that you'll sound better. Happy playing!
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-03-29 14:36
I echo the comments above about the horn being the least of your worries at least for now. I had a very bad junky plastic horn in my HS days many years ago. The horn was terrible. Dee will smile when she reads this, but I used the STOCK mp and ordinary RICO reeds on that horn. Talk about the worst of the worst, that's about it. However, I could still produce a very good sound that just about matched the equivalent sound of at least an intermediate wood horn from a much better player (the first chair who had years of lessons and practiced daily for hours on end). How did I do that from my lowly position as almost the last chair on the third row? I took the time to properly warm up with very long tones, then quarter notes, eighths, triplets, 16ths for at least one octave on the C scale every time I played that junky horn. I also knew my horn and its "personality". I knew exactly where the horn needed extra key pressure to make up for a bad set of chipped tone holes with oversized pads and weak springs on the bottom joint. I took the time to swab it out and inspect it after every session. I took care to not abuse the horn and to store it properly in its case at all times.
Now that I can afford a very nice horn with a good mp and reed setup, I still use the warm-up and handling techniques that I learned decades ago. Would you believe that they still work very well for me?
So, take the time to learn your horn's personality. Always warm up properly. Take the time to genuinely learn your music. Fetch good equipment when you can, but if you can't have the good stuff, learn how to get the most out of the stuff you have. You would be surprised at how far you can go from there.
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-03-29 17:46
paul wrote:
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I echo the comments above about the horn being the least of your worries at least for now. I had a very bad junky plastic horn in my HS days many years ago. The horn was terrible. Dee will smile when she reads this, but I used the STOCK mp and ordinary RICO reeds on that horn. Talk about the worst of the worst, that's about it. However, I could still produce a very good sound....
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Actually I smile but for a different reason than you probably think. The horn that I played in junior high was also incredibly poor. It was an OLD (perhaps from the 1920's) Pan American student horn that had a badly repaired crack in the upper joint and a shoddy tone hole replacement on the lower. Intonation accuracy was absolutely atrocious. As a kid, I didn't know the difference however. I, too, used the stock mouthpiece and Rico reeds. Private lessons weren't even a concept in small town Iowa. Yet with this equipment, I earned 1st chair in the junior high band every year and 1st chair in the high school band (even my first year in high school). It was hard work that made the difference. Even though the horn was not in tune, I played it in tune.
When I had saved up enough babysitting money (and let me tell you that that is hard earned money), I bought a used pro horn. It was only then that I actually realized how bad my old horn was. I had been too busy practicing to consider whether or not the horn was bad!
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