 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2009-12-14 12:48
I came back to the clarinet after a 48 year absence. I played at school and then some amateur jazz while I was in the Air Force, and then gave it away until 2 years back, when I had a somewhat senile urge to play again. I found the muscle memory was still there and the emboucher came back most of the way. I used to play Vandoren 3.5's, but now I'm happy with 2.5's or 3's. I'm playing a B & H Emperor with a VD B45 mouthpiece. I've also tried a Yamaha C4 and a Selmer HS*.
My problem is that I find that after playing for a while, 20 minutes or so, the reed is stalling against the mouthpiece when playing above upper register D.
Consciously backing off the pressure on the mouthpiece doesn't seem to help much, but going to a new reed will buy me another 20 minutes. I've tried different mouthpieces, some are better than other but all give the problem eventually. Harder reeds help, but this only minimises the problem, it does not fix it. I've tried other clarinets, Selmer C100, Soloist, Amati, B & H, Buescher. I get the same problem with all of them, so it's me and not the instrument. Lower register is fine, and all pads seem to be tight, as are all joint corks. I've tried several metal ligatures and a Rovner leather one, but it doesn't affect the problem I'm having. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Tony F.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2009-12-14 13:30
When I was a student (a long time ago), my teacher would occasionally have me play on his clarinet (with his reed and mouthpiece), I think mostly to show me that my equipment didn't explain some problem I was having. More than once after he took the instrument back and tried to demonstrate the problem passage himself, he would play a couple of notes and then say "well, you've pinched the reed shut." I was putting much more jaw pressure against the reed than I should have been.
I've since, I think, solved that problem in my own playing, but pressing too hard against the reed could be causing yours. If that is a cause, the solution is to learn to form your embouchure so that you have control of the reed with the facial muscles around the mouthpiece but aren't pushing against the reed itself with jaw pressure of any kind. If you can control the harder reed this way and not by biting, the combination may solve the problem.
Another think to think about is that, as the reed absorbs moisture, its vibrating characteristics change. If the reed is very new it will soak up saliva very quickly and in 20 minutes can become water-logged. An older reed may take a long time to soak up enough to make it flexible enough to play, so if you're starting before it's really wet enough, it could be that once it's fully wet it's just too soft.
Karl
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