Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2010-06-23 14:12
I can relate to Plonk's plight (nice alliteration, eh?). Right through high school, what few lessons I took were from a soprano clarinetist who (in retrospect) was clueless about the bass clarinet; so he gave me no advice on equipment. I would just randomly, on my own, try this mouthpiece or that reed, while playing on a plastic Vito bass clarinet.
Not knowing any better, I happened to be playing on crappy brown-box Rico reeds at my first rehearsal with the University symphony band, as a freshman (and a non-music major in a room full of music majors). We didn't even get through the first piece when the director stopped the band, pointed at the bass clarinet section and asked, "What is that sound?" Looking directly at me, he asked what kind of reed I was playing on. When I said "Rico", the entire band starting laughing --- and the director pointed to one of the upperclassmen and told him "go in the back room and get him some real reeds!". The older fellow came back with a box of Vandorens. I had never even tried them before. What a difference! But it took one of the most embarassing moments in my musical life to get me onto high-quality reeds. And taught me another lesson: If you want to play BASS clarinet, take lessons from a BASS clarinetist.
|
|
The Clarinet BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
