 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clariknittist
Date: 2010-09-15 15:21
I'm a freelance clarinetist in Indianapolis. I don't post on this site often, but I just wanted to share a really positive mouthpiece experience I've had recently. A few months ago, I was having the worst time fitting into orchestras, which is a problem when you're freelancing. I was playing on an old Sumner that had worn/warped to the point it wasn't playing a scale in tune. My pitch was abominable and as I'm often called to sub on second, the principals were having to spend way too much time working on pitch issues, and in recording sessions ProTools was the answer far too often, and I felt like people were starting to notice. I was really at my wit's end and was considering a career change, honestly. One evening, around my birthday actually, I was playing the Brahms Requiem with one of my former teachers and he saw me frantically changing out every barrel I own, trying my old mouthpieces, anything to try and get better in tune. The next evening he had the incredible wisdom to bring in a refaced Hawkins B he had gotten back from Ramon Wodkowski in London. What a birthday gift - Even now, I cannot believe how easy my life is on this mouthpiece. The scale is evenly tuned, the articulation is completely effortless, and miraculously I am able to find reeds that WORK for once.
Even now, probably almost six months later, people stop and ask me what's different. Friends who have tried it can't believe it. It has completely renewed the faith in myself I had lost.
You can find his site at:
www.ramonwodkowski.com
I know I probably sound over the top, but I really cannot say enough about how much this has changed the way I play and the way I feel about my playing - it's like when you get out of a bad relationship - suddenly you can be yourself again.
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Author: srattle
Date: 2010-09-16 00:11
I'm not saying anything bad about Ramon, or your experience, because I just don't know anything, so don't think this as flaming, but:
I don't understand how a randomly chosen mouthpiece can fix the tuning to a warped clarinet. This, as far as I can imagine, would mean that the mouthpiece on an un-warped clarinet, would be drastically out of tune. I'm just confused about this wonder story, because I can't imagine this stroke of luck. . .
Lucky you though, I say
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2010-09-16 00:53
The OP didn't say their clarinet was warped. They said their Sumner (mouthpiece) was warped.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Curinfinwe
Date: 2010-09-16 00:53
I don't think the clarinet was warped. A Sumner is a mouthpiece, and it was the thing that had warped.
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Author: clariknittist
Date: 2010-09-16 03:47
I'm sorry, I should have been more clear - as the other two said, the Sumner is a former mouthpiece of mine and the table was most definitely warped on it!!
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