 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: RJShaw0
Date: 2010-11-13 04:27
What's this notion of a smaller mouthpiece for an A Clarinet from Pomarico?
http://www.pomaricompieces.com/crystal_clarinet.html
http://www.pomaricompieces.com/pdf/pomarico.pdf
I would of thought if there were going to be an A Clarinet mouthpiece it would larger...
In fact, I didn't even know you would really have "special" mouthpieces for an A.
Any thoughts?
RJS
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2010-11-13 04:33
Most A clarinets accept and sound wonderful on the standard piece you use with your Bb.
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
Post Edited (2010-11-13 04:34)
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2010-11-13 04:36
I have a hunch that it is a mouthpiece for C clarinet and this is just a mistake.
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Author: giuliano
Date: 2010-11-13 06:11
It isn't a mistake, that mouthpiece is indeed for A clarinets.
I had the chance to try a prototype in 2008 (if memory serves) during a visit to the Pomarico workshop. Mr. Clerici told me the aim is to help clarinetists to play in tune with the A instrument. It didn't do much for me... but they may have improved it.
Does a C clarinet mouthpiece exist?
Giuliano Forghieri
Nubilaria Clarinet Ensemble, arranger, clarinet, Eb clarinet
Accademia Musica Insieme, founder, arranger, clarinet
www.musicengraving.it
Post Edited (2010-11-13 06:17)
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2010-11-13 08:51
>> Does a C clarinet mouthpiece exist? <<
I have a mouthpiece that is supposedly specific to a C clarinet. Actually it was made to match the C clarinet I have. In reality it fits the C clarinet much worse than my regular Bb clarinet mouthpiece for reasons of intonation.
Post Edited (2010-11-13 10:42)
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2010-11-13 15:19
I don't really get the concept of mouthpieces specially for C and A instruments. Boehm A and C clarinets are built to play with a standard B-flat type mouthpiece. So what mouthpiece changes need to be made to adjust the intonation?
It's different on Wurlitzer and other German system instruments. The Wurlitzer C clarinet has asmaller bore, and has a mouthpiece specially made to fit it. In my opinion, these instruments are far superior in sound and intonation to modern Buffet C clarinets.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2010-11-13 15:59
Pomarico's rationale for making a smaller mouthpiece for an A clarinet is probably that some manufacturers, e.g., Buffet, make their A clarinets with smaller diameter bores than their Bb clarinets. The reason is that, with a smaller bore, they can reduce the overall length of the instrument and keep the finger-spread reasonable. Thus while in absolute terms, an A clarinet is larger than a Bb, from a proportional or relative standpoint, it may actually be smaller, therefore calling for a proportionally smaller mouthpiece with a smaller bore (and proportionally smaller chamber). Of course, Pomarico may have a completely different reason.
Most clarinetists do use the same mouthpiece for both their Bb and A clarinets (and often Cs as well) with satisfactory results. Actually, however, because of the difference in bore size, a mouthpiece that is optimal for a Bb should not be optimal for an A. Most clarinetists are probably using a compromise to begin with (if we could find an optimal mouthpiece for one of our instruments we'd stop looking, right?) so the same mouthpiece may work equally well on both instruments but is probably not optimal for either. Some clarinetists do use a different mouthpiece/reed setup for their A because they find that the instrument is too stuffy and/or their intonation is unacceptable with their Bb setup.
A common approach to dealing with the bore mismatch is to taper the barrel so that the entry bore matches the mouthpiece's exit bore and the exit bore matches the upper joint's entry bore. That's why Buffet stock barrels and Buffet Moennig and Chadash barrels are specifically designated as having been made for a Bb or an A clarinet -- they have a smaller exit bore. It may also explain why the Pomarico mouthpiece didn't do much for you, Giuliano. If your barrel already matched up your mouthpiece and upper joint, the new mouthpiece could actually have introduced a mismatch in your system that overcame any other benefits it might have.
According to his website, Walter Grabner doesn't actually make a C-clarinet mouthpiece. Rather, he has, for a long time recommended that two of his Bb mouthpieces seem to work particularly well on C clarinets but the mouthpieces were not designed for a C clarinet and are not made from a C clarinet mouthpiece blank. Zinner appears to make a true German-style C clarinet mouthpiece but it probably would not work on Boehm instruments. As I recall, Jerry Hall made a true C-clarinet mouthpiece. Unfortunately, he passed away before I could order one from him. From what I can tell, the Morgan C-clarinet mouthpieces were made from Bb blanks.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2010-11-14 03:45
From an acoustical standpoint, it is best to have a different mouthpiece for each clarinet. Although the clarinet makers claim that they design the C, Bb and A clarinets to work well with the same mouthpiece we know that they generally don't- this is why we purchase barrels to try and correct severe intonation problems. If the designs were better the mouthpiece for Bb would work wonderfully on an A and C without buying an aftermarket product.
From a practical standpoint, a separate mouthpiece for A might be a problem. In orchestra you save time in the switch, but you would need to find two good reeds for every performance, and hope that the reed on the Bb does not dry out while you are playing the A.
When I have to play something that is for A exclusively (solo, chamber music) I generally do use a different mouthpiece than for Bb, though.
I only assumed it was for C clarinet because of the placement in the picture- logically, I would assume that a mouthpiece for A clarinet would be to the right of the mouthpieces for Bb- the highest mouthpiece is on the upper left, and the lowest is on the lower right.
Post Edited (2010-11-14 03:49)
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Author: kdk
Date: 2010-11-14 15:22
"you would need to find two good reeds for every performance, and hope that the reed on the Bb does not dry out while you are playing the A."
I think the dry reed (even less than having two good reeds) is the crux of the problem. It's the reason I use synthetic reeds for pit work if I'm doubling among clarinet, sax and/or bass clarinet. Even trying to do something like Brahms 2nd, where the short change times require that you either transpose or use two completely separate setups, demonstrates why the two setup solution is very risky. It's for the same reason that probably most players who use C clarinets use the same mouthpiece they use for B-flat and A (and many avoid the problem by transposing C parts to B-flat and not using a C instrument at all).
As a result, separate A or C mouthpieces are probably never going to be attractive to many players - at least until synthetic reeds are no longer distinguishable in sound and response from cane.
Karl
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2010-11-14 17:39
Lelia Lobana:
Walter Grabner does not make an specific C clarinet mouthpiece. If you have a big intonation problem specially in the throat tones with your regular Bb/A mouthpiece then he selects one of his AW-Personal mouthpiece made from the A frame Zinner blank to play best with C clarinets and if you have a Noblet C clarinet then he advice people to try his CXZ_K2e that I think have higher baffle and tunes to 442
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2010-11-14 19:45
The difference in bore size between different makes of clarinet and even different models of the same make are infinitely greater than the difference between the Bb/A of one specific model by the same maker.
E.g. Bb/A difference is typical 0.05 - 0.1mm
Difference between various Bbs typically 14.5 - 14.85 (or even 15.0+) so unless Pomarico are planning to make a specific mouthpiece for each make/model of A clarinet, which would be HIGHLY unlikely then it all becomes rather academic.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-11-15 12:51
Jack Kissinger and Iceland Clarinet -- Thanks for the correction re. the Walter Grabner mouthpieces!
Karl wrote,
>>I think the dry reed (even less than having two good reeds) is the crux of the problem. It's the reason I use synthetic reeds for pit work if I'm doubling among clarinet, sax and/or bass clarinet. Even trying to do something like Brahms 2nd, where the short change times require that you either transpose or use two completely separate setups, demonstrates why the two setup solution is very risky.>>
There's a simple way to keep the natural reed moist. For switching between B-flat clarinet and clarinet in A, bring a spare alto sax mouthpiece cap. Cut a piece of paper towel big enough to fit around a clarinet mouthpiece with the paper folded over a couple of times for some thickness. Just before the rehearsal or performance, when you're setting up, lightly dampen the paper -- not sopping wet, just damp. Get both the clarinets ready to play, with the reeds moistened and everything. Wrap the damp paper towel around the mouthpiece on the clarinet you're not using at the moment. Secure the paper (and protect the mouthpiece from the jitterbug sitting next to you) with the alto sax cap, which is big enough to cover both the set-up mouthpiece and the paper.
When you switch instruments, even if it's a fast switch, you can easily pull off the cap and the damp paper and transfer them to the other instrument. That takes a whole lot less time than transferring a mouthpiece. Maybe I'm unusually clumsy, but half the time when I transfer an entire set-up mouthpiece, I manage to skew the ligature around and have to readjust the reed position. I don't play in a group any more, but that switch used to get scary -- had to trust that the re-adjusted setup was correct with no way to blow a few notes to test it. In those days, the available plastic reeds were grossly inferior to what's available today; and I still prefer natural reeds.
For other kinds of doubling, when it's not a one-cap-fits-all situation, you might need to keep a small bowl or tray next to the instrument stand(s), where you can stow other sizes of caps (the plastic ones, for quiet) as necessary. Just make sure you've got a cap for each instrument that will accomodate its mouthpiece plus the paper. Rehearsal or performance ends -- throw away the damp paper. Keep a few fresh pieces of paper cut to size in a plastic snack-bag in the cases.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
Post Edited (2010-11-15 12:54)
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