 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Andy
Date: 2001-01-21 14:11
Hello,
I have played the clarinet since 4th grade and i am now in 7th. I am going to invest in a new mouthpiece since i have been using a mouthpiece that is in petty bad condition. My current setup is and Goldentone mouthpiece #2, A Bundy Resonite Clarinet. A Rovner Dark Ligiture(works great!) and I am using a 3 1/2 Grand Concert Select(love their sound). I am looking for a mouthpiece that is easy to blow and to get all the high and low registers. I also need to get some real volume because there is quate a small section of Clarinets at my school. I have been looking into the Vandorens but I am also considering other brands. If this help you I i practice 45 minute to an hour every other day. Thanks in advance for helping me choose my mouthpiece.
-Andy
Currently we are playing, Bohemian Rapsody, Russian Christmas Music, Earth, Wind & Fire,
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2001-01-21 15:12
Andy,
Volume should not be a prime factor in selecting a mtpc in my opinion. I would select a mouthpiece based on tonal quality, flexibility and intonation. Your band director should be able to "tame" down the brass and sax section in places where the clarinets are being over balanced. I never sacrifice good tone quality for volume and tell my band students not to do that either. Luckily, most of my bands are fairly balanced. I have the opposite problem with my 7th grade band. There are too many clarinets for the number of brass, poor kids are always being told to back it off! I do have to remind them to make good sounds at lower dynamic volumes which is VERY hard to do for middle school students. Good luck in your mouthpiec hunting. You need to give us an idea of how much you/parents are willing to spend on one.
John
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Author: Robert Gifford
Date: 2001-01-21 18:42
Well I'm currently a College Freshman, I have played since I was in 6th grade, right now I play for a professional orchetra in the dallas area. I play in a 60 peice orchetstra... 2 clarinets... right now I have a Buffet R-13 Vintage and I play on the mpc that came with it. anyway now that you know my background... I'm currently thinking about getting a Pomarico Crystal... I love Crystal mpcs, they might not be what you should look into though... mainly because they are very expensive and not that durable. A kind of unspoken standard in the clarinet world is the use of Vandoren 5RVs and 5RVLs.... lots of people play on them, also lots of people play on Selmer C*s (I play on one for sax, but don't like them for clarinet personally). The other clarinetest in the orchestra, he plays on a Vandoren 5RV Lyre, and he says he likes it and it has a good tone. Just something to think about.
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Author: Andy
Date: 2001-01-21 23:32
I am willing to spend up to $60 on one because I have been saving my money for a long time.
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Author: Fred
Date: 2001-01-21 23:38
Andy, Vandoren makes some good mp's for your level of play. The B45 and B45 Lyre are both well thought of for middle/high school players. But I would strongly suggest that you go to the sponsor listing and check out some of the student mp's available from some of our sponsors. They have gained quite a good reputation and are VERY reasonably priced. I think that if I were in your shoes, that's what I would do.
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-01-22 14:36
I'm with Fred,
By choosing one of the commonly available pieces, you will be able to replace it (if and when) should the need arise.
If you have an understanding local dealer, take your horn over and try them out.
I really like the M13, which should fit your rig nicely. I did need to play two of the M13 to find one that was better balanced. If the first one of any make doesn't play well, try to get a second to be sure.
Sticking with a "Medium Open" style should make it playable under most conditions.
anji
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Author: William
Date: 2001-01-22 15:18
Welcome to the world of clarinet. Like most of us, you will probably spend the rest of your like engaged in a search for the "perfect" mouthpiece that will only be exceeded by that ever on-going, never-ending search for the "perfect" reed. What will aid you most in your quest, will be a good mental concept of what you are striving to find. So, it is important to ask a lot of questions, listen to a lot of different clarinetists (live, if possible), and try a lot of different brands of mps and reeds to find the right set-up that will match the "sound in your mind." Last Saturday, I went to Chicago to hear Larry Combs give a clinic/talk and one of the points he made was that every clarinetist should have many different sounds (as many as ten) in their personal playing repretoir of tone production to match the many different kinds of music you are required to play. "Beethovan" sound, "Mozart" sound, "jazz" sound, etc. And he stressed that, while some exchange of equipment is necessary (he and his colleges in the Chicago Symphony, play all Beethovan music on Oehler clarinets) the main determining factor in how one sounds is "somehow" determined by the mental concept in ones mind. So, "bottom line" advice--find the clarinet sound that you like best, and then try to find the mouthpiece/reed set-up that best gives you that quality in your playing. And be warned that what you like as a seventh-grader, may change as you grow older and more experianced as a musician, so be ever-ready to resume you mp/search all over again, and again, and again--I know...been there, done that (mannnnnny timesssss). Good clarineting.
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Author: Andy
Date: 2001-01-22 20:50
Thank You for all of the information you have given me so far. I went to the vandoren website and i saw the M13, and the M13 Lyre and I think the M13 Lyre will suit me well. Another question is, what factor does the tip opening and facing have to do with the mouthpiece? I am asking this because I saw that the two had slightly diffent facings and tip openings.
-Andy
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Author: Francesca
Date: 2001-01-22 23:02
This is completely unrelated to mouthpieces, but are you playing Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen?!? If so, that is sooooooooo awesome. What company published it? Is it a good arrangement? Let me know. As a future music teacher, I would love to do that song.
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Author: Andy
Date: 2001-01-22 23:52
Francesca,
This is the Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen! It's really fun to play! The company that published it was Hal Leonard Publication. The arrangement is by John Berry. I think this a grade three piece but I am not sure. They are probably easier or harder arrangements too.
-Andy
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2001-01-23 03:37
Try a Selmer C85 series mouthpiece which come in different tip sizes from 95 to 120. These mouthpieces produce a fair amount of volume compared to the other Selmers. If you use 3 1/2 reeds a C85 100 or 105 should be about the right size. They are plastic not rubber and are very durable.
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