 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mike Hancock
Date: 2001-01-24 21:46
Well.....my collection of clarinets now stands at three with the addition of a Selmer CL370 Alto Clarinet. It is fresh from re-padding and whatever necessary adjustments and came with a Selmer C* mouthpiece and Selmer metal ligature.
For initial trial, I chose some Rico reeds in strength 2.5 and 3. So now, I have some observations and some questions.......
The horn is easy to play with either strength of reed. From what I can hear, with the 2.5 reed, notes in the chalemeau and lower clarion register seem OK but not as "rich" as I might expect. The upper clarion and lower altissimo seem to me to be very "reedy." Using the stronger reed (e.g. 3) improves things, but not as much as I would like.
Is a stronger reed indicated? (I play VanDoren V12 3.5's on my B-flat clarinet)
Is an alternate MP/ligature indicated? (I play a VanDoren M14 MP with a Rovner Dark Ligature on my B-flat clarinet)
Are there any other suggestions that anyone may have to help me get aclimated to my new horn?
Thanks in advance.......
Mike Hancock
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Author: Bob Arney
Date: 2001-01-24 23:21
Ah, Mike! The search for the impossible dream. At least three big things figure into this. 1. Have you really been (in your estimation) playing this horn long enough to deterrmine what sound, or tone, you are producing? Ask friends what they are hearing. Lot's of your "problems" may be what you are hearing in your head versus what your ears are telling you that you are producing. Take time to build that dreaded "e" word (which I always misspell) anyway. A basic Bb embrochure with a given setup you have always used for your Bb horn might just sound like Crap when you try to duplicate it on the Eb. What kind of sound did you imagine you would make? Ask yourself why you are not making it. Too early to decide? Very possibly Think about that for a while before you through a bunch of money at it.
2. How much money do you have to play with, or another way of putting that is, how understanding is your wife? "I mean, after all honey, who needs more than one mouthpiece, or three, or five. And what's all this about ligatures anyway?" Am I trying to imitate someone else's sound by copying their "setup"? Won't work. Everybodie's "mouth muscles" do not develop in the same way, and there is more than one way of producing throat tones.
3. What do you intend to do with this horn? Play professionally or play for your own enjoyment only? There is a heck of a lot of money (and research) and practice between these two positions.
4. And finally when you think you have it all together, you grab your horn and:
It just does not sound like it did yesteday. The honeymoon is over. Nothing seems to work....Back on the treamill. "Honey can I buy a new horn"??
Think good on it Mike,
Bob A
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-01-25 18:51
Mike -
Some advice from recent time in the trenches. The number of new alto clarinet mouthpieces sold is essentially zero. Also, players relegated to alto tend to fall into the "etc." category. Mouthpiece makers have no incentive to make good ones or even maintain their equipment and couldn't recover their investment if they did. Thus, new alto mouthpieces can be (and usually are) misshapen and truly dreadful.
If you're serious about alto clarinet, the only solution is to contact a mouthpiece refacer (Everett Matson, Roger Garrett, Walter Grabner), who will ask you to send a new, medium facing mouthpiece (such as the Selmer C*) to be reworked. Hite also makes alto mouthpieces. I've never played one, but others from him I've tried have been good.
The prevailing opinion is that Selmer has made the best altos over the years, so you seem to have made the right choice.
Good luck altoing.
Ken Shaw
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Author: mary
Date: 2001-01-27 17:02
Just got a Clarke Fobes alto clarinet mouthpiece, and he recommends using a Van. alto sax java reeds. I started using a 2 1/2 and working up to a 3. Get in touch with reedman and he can give you some advice.
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Author: Robert Gifford
Date: 2001-02-04 18:02
Are you using Alto Clarinet reeds? If so, stop, use Alto Sax Reeds. I found that when I played Alto Clarinet, that Selmer mouthpeices seem to be made for Alto Sax reeds not Alto Clarinet reeds.... not saying its a bad mpc but its just made for A. Sax reeds. I found this out one time when I was doing some Clarinet choir work, I had 2 mouthpeices... a Selmer, and a Leblanc. My director told me to use Alto Sax reeds, so I did and I was playing on the Selmer, it worked great.... then before the performance I went and got a couple of Alto Clarinet reeds, and I found that they didn't work at all on the Selmer, but they worked on the LeBlanc (In fact it even sounded better than the A. Sax reeds on the Selmer), but anyway enough about my story.... its just an idea.... that it might be the reed mpc combo.
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