 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bryanwalker
Date: 2012-02-11 18:16
Hello everyone,
I am an oboist who recently returned to playing the clarinet (I gave up clarinet to solely focus on playing the oboe about 2 years ago). I have pretty much no interest in playing classical music (since I have enough of that with the oboe) instead I want to play jazz, especially dixieland. My "heros" of jazz clarinet playing are Mr. Goodman, Mr. Shaw and Mr. Fountain, so about a month ago I bought an old Selmer Balanced Tone clarinet from 1936.
Well today I picked up my clarinet from getting completely overhauled and I am thinking I need a better mouthpiece. The clarinet didn't come with a mouthpiece and by chance I found a super cheap "Woodwind" brand clarinet mouthpiece that I had from when I formerly played the clarinet. Can anyone recommend a good mouthpiece (hopefully less than $100) that would be well suited for playing jazz, and someone who is self taught and doesn't have "proper" embouchure?
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Author: Clarimeister
Date: 2012-02-11 18:39
I have a Vandoren 5JB that I use for jazz or dixie gigs. Great super open mouthpiece for that style of playing. Give it a try.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2012-02-11 18:50
If your Woodwind mouthpiece is a Steel Ebonite G7*, that's the model Mr. Goodman is said to have used.
What kind of performance environment will you be playing jazz with? Playing in a large ensemble can call for a different setup and approach than, say, playing solo clarinet accompanied only by a guitar or piano.
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Author: Bryanwalker
Date: 2012-02-11 19:11
The "woodwind" mouthpiece came with a super crappy czech made clarinet I bought from the Woodwind and Brasswind about 7 years ago. I quickly realized it was awful and upgraded to a Selmer series 9, which I later sold.
I previously played in a local dixieland band and I am hoping to rejoin that group this summer. That group is only 5 musicians.
I also have a Pomarico crystal Jazz * mouthpiece that I bought right after buying my clarinet. The mouthpiece is so open that playing with a number 2 reed is very difficult. Since playing it has been a horror story I think I am going to try to sell it.
Since I am having such problem with open mouthpiece I think it might be better that I lean more towards a medium facing mouthpiece.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2012-02-11 22:15
As an inexpensive starting point, you might wish to try a Brilhart Ebolin with a "3" facing. They do not require a lot of embouchure control, and are available for under $30. Put on a La Voz or orange-box Rico reed, and you'll get that Dixieland sound in spades.
These are plastic mouthpieces; I always use a mouthpiece patch and a Rovner Dark ligature on my Brilharts to help keep wear at bay.
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Author: Trevor M
Date: 2012-02-11 23:19
I believe for authentic New Orleans tone, you're supposed to put a little piece of chewing gum inside a cheap ex-military mouthpiece. Has anybody actually seen that done?
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2012-02-12 00:03
Bryanwalker,
I recommend trying a whole bunch of Vandorens, and don't be too worried about whether it's a "jazz" mouthpiece or not. Different folks get good results with a wide range of equipment.
Trevor M,
The 'authentic' New Orleans sound covers a wide palette. The chewing gum thing might have been true of some marching players, but certainly not all of them. Guys like Pete Fountain, Edmond Hall, and Dr. Michael White use(d) some pretty elite level equipment. Others like Albert Nicolas, Omar Simeon, Jimmy Noone and Irving Fazola went for very pure, rich sounds, and wouldn't have done the chewing gum thing (or the super-cheap mouthpiece....unless it happened to work, which is always possible).
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: Wes
Date: 2012-02-12 04:10
Perhaps I'm in a minority, but I use the same mouthpiece with a #3 V12 reed for everything and it makes me very happy. The mouthpiece reed combination should be stable and play in tune from low E to double high C, pp to ff. The mouthpiece was bought in about 1956 and kind of plays like a 5RV of that era. Good Luck!
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