Author: ThatPerfectReed
Date: 2014-05-09 18:32
Here's my take.
There's a fundamental difference between being an artist, and being "an artist for, and who otherwise uses the tools of an art tools making company" like Mr. Lowenstern and Vandoren respectively. The former (the artist) is free to create, the second (hereafter Compensated Artist, or CA) is bound by an incentivized arrangement, be it in free or reduced cost products, artistic exposure, or outright compensation and other perks of such an agreement. Most artists don't talk about what they get being a company spokesperson, and I suspect it has something to do with the very nature of their contract's secrecy clauses, despite it being precisely what the consumer should know (and want to know) before they take somebody's word.
There are also artists who give rave reviews to products without endorsement, but they are a hand full and play on the products of a hand full of vendors.
CAs vary in their willingness to use their name, and risk its brand dilution in doing so. Some endorse a product you'd never or rarely find them using, others will only endorse stuff they'd choose to play on were no endorsement deal in place.
If one looks at the video Mr. Nilsson refers to above--and this is NOTHING for or against Mr. Nilsson, I'm glad he raised this--only a small, but nonetheless significant portion of the video, beginning around 5:39 into the piece talks of ligatures. In it, I get the impression that Mr. Lowenstern has, to be metaphorical, "towed the [Vandoren] company line," even if at the end of that line there's a sign that reads "but don't waste your time on expensive ligatures."
That's just my impression. Mr. Lowenstern reads and writes here and can comment if he chooses, as of course can you.
More importantly, here's where I derive that impression. First, Mr. Lowenstern cites his previous desire for leather ligatures based not only on nothing to do with music, but a problem that, for the few of us who have it, is easily remedied with more cautious care: stepping on one's ligature. Really? Notice how it's also not likely the first take on this segment, having just switched off of the topic of his new Vandoren mouthpiece. Notice how all of sudden he's broken that stepping habit now that he has the new Vandoren metal ligature. It's a miracle! Do YOU leave ligatures lying around on the floor to accidently step on? Is there a PayPal charity I can donate to on this cause?
Maybe I can license new technology from the geriatric in home emergency care market, that auto-activates the pendant of a fallen user based on mercury switch/micro gyroscope technology.
"Hello, Mr. Smith, yes, we've detected that a ligature has fallen at your residence. Would you like us to call the police?"
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For those of us trained in, or that buy into micro expressions, at 6:02, as Mr. Lowenstern recalls the auditory memory of his new bright sounding ligature, he should be looking to his left, NOT left and up. The former is consistent with auditory memory, and the latter with visual memory.
And if you buy none of that, consider this. I don't want to lean on every word Mr. Lowenstern says, but when he has what I must presume is several takes to get it right, and uses two ways to describe something that contrast each other: "considerable" and "very fine pointed"--I take notice.
"Considerable," in language is more than about "worthy of consideration," which is subjective. It implies, if not defines a difference that's notably large in size, which by definition is the opposite of "very fine pointed."
Do I think Mr. Lowenstern is lying per se? No. I think he's found a setup that works well for him and whose ligature provides differences in his head, and maybe in actuality that goes just beyond being imperceptible, and a way of saying so that doesn't overly contradict his original premise: [kids] don't waste your money on ligatures. I don't think he'd disagree with the sentiments that "your mileage might vary here," even though he's having success with the setup he discusses in this video.
As for nearly all of the rest of us, myself included: this the harsh truth that I just know people will love to differ with me on: ready? Get into the practice room, slow down the metronome, work on your embouchure and fingers, and speed the metronome up slightly over time with proficiency. Repeat for another 100 hours. Get off the internet looking for toys to improve your play.
Only then, come to the table with ligature, mouthpiece, and horn change suggestions; particularly the latter two. And I don't mean to imply that hardware changes and good hardware can't make enormous difference, or that I don't love to tinker just as much as the next person. I do mean to imply that as clarinetists we all deal with inferior equipment now and then: most notably with that "vibrating stick on our mouthpiece."
The two quotes most attributable to the noted clarinet Pedagogue, Kal Opperman where
"Practice and hope, but never hope more than you practice."
"There's no substitute for hard work, and remember that time is your most precious commodity."
Consider that as it regards ligatures.
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And also take a look at this:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=0&f=S&l=50&TERM1=ligature&FIELD1=&co1=AND&TERM2=clarinet&FIELD2=&d=PTXT
Read what these inventors write about how their ligatures work, more than what they do, or the reasons they were designed the way they were. For those that make claims (granted, its the design not the claim of fitness that is patentable, and therefore the latter is often left out), how many hold true?
Do you think if anyone nailed the ligature so spot on, to date, that there would be so many varieties? (This is where the "importance of custom fit people" chime in. And that's fine, as long as they also conceede that vendors also take advantage of this very lack of definitiveness in ligatures to produce new ligature products for us to buy, without comensurate evidence that the new one is anything other than different (not better) than the old one.) Do you think the "V" cut out of the sides of metal Vandoren ligatures was a cooincidence of engineering, rather than branding that hopefully didn't compromise quality?
And to the "if you think you play better then you do" camp, Woodstock is calling, on their rotary phone. While this year's Clarinet Conference's theme is about how to make a living playing the clarinet. Through no doing of my own, the clarinet world's seem to become far more pragmatic.
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Disclaimer: 1) I am in the process of trying to get a ligature before the Patent Board. I will never make a claim about its superiority unless backed by clinical science. My focus of attention will be on its ease of use: a claim, I believe, that will hold true, as sure as many will both agree and disagree with if it ever comes to market.
And no, it's not a variation of this http://www.homeconstructionimprovement.com/black-decker-automatic-adjustable/ which I've discussed in the past, although that auto-tightening would be cool.
2) I choose to play Vandoren mouthpieces and reeds. I think they make great products, even ligatures--even though I haven't been convinced those ligatures are demonstrably better than other competant ones.
3) Ligatures do matter to the point that they fill basic criterion as discussed way above in this thread.
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