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Author: Ben Shaffer
Date: 2014-06-12 02:38
Quick question, what reeds are the most widely used by Schools students. or really what reeds are used the most by School Music Directors?
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2014-06-12 02:43
Tough question. # wise, would be the plain old Rico.
Then there are the higher level reeds, such as the Vandoren, or Reserve reed.
If a Director has something against Rico, usually it would be Vandoren, however there are MANY Directors who don' have a single clue about reed strength/embouchure pressure. So they have their students get 4's or 5's irregardless of Mouthpiece facing.
And the kids suffer through them.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
Post Edited (2014-06-12 02:44)
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2014-06-12 06:39
Assuming you're referring to schools in the USA...
Quite often, students start with plain Ricos, then graduate to a upgraded D'Addario brand such as Mitchell Lurie, and then move on to Vandoren.
And David is spot-on about many band directors. Mine, a trumpeter, tried to get us all to move up to strength 3.0 by grade 8 with no consideration of the mouthpieces being used. I have a Vito Melodia 'piece in my collection that requires really soft reeds to respond--I have to use strenght 1.5 reeds, and I've been at the clarinet for decades. I wonder how many kids quit the clarinet from being moved up to unplayably hard reeds on stock mouthpieces like this one.
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Author: tylerleecutts
Date: 2014-06-12 06:52
Ursa said: "I wonder how many kids quit the clarinet from being moved up to unplayably hard reeds on stock mouthpieces like this one."
Definitely a lot, Ursa. . . Its a huge fallacy in miseducation on part of the professors who taught the woodwind methods classes. . . And many schools have the studio professors teach these classes! Or maybe the crazy band director didn't listen. . .
Just another tale of "Band-Director Land", where popsicle stick reeds, wood clarinets (regardless of quality) and pulling out at the mouthpiece is okay in a playing situation. . But ask them to talk about truly proper technique? Forget about it.
However, there are a lot of fine band directors who actually know how to teach the instrument, and more importantly- WHO to ask for help from in case they aren't sure of something. But it amazes me as someone who has seen these instrumental methods classes take place how little some of these band directors know. . Some barely know the bare-bone basics sometimes.
The best we can do is advise and teach what we can. .
To answer the original question, most band directors here in Florida seem to start on a soft blue box Vandoren or Rico, and sit around the 3 or 3.5 range. But my band director made sure we all had M30s, so he knew that the reeds would be a good match. Not to say putting us all on M30s was the best idea, but it did help shopping for reeds for us a bit easier, so. .And as far as that idea goes, I think its perfectly alright to universalize the mouthpiece selection for 85% of players- the top 15% that take lessons can have their teacher say otherwise as far as that goes.
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Author: cyclopathic
Date: 2014-06-12 15:30
URsa wrote:
> Quite often, students start with plain Ricos, then graduate to a upgraded
> D'Addario brand such as Mitchell Lurie, and then move on to Vandoren.
that's usually the case; with V12 as king of the hill.
sometimes you have side detour like Rico Royal (blue box) and very rarely teachers/band directors are open-minded enough to accept Grand Concerts and Reserve/Reserve Classics
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Author: TomS
Date: 2014-06-12 18:17
A good private teacher can shunt around non-clarinetist Band Director dogma and nonsense. There was so much mis-information disseminated during my public school "training", it's a wonder anyone, not taking private lessons, could play anything ...
Telling students to use a certain brand/cut/strength reeds (and MPs) is like telling them all to wear the same size shoes.
Really ideally , students, if anything, need the BEST equipment. It makes no sense to handicap a beginner with inferior junk. A professional can pick up anything and make it work, but a beginner's training should be with few frustrations as possible ...
Tom
Post Edited (2014-06-12 18:24)
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2014-06-12 18:20
I guide students to 1 of aprox 4 Mouthpieces. I'm familiar in depth with each one, and like them all - each one has a different characteristic, so there's something for everyone that I teach.
That way I know what I'm dealing with. There is no "requirement" to play on them, but I do steer the student in that direction if they are willing to be steered.
Makes a difference. There are shoes for every person, but some shoes are higher quality than others.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: TomS
Date: 2014-06-12 18:46
David Blumberg approach is obviously on the right track. But he is a professional clarinetist, probably not a bass drum and cymbal specialist with one semester of massed woodwind class in college.
And on the flip side, I don't know if I'd want to take bass drum and cymbal lessons from David (unless he is trained in this area) ... "simple" percussion instruments are never simple to truly master.
I filled in on bass drum one day, after cleaning my gutters resulted in a hornet sting. Good thing the conductor wasn't wearing a side arm, he would have shot me ...! I thought it was just going to be THUD, THUD, THUD! Nuance wasn't within my abilities ...
Tom
Post Edited (2014-06-12 22:23)
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2014-06-13 01:56
"Quite often, students start with plain Ricos, then graduate to a upgraded D'Addario brand such as Mitchell Lurie, and then move on to Vandoren."
When I first read this, I was expecting "...then graduate to trumpet or chorus" or something along that line. Boom cha thanka thanka.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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Author: Lanie
Date: 2014-06-16 03:15
My HS band director was a saxophone player and insisted that all of our clarinet players use Vandoren 3.5. He moved all of our bass clarinet players to soprano and made them all use 3.5 right off the bat. None of the were able to make much of a sound. I always thought this was crazy, but I just graduated so I'm probably wrong.
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2014-06-16 03:45
That would be funny except for the dozens if not hundreds of band students who had their clarinet playing experience ruined. Vs the 1 or 2 who may have benefited from these instructions.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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Author: Bruno
Date: 2014-06-16 21:22
Why is it any of the band director's business what reed, or clarinet and mouthpiece for that matter, that the band musicians play? As long as the clarinetists do their job adequately, it should be absolutely none of his or her business.
I think it's because the novice (read "insecure") players open up to the BD too much in an effort to please him. Unless the BD is a full-time clarinet player they would be better advised to keep mum, study like hell, play their gig, and take their technical queries to their private teacher.
bruno>
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Author: BobD
Date: 2014-06-16 21:29
I'm under the impression that some schools supply the reeds.
Bob Draznik
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2014-06-17 19:36
I, like most other students, start with Rico Royal 2.5s, and soon changed to 3s. This is probably the staple starting route. So I'd say Rico Royals is the staple choice for beginners in their 1st to 2nd years. Thought quite a few, like me, eventually changed to Vandoren Traditional 2.5s because of better warmth and consistency.
Later I'd been using Vandoren V-12 and 56 3s, before changing to Traditional 3s which I use now. Occasionally in orchestral situations I use V-12 3.5s.
To give those who are unfamiliar with reed strengths some reference:
R Royal 2.5<R Royal 3=V Trad 2.5<V V12 3<V 56 3<R Royal 3.5=V Trad 3< V V12 3.5
(R=Rico, V=Vandoren)
Lanie, I am really astonished that your band director instructs you to play Vandoren Traditional 3.5s, for that is far too hard for any high schooler like us. That reed strength is used by well-established college performers!
Josh
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