Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2015-05-30 00:39
Julie -
If your student can afford the price, I advise the Grabner rather than the Fobes San Francisco. The Fobes is very smooth and responsive, but for me the Grabner has more color in the sound.
Squeaking on the high notes is usually caused by a leaking register vent (the one for the low clarion or the one for throat Bb) that doesn't close completely. If they're OK, then check whether the reed is covering the mouthpiece tip completely, particularly at the corners. Finally remember that contra clarinets exist to reinforce the bass. They're designed to emphasize the low register at the expense of response on the top notes.
The edges of the reed must not overlap the rails, which kills the response. If the reed is too wide, I narrow it on a very large mill bastard file. You can also use 400 grit sandpaper over plate glass.
When I play contra (which comes naturally to me), I always use a double lip embouchure and soft reeds. Ease on the high note comes from plenty of wind, not from squeezing the reed.
Johan -
Contra mouthpieces sell very slowly. The Selmers on sale today were probably made 50 years ago. As I noted, the material is excellent, but the machinery is badly out of adjustment, and it would cost them more to fix it than they could ever recover in sales. I have never tried a Selmer contra mouthpiece (Eb or BBb) that was even close to being playable, let alone good. All of them require extensive work.
Ken Shaw
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The Clarinet BBoard
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