Author: fskelley
Date: 2015-07-19 07:39
Attachment: Rovner.JPG (132k)
Attachment: NonameA.JPG (129k)
Attachment: Crampon.JPG (135k)
Attachment: NonameL.JPG (128k)
(Actually, 4- or maybe 6 or 8.)
I've been playing clarinet regularly now for 5 years after 38 years off. After a season of experimentation with ligatures, I returned to an early favorite- the Rovner dark. I've stuck with the Rovner through clarinet changes, mouthpiece experimentation and changes, reed changes, learning ATG, etc etc. I've occasionally swapped ligatures briefly since then, but only rarely and never expecting or finding any improvement.
I know many (most?) of you swear by (at?) your ligatures and the profound effect they are supposed to have on all aspects of your play. And I have also heard and pretty much believed that if a ligature holds your reed securely and without fuss, that's all it can do and any other claims are overblown. My early experience went both ways, but for a couple of years I've strongly leaned toward the 2nd- cynical- view, I admit partly because that simplified my equipment choices and reduced my angst.
SO... about a week ago when I was blowing a rather poorly performing reed, for grins I swapped the Rovner for first 1, then 2 other metal ligs sitting in my cabinet. And the play immediately improved with one of them, not so much with the other 2. Now- I have bad bad memories of previous glimmers of improvement that quickly faded, so I was skeptical. But I have been having a blast for the past week- all my reeds play better, so it seems- and many issues are fading away. If this is a placebo effect, I don't care, I am a happy camper- I just hope this lasts.
My best guess is that some physical aspects of my play have shifted over the past year or so- and the Rovner dark was fighting me and I didn't know it.
The ligature "responsible" for all this goodness, "NonameA"- I am almost certain came from the Ridenours on my Arioso. It has no name on it. I can't imagine there is anything special about it, or that it cost them more than a couple of bucks. (Ted or whoever- right?) Now I guess I have to re-enter the ligature fray and figure out what really works best that makes any sense for me to buy. I bought, used, and then sold an Optimum back during my experimentation days, disgusting to consider paying for another.
And what of those other 2 metal ligs? The Buffet Crampon came with my first used TR147, and always seemed to play a little better than I expected, just not this time. And "NonameL" came from the Ridenours with my "Lyrique 2nd", and didn't do much this time either.
All parts of your clarinet setup work together, so you cannot choose any one part independent of the range of options for each of the others. Even though that would make life simpler. Sigh.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
Post Edited (2015-09-26 18:25)
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