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Clarinet Fest

Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-07-31 16:34

Well I'm not sure what to say about the ClarinetFest in Orlando. On a positive note I will say I saw perhaps the best concert of my life. My friend Julian Bliss playing the Nielson Concerto. No it wasn't great is was 10 stars beyond great. At the age of 35 or so he just keeps getting better. Will he keep getting better everyday? I guess so. He became a friend, because he is so kind and approachable. Don't ever be shy to say hello to this amazing man. He of course got a Standing Ovation and people were really ready to stand up 10 minutes before he finished playing. Yes it was that exciting.

Lets talk about his setup, this leads to a real problem I have with the convention in general.

He plays on a Bliss clarinet of course. The cost is under $1500 or $3000 for a Bb and A set. An inexpensive mouthpiece and a standard hard 5 strangth reed. The mouthpiece costs about $80 or so. Ligature again is probably about $60 or as low as $33, or $10 on ebay.

Now the convention. I was saddened with the prices of some stuff. Yes we know about $21,000 DEAD clarinets that won't fill the medium to larger halls and small halls that have carpeting.

I saw a $1300 ligature. WHAT? Played on a few new stinky Buffets with dead notes and then notes that pop out uncontrollably with the feel of a loud jet as the dead notes sound like an electric car, kind of like you are tripping on a carpet! Found 1 decent one but still not great.

I played the new Selmer mouthpiece. It looks very good. But it doesn't play well. I know whats wrong with them, so if any Selmer key owners are reading this I will offer my talents to fix them and make the very best production mouthpiece on the market BLOWING away Rico, Vandoren, Zinner blanks, and any other company you can think of. Yes they are that great for about $100. However DON"T buy one as they are missing some needed fixes and they are too resistant, unless you like sore lips and back pressure after 5 minutes. You will need a softer reed to hit FF. You might feel like you've just had a workout at your local gym.

I left SAD. Watching school kids brainwashed that this useless expensive gear will land them into a major symphony. Or even get them first chair in their high school or college band. We need to protect these kids on this board by spreading the word. Tell the kids how the Germans use a string as ligatures! Tell them how so many pros used the Bonade ligatures for $23 or so. And maybe we need to check out the Julian Bliss clarinets and as low as $900 on ebay for the top model.

Oh, I never heard a good sounding player that caught my attention. The same sounds are all alike. It really didn't matter what setups they were playing.

Lets get that Marcellus sound back NOW. The Zinners are DEAD. Dump them!

Stanley Drucker was there! You missed getting a photo and an autograph! Looks great for perhaps 85 or so? I was him walking around at a fast pace. I think he played but sadly I didn't know about it.

I will write a shade more as I'm just getting in from the flight. 5:30 AM.

I want music to be fun. We need to put a stop to these nuts selling $1300 ligatures, $21,000 clarinets, $600 mouthpieces which are stinky Zinner blanks which are Dark and DEAD. You can't be heard on these setups. That's one semester with the finest music in the country.

Lets stop this! Music should be fun, not expensive.

Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces

Yamaha Artist 2015

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Clarinet Fest new

Bob Bernardo

2017-07-31 16:34