Author: zhangray4
Date: 2017-10-30 03:32
Thanks for the suggestions all.
Karl, I do find that my reeds are stiff and not vibrating as they used to. I was concerned that I may have been applying too much pressure on the reeds. But when I use less pressure on the reeds, the notes go flat generally, but the sound becomes better, like it resonates better. So I'm not sure what to do. When I am saying "relaxing" my embouchure, I don't think it should be concerning because my teacher started me off on a Vandoren B45 13. Extremely open mouthpiece, even more so than the M30. So I believe I do have a strong embouchure: my lips are tight and firm when I play.
And as for reed strength, my increase in reed strength kind of occurred naturally. I was playing on Vandoren V12 #3.5 until I felt it was just too soft. So I moved up. I know the reed strength is kind of high though: is that a big problem I should be concerned about? And yes, Karl, I have tried going back down to #3.5 but I just can't. I would have to force my lips to be loose and flabby in order to not choke the sound. And the sound would be just way to edgy.
I really do wish I can try another barrel, but I never have enough money to buy anything as I don't get allowances...but that's for another story. Maybe I'll persuade my parents to go to a store and at least try a shorter barrel to see if that fixes my problem. Oh and one important thing: when I upgraded to R13 about a year and a half ago, I always tuned flat, but I was always fine on my E11 France. The guy at the shop said it was normal since a student horn usually tunes sharp. He may be right, but it doesn't solve my problem, as now I'm finally in tune at 440, but I have to work hard to get that pitch up. Not to mention my tuning B and C (B4 and C5) are usually sharp but some throat tones and altissimo notes can get flat if I don't work hard to bring it up.
-- Ray Zhang
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The Clarinet BBoard
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