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First blows on a Kaspar

Author: Bill
Date: 2019-02-22 20:06

For many people who play clarinet, the opportunity to play on (a mouthpiece that is *said* to be) an original Kaspar facing never comes, or comes only a few times. For others the opportunity is frequent (teachers, professionals, etc.).

I've played clarinet ardently since 1993, and this morning is the first time I have ever played on (what I am *told* is) an original Kaspar 13.

The first thing I noticed is that I couldn't find a reed that didn't sound good on it. Eventually, I found one -- but it took testing about 10.

The second thing I noticed was that it sounded like what I *imagined* it would sound like. There was a delay of several days between my receiving the mouthpiece and trying it. During that time, the idea of what it would sound like formed in my mind. I won't make myself a (further) laughing stock by trying to put words to the concept. But -- I guessed right!

The last thing I found was that the mouthpiece made my 1967 R-13 (96xxx) sound like my 1936 Buffet (19xxx), which is my favorite clarinet: warm and *compact* ... a bee buzzing in a jug. For me, this is a good thing.

I'll go back to my island of broken clarinet toys (I have a love of odd, decidedly inferior equipment), but something new has been added to my understanding today.

Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)

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