 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2006-01-31 03:29
Hi everyone
I know some people who are constantly changing equipment, but I've had the same mouthpiece for 3 years, same ligature for 4, and same clarinets for 3. This doesn't seem long but bear in mind I have NO other equipment - my mouthpiece has been used every day, for several hours, for a bit over 3 years.
Lately I've found myself a little dissatisfied with my sound. It feels 'empty' and 'lifeless' and it's the same across all reeds I use & all acoustics I play in.
I have a feeling it is the mouthpiece, or perhaps early signs of my clarinet blowing out (before I got it it was sitting in a store for many years).
How often should a primary mouthpiece be replaced? What are the early signs of clarinet blowout?
Thanks.
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Author: larryb
Date: 2006-01-31 03:44
I have a friend, an excellent clarinet player, who has been playing the same set of Buffet clarinets for 30 years.
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Author: RodRubber
Date: 2006-01-31 03:48
Morrigan,
Perhaps you should find someone to measure your mouthpiece, and see if it has changed over time. I have found that putting a lot of reeds on a mouthpiece over time tends to lengthen it a bit, and can cause some of the symptoms u describe. There are many people, for one, the guy who sits next to me in an orchestra i play, that disavow the notion that a clarinet can blow out. I would get your mouthpiece measured, and if its messed up, get it refaced.
Thats a good first step. Maybe take a lesson. In the past, i have been someone, who without constant supervision, has started to do some screwy things.
Best of luck
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2006-01-31 04:43
I never heard even one player that had a bad sound because their clarinet was old. We don't even have the term 'blow out' in my language.
It is possible that your sound hasn't changed, but your ear has and you only now realize you want to improve your sound. Maybe a different mouthpiece could help you with that, but maybe not.
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2006-01-31 04:47
Change mouthpiece for a while. You will probably go back eventually. It is an old professional trick for when you 'get stale on a mouthpiece'.
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Author: vin
Date: 2006-01-31 05:26
Perhaps your mouthpiece has changed, as mentioned above, or perhaps your barrel as well. Have someone measure them; I've had a lot of barrels change on me. I would focus on these before you start worrying about the clarinet blowing out. As for when you should change mouthpieces, change when you find something better and work on tone and embouchure development until you feel better about things. Burt Hara once said something to me to the effect of "look passively for better equipment, but in the meantime, practice through it." Sound advice.
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2006-01-31 08:11
Try other stuff! If you like it, it's time to change. But as Mark says, you might go back eventually. I keep returning to my 5RV. I go other places to learn new things, but then find they work on my old set-up just as well if not better.
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2006-01-31 10:14
Isn't there an easy way to tell whether it's your clarinets (which I don't believe for one moment.) You have a Bb and an A, do you not? Have you played them equally? Probably not. Does the one you've played most sound worse than the other?
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If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2006-01-31 10:24
One more thought regarding 'empty' and 'lifeless' - I'm sure mine brightens up ever-so-slightly when I oil the bore. Could be psychology, I suppose, but it is fairly certain that wood has a tendency to absorb water slowly. My instrument has been settling for over five years now.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2006-01-31 14:32
Your instrument is probably just fine. Maybe run it in for some new pads or something if it needs them. You probably would enjoy a change of mouthpiece and maybe even a different tuning barrel to liven things back up again.
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Author: javier garcia m
Date: 2006-01-31 19:38
I play on my Buffet BC-20 Bb since 1987, very good instrument, no need to change.
I'm not a professional but I play as a high level amateur.
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2006-01-31 21:15
Well, I play my Bb muuuuch more often than my A and it is definitely 'thinner'-sounding than my A, which is a gorgeous instrument. However, I am dissatisfied with my sound and the 'feel' of producing the sound across both instruments.
Maybe my mouthpiece just needs a new clean?
Also, I use the same barrell on both instruments. Out of the 5 I have, this one stands out as the best one. I'll look into the others (thanks, I didn't even THINK to try other barrels!).
Thanks all. It's probably NOT the clarinets, but like I said, I know for a fact that my Bb was a display model in a store for a few years, so it had probably been played on quite a bit before I got it.
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Author: Tyler
Date: 2006-02-01 01:49
Assuming reeds and embouchure (have a lesson with someone--maybe someone you don't usually work with) aren't the problem, I would clean the mouthpiece. If that didn't help I would try some new mouthpieces. If that didn't improve anything, I would check out some new barrels. And so forth.
-Tyler
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Author: Alexis
Date: 2006-02-02 06:48
It seems like such a short time for anything to blow out. My teacher used the same mouthpiece for 20 years and didn't notice anything like that. Then there's all these vintage kaspar and chedevilles floating around that people swear by....
Could the reeds you are using be too soft? That could cause the type of sound I think you are describing...It might be prudent to try a harder strength of reed
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2006-02-02 14:02
It could be that the perception of what's happening is the critical factor and not the machinery used to make the sound.
If you are like most on here, you probably play the same sort of tunes all of the time. A steady diet of "art" music can get on your nerves after a number of years, and you may be reacting to too many seasons of playing interior Clarinet 2 parts.
I know that this is mostly lip service when it is repeated, but the best way out of the doldrums in music is to branch out. Switch from straight clarinet playing to concert band stuff for a while. Or walk on the wild side and branch out into a different form of music.
In a typical year, I'll go from community orchestra clarinet and bass clarinet playing to Broadway show pit orchestra to just screwing around with something like Scott Joplin's Red Book, all the while continuing my baritone and alto sax playing with my musical group. All of it different, all of it musical, and most of it very challenging. (Love those sax parts in six and seven sharps; they make clarinet playing look like a walk in the park.)
Mind you, there's nothing wrong with doing the same thing all of the time. I've been buying the same lunch every day for about fifteen years, and it hasn't bothered me yet. But, your tolerance for such things might have been reached and you might not even have noticed it.
The Red Book is a good place to start. I don't know what edition we use (the covers are long gone and the music is in binders), but I know that the two clarinet parts can be a real challenge. And, it's "fun" music as well, music that other people actually like to listen to...
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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