 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: tracymiller
Date: 2006-04-02 00:24
2 of my middle school students are looking into purchasing a new mouthpiece. It seems to me that they both need fuller sounds with projection. Would a Vandoren B45 Lyre Mouthpiece be a good choice to get a bigger more resonant sound?
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Author: Bnewbs
Date: 2006-04-02 01:20
If they use soft reeds and have good control and emboucher. When I tried to use a B45 my freshman year of high school it was a disaster, tuning went bad, dynamic control was much harder and I did not yet have the breath support or emboucher to use one effectively. I still don't know why so many band directors recommend them. I think a 5RV or 5RV lyre is a better choice. good sound and resonance with out such an extremely open facing. Selmer CP100 will really give a full resonant tone, but its kind of quirky in the altissimo (I found it to be otherwise fine).
Ben
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-04-02 16:18
Try a 5RV or 5RV Lyre - these have good projection when used with a suitable reed.
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Author: Clarinetcola
Date: 2006-04-02 17:26
i use B45 lyre w/ Vandoren#3 and BG trad., man they are excellent!
it is great for projection without loosing the warm and dark tone, but you need a very good support and embouchure to play on it, or you will end up in a mess - a really pinched tone.
Nathan
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2006-04-02 18:43
With a 1.27 mm tip opening and medium long facing, the B45 Lyre is one of Vandoren's most resistant mouthpieces -- probably even more resistant than the B45. Assuming they started in 4th or 5th grade, I doubt there are very many middle schoolers who are developed enough to handle this mouthpiece. For most students at this level, embouchures are still developing.
In mouthpieces, as in shoes, one size does not fit all. Finding a good quality mouthpiece that will promote continued development for each of your students will likely take some trial and error. If you teach through a music store, I would recommend you let your students try a variety of the mouthpieces the store has in stock. If you aren't connected with a music store, you might consider sterilizing some of your mouthpieces and letting the students try them to get a feel for the degree of tip opening, facing length, chamber and baffle, that works for them. If you don't have much of a selection and you're serious about teaching, you might consider acquiring a variety of mouthpieces for your students to try when the time comes for them to select a new one.
At the middle school level, I expect a medium to medium-light resistance will probably prove best for your students (but you can't know for sure without some trials).
A Vandoren 5RV or 5RV Lyre would probably be a better choice than a B45 or B45 Lyre. (Or are they already playing one of these?) For not much more than a Vandoren, however, (and, sometimes less, depending on what and where you buy), a number of custom makers have student and intermediate models that might fit your students' needs even better (and the craftsmanship will be first-rate).
Two intermediate hard rubber mouthpieces from makers I have personally had good experiences with are the Grabner Intermezzo and the Fobes Nova. The Intermezzo is available directly from Walter Grabner with a trial period. The Fobes should be available from Muncy Winds, Weiner Music, or (if you must) Woodwind and Brasswind or Music123.com -- also with a trial period. BTW, Clark Fobes offers to send teachers a free "Debut" mouthpiece. While made of plastic, it has the same facing (and probably the same playing characteristics) as the Nova. See his website.
I have also recently had a good personal experience with a Lomax professional mouthpiece. Their Prelude (based on the price, probably plastic but I can't tell for sure either from their website or Music123.com) might be worth a try.
I have no personal experience with any of the following makers or mouthpieces but, based on the makers' reputations think they might be worth a try,
Zinner JC (hard rubber, made for Woodwind and Brasswind, as far as I can tell)
Ridenour RE (hard rubber)
Gennusa Intermediate (plastic)
Behn Overture (can't tell the material from a brief look at his website)
I doubt you need to try all of these. In fact, I expect that most of them will have similar playing characteristics. So selecting one or two based on availability and perhaps price, should probably be enough (I would personally start with the Fobes and Grabner).
Best regards,
jnk
Post Edited (2006-04-03 03:49)
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Author: ElBlufer
Date: 2006-04-03 02:59
I would not recommend the B45 to them. Tell them to try out different mouthpieces. I was told by a bunch of students to get a B45, but it just wasn't for me. I ended up at the opposite end of the spectrum with a 1.02 tip opening.
My Setup:
R13 Clarinet (Ridenour Lyrique as my backup/marching instrument)
Walter Grabner K11 mouthpiece
Rico Reserve 3.5's
Bonade ligature
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