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Re: B45, B40, M30, M15 or M13?

Author: Tom Puwalski
Date: 2008-06-03 14:04

The operative word is "try". I'm amazed at how few players know how to do this with anything resembling a "scientific" method. It seems the typical way people go about this is to:
A. Pick up a random mouthpiece
B. put that old, worn out reed that sounded great on your last recital
C. blow 5-10 fast notes, the 3 excerpts they know, and the second mov. of Mozart
D. Make a pronouncement, the mouthpiece is the greatest ever or it sucks

I have watched people drop hundreds of dollars on mouthpieces doing exactly that. They have worse than no information, they have "bad" information. They have only found out how that old beat up reed reacts on this new mouthpiece. If the reed sounds better it's a great mouthpiece if it doesn't, say it sucks and dis anyone who plays on such crap.

Needless to say, this is not the best way to find a mouthpiece. You need more and BETTER information! There are a few things I like to know before I evaluate anything related to clarinet mouthpieces
1. What am I unhappy with about my current combination
a. am I consistently able to adjust a reeds to make it playable? If the answer to this question is no and you're still at the mercy of pulling reeds out of a box and seeing which ones happen to work on your mouthpiece, you need to learn to work on reeds, before you do the mouthpiece quest.
b. do I like the way I sound on it? If I don't what other factor could be influencing my sound? reed choice? embouchure? clarinet condition? Tonal concept( don't negate this one) You might have an alignment problem- changing tires won't help.
c. how does it tune on your clarinet? If you know great, if not sit with a tuner and another player spend an afternoon mapping the clarinet out. See if notes are similar in pitch when you play and when the other person plays your horn. Mouthpieces can affect pitch. Know why and how! Know if it's the mouthpiece, the clarinet or you that's "out of tune"

2. How and why am I going to go about this search? Did you just walk in to my first lesson in college and hear the dreaded, " you're going to have to change your equipment if you're going to study with me" or just get a military band gig and notice that everyone in the section seems to be using "brand X, with the super computer modeled power facing on it"? OR do I think I'm this close to really making it on clarinet in School, or an Orchestra whatever and this famous player that I and everyone thinks is god, played this old mouthpiece and I need to hunt one down. Even if it means paying more for it than a clarinet, and not being able to "try" it. OR have you played on your mouthpiece for awhile, have a good idea what it does, have a real feel for the tonal flexibility , pitch and ease of playing, and have decided you want to find something that's, how I like to put it, "better or easier"? If you really "know" your equipment then try some mouthpieces.

Some mouthpiece Truth's (things that Tom Puwalski has found in lot's of years of observation)
1. there are people sounding great on the same set up that you play right now. There are also people that sound like crap on it too
2. Mouthpieces should be thought of more like eyeglasses, you wouldn't think you could use someone's glasses and that the prescription would be exactly right? or that if you had that Ethiopian guy's shoes , you could win the Boston Marathon?
3. mouthpieces don't have "certain" sounds. You won't sound more like Marcellus, Ricardo, Arty Shaw or Pete fountain even if you had their exact equipment that they played. It might make you look in a certain direction for a sound, but it won't "give" it to you. You will have to make it.
4. you can't buy game! Those of us old enough to remember PF flyers know what I mean. did any of us really "run faster or jump higher"
5. There is no such thing as "a Jazz mouthpiece" or a Klezmer mouthpiece or " orchestral" mouthpieces. only what works for individual players. What kind of sound do I want, what kind of reed to I like to play what characteristics do I use in my playing to get my musical point across.
6. You can play a B45 sound great on it but if you try an M15 you will have to adjust you embouchure, your reeds, your air or maybe all 3. That's not a bad thing, the converse is also true, M15 to a B45. Both mouthpieces really do work

Ok those last 6 things were totally my opinion, feel free to disagree, but that's my opinion, for ME they're true.

So here are a few recommendations for the quest for the holy grail, once again totally personal opinion.

if you're unsure, or not knowledgeable, about facings get a middle of the road Vandoren a 5RV lyre or something in that range. Buy it! figure out how to make it sound good, what reed it wants get comfortable on it. Then try some of their mouthpieces that are closer, more open, shorter, longer and try and see how they fit. I say Vandoren because this will be way less expensive and I've found in the last 5 years their quality has really improved and a lot of clarinetist sound really good on these. I've measured facings on a recent shipment of Vandoren Mps and the facings were really well done. All symmetrical and in the exactly right for their listed facing. Resist the "I need to try 15 of the same facing to find exactly the right one" urge. Every identical mouthpiece I've played, plays different than the other one. That is to say, If I take one of my mouthpieces, my current favorite (for the last few years anyway) has been a MOBA "L" that I've had Robert Scott make longer, I have 3 that are 36 and 3 that are 38 length. All are similar to an M15 facing. If I take the same reed and put it on each mouthpiece I can play it but it's not optimum. If I find the right reed for each, they all play really close, I would say all within "reed" tolerances. That being said the M15 I have with the correct reed on it is really quite good. I also have been experimenting with an M30. more open same length as M15. With a reed matched to the M30 if works very well, but differently than the M15 facings.
The only other advice I would give is to always have "redundant" equipment!! I have spare rigs that I could play on in 10 min. if I had to. If you're playing the "one of a kind" thing you will someday be in a world of hurt. Accidents happen mouthpieces break, horns and cases get stolen. Never a month before a performance or an audition, it's always the day of, so BE Prepared!

Tom Puwalski, Former clarinet soloist with The U.S. Army Field Band, clarinetist with The Atonement, and Author of "The Clarinetists Guide to Klezmer"

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B45, B40, M30, M15 or M13? new

A.F.Danny.Q

2008-06-02 07:47