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Legere advantage---squeak resistant?

Author: TomA ★2017
Date: 2009-11-22 18:56

I play soprano clarinet, having picked it up again 2.5 years ago at age 60 after too many years' hiatus. Occasional squeaks are part of my repertoire, and they occur with different reeds, mouthpieces, and even instruments, so it's pretty clearly my own doing.

However, I have noticed that when I play on Legere reeds (both original and Quebec cut), I almost never squeak. In fact I have to really abuse the reed in order to squeak (e.g. pinching on throat tones).

I also can't reach a note higher than altissimo G with Legere reeds, maybe that has something to do with them not squeaking (which is not a problem, as I don't have a real need for such notes).

So I use Legere when I absolutely can't afford to squeak, and privately work on my technique with cane reeds. I prefer the sound of cane reeds, especially in the lower chalumeau range, so that is why I still struggle with them.

I am curious if anyone else has observed this phenomenon, and also whether anyone has wisdom to offer on what this might suggest about minimizing squeaking with cane. I have tried things like rounding off the corners, which seems to help, but does not eliminate the problem.

Tom

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