 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2015-05-17 18:54
While I am currently mostly a clarinet/bass clarinet(both French and German) player, I am considering venturing with the Tenor Sax. What tenor sax sax mouthpiece, or facing, would be suit most for doubling clarinets and bass clarinets?
FYI I mostly playing either classical or folk which I play with a natural acoustical sound, if this helps directing my choice.
Josh
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Author: qualitycontrol
Date: 2015-05-18 00:16
You shouldn't play a bass clarinet like a soprano and you shouldn't play a tenor saxophone like a bass clarinet. Don't look to find a mouthpiece that let's you play without changing embouchure: the saxophone is a very different instrument than the clarinet.
Learn to properly engage with a saxophone mouthpiece and from there explore the mouthpiece options that are available to you to find the sound you're looking for. For classical work, I find the Vandoren Optimum mouthpieces very, very nice, but am only a saxophone doubler myself so I haven't delved to far into the custom mouthpieces available out there (and I'm sure there are many.)
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2015-05-18 14:58
Hi,
I'm a doubler on sax (alto, tenor, bari), clarinet, and bass clarinet. Also flute and the double reeds but not as much.
I play open mouthpieces for the most part: Rico X10 on clarinet, a Dukoff 7 on tenor (Selmer D for concert work), a Meyer 7 on alto, a Selmer C* on soprano and bari, and an MO Garret on bass. My reed strength ranges from a 2 to a 3.5 on cane as well as synthetic reeds.
All instrument require a slightly different embouchure and reed combination. One size will not fit all. One must keep these doubles up by practice. I'd begin your quest from the perspective of what is the opening for your bass and soprano clarinet MP; is there a relationship? Proceed from there and select a tenor MP that is somewhat in that range and use some bass clarinet reeds to begin your analysis.
I have found that for pit work, using Legere' reeds really save a lot of angst. However, I had a concert yesterday on bass and played a cane reed.
HRL
PS Scales and long tones will give you an idea of the embouchure changes needed.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2015-05-18 20:05
Try a Selmer C** or D to start with.
Just be sure on tenor sax you don't play it like a (bass) clarinet - on saxes you blow down to pitch as opposed to clarinets where you blow up to pitch. If you tighten your embouchure as you go up, you'll go sharp - so keep a fairly relaxed embouchure over the range but with plenty of breath support, especially from low E downwards to prevent it going up an 8ve on the lower notes which will happen with poor or no real breath support.
Out of all the saxes I find tenor the most demanding as it's not as easy to control the lower notes at low volume levels compared to soprano, alto and bari if you're used to playing these. I know a lot of alto/bari players who really don't enjoy playing tenor (myself included) but if hyou start out on tenor, you should enjoy it better compared to someone coming from alto or bari to tenor.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2015-05-19 00:25
The TL3 is a good all around. I bought a Meyer 5 and it's a good, solid mouthpiece, but I'm wishing I had something a LITTLE more open (ie, a Meyer 6). But the Meyer 5 is actually tame enough for classical stuff (IMO).
US Army Japan Band
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Author: concertmaster3
Date: 2015-05-19 03:56
I've had a lot of luck with the Vandoren Optimum Series on all 4 saxes (SL3, AL3, TL3 and BL4). All very good and versatile enough for doing both classical and what jazz I play in musicals.
Ron Ford
Woodwind Specialist
Performer/Teacher/Arranger
http://www.RonFordMusic.com
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Author: Wisco99
Date: 2015-05-20 07:07
Go for a middle of the road mouthpiece. Something that is easy to play and control. Be able to play low B flat very softly and high F strong. You do not want to be fighting a mouthpiece on a show.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2015-05-20 10:42
An old Berg Larson 120/0 sms metal mouthpiece is my favorite for tenor saxophone from the late 1960s. As with many mouthpieces, the factory facing was not optimum, so I refaced it, possibly to about 115 thousands. It plays very loud and very soft, even the bottom notes if the instrument is not leaking. It makes playing the tenor an enjoyable occasion!
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2015-05-20 11:23
While I do play on 7* facings and sometimes 6*, I wouldn't recommend anything that wide for anyone who is planning on doubling on tenor in a more 'Classical' setting as they will demand a lot from the player. So choose a facing of around 4 to 5* and a suitable strength reed for your ability.
.120" and even .115" is a pretty huge tip opening on tenor - my bari mouthpiece has a .120" tip opening (Lawton 7*BB) but I wouldn't ever recommend that for a novice tenor player. And definitely wouldn't ever recommend Berg Larsen mouthpieces with such a built up tone chamber either unless you've had far more experience and know what kind of playing you want to do.
With straight sax playing you want to be able to play over the entire range from pp to ff or more with full tone and control - no call for subtone in this kind of playing.
All too often I hear concert band tenor players with a bad choice of mouthpiece - they usually buy a metal one with a too wide facing that they have no control of, so when playing quietly they're all over the place and sound like they're frying bacon with all the fizzing and cracking going on. While the mouthpiece they chose in the shop was good at that time, it's not really appropriate for the music they're playing in certain situations.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2015-05-20 13:36)
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Author: Wisco99
Date: 2015-05-20 13:11
I used to own a rubber Berg Larsen 95/1, and it is a high baffle mouthpiece meant for projection. If you are looking for a mouthpiece for classical work that would not be a good fit, although it would be great for rock or big band. Since you mention classical or folk and are just starting out a, Selmer soloist or S-80 or mouthpieces of similar makes would be better suited to classical music. Try different mouthpieces because what works for one person may not work for you. I have all kinds of tenor mouthpieces, but the one I practice on is an older Selmer C* Soloist which is easy to control, and sounds great on classical music. It may not work for you, but it is a middle of the road mouthpiece. There is no one size fits all mouthpiece.
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Author: Wisco99
Date: 2015-05-20 13:55
Here is a link for well known sax players and the mouthpiece and reed they use. As you can see there is quite a wide variety. It comes down to what works for you.
http://www.bobrk.com/saxfaq/2.18.html
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2015-05-21 00:44
Hi Hank, sorry for the late reply. My clarinet opening is 1.15-1.20, my German bass opening is 1.40 and my Boehm bass opening is 1.80. Obviously with the Boehm bass I play it differently from clarinet, but on German bass I found I can play it a bit closer to a clarinet to some extent. I am also aware that not one size fits all for mouthpieces, but I'd just like to see what is a good mouthpiece to start with before I go further down the road. Also while I am aware that saxes use a softer reed than clarinets, how soft should I go compared to clarinets?
Josh
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2015-05-21 04:13
Hi Joshua,
You have a lot of excellent advice above. On the reed strength, you need to do just as Chris above said "drop down a 1/2 size" or even see how your current bass clarinet reeds work with any of the MPs you try. If I was shooting in the dark (and based on my many years as a band director) I'd say start at 2 1/2.
Also remember that the clarinet has a cylindrical bore whereas the sax is conical. Without going into a detailed acoustical explanation (others may want to) the effect is it is easy to at least play a low E on clarinet with almost any strength reed whereas on sax, not so easy. That's why some experimentation with the delicate balance between reed, mouthpiece, and embouchure is so important. Only trial and error will give you the final answer as to what works best for you.
Too bad you are so far away as I could send you several MPs to try. But in HK, go to a music store and ask if you can try some of their discard/scrap MPs in a practice room. Have a few different strength reeds and you'll learn a lot. Just play some scales and try to get around the instrument's range.
Best,
Hank
Post Edited (2015-05-21 15:34)
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