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young student legere questions

Author: Musikat
Date: 2017-05-15 05:45

My son is a beginning clarinet student (first year, been playing since August). He is 10 and in 4th grade. As a clarinet player myself I have been giving him informal lessons and he has progressed quite well for his age. I fairly quickly changed him from Rico to Vandoren Blue box 2s and we both noticed the improved sound. However, they are slightly stiff sometimes and take some adjusting.

Today he asked me about plastic reeds. I have a few Legere 4s I tried a while back but they don't work well for me because I don't find their tone as good as a good cane reed. I have two questions about using these for my son.

1. what are your thoughts on the benefits/drawbacks of letting him use one? I do want him to learn about reeds and their care, etc. He is already doing pretty good, but does have some small chips sometimes. He knows how to make sure they are placed correctly and adjusts them on the mouthpiece until they feel right. Will using a plastic one be counterproductive?

2. Assuming I do let him try one, he plays a Yamaha 4C mouthpiece on a Yamaha student plastic clarinet. What type/strength would you suggest I order for him for the best results? As I mentioned he plays Vandoren blue box 2s. Rico 2s are too soft and buzzy sounding and 2 1/2 Ricos seem a tad hard for him.

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