 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2019-12-28 21:38
Sometimes I think various players have so many mouthpieces is because they found something lacking in their current mouthpiece that they have been playing with for several years.
Several refacers offer this service at differing prices.
Is your mouthpiece's sound and playability exactly the way you want it to be?
If you thought that optimizing your current mouthpiece would improve it in certain aspects that is important to you, what distinctive features would you want improved? What sound or playability characteristics would you like to see enhanced?
Thank you for your responses.
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Author: DaphnisetChloe
Date: 2019-12-29 03:10
As someone who likes to play a moderately resistant setup to achieve a good medium between a covered sound and projection, I find it is hard to find reeds for my mouthpiece that simultaneously allow me to put a lot of air through the instrument without getting some fuzz in the sound at pianissimo. I have had this issue with many other mouthpieces in that they are only designed to produce a completely pure sound with soft reeds, which then results in a thin and edgy sound at forte. So I would like my mouthpiece to produce a clearer, cleaner, purer sound, without the pay off of less resistance and an inferior tone (for my tastes).
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2019-12-29 03:23
Hi DaphnisetChloe, would you let us know the make and model of your mouthpiece? Also, what brand of reed and strength are you using?
Thanks.
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2019-12-29 11:12
Hi James,
Well, I emailed two clarinet mouthpiece refacers concerning your problem and, as of yet, have not heard from either of them.
So, allow me to try and reason this out with you. You stated that this always happens with different mouthpieces using different reed combinations. You sound like an experienced player so I sense that you know the difference between a fuzzy sound and a hissing sound. As I understand it, a hissing sound is produced at pianissimo whenever the reed is simply too far from the mouthpiece tip rail which could possibly indicate an embouchure problem.
This, however, is not the case because you stated you are hearing a fuzzy sound at pianissimo. I did some reading on fuzzy sounds and, quite possibly, you may actually be having this fuzzy sound all the time and cannot hear it due to the louder tones greater than pianissimo thereby masking the fuzzy sound. Again, from my readings, a fuzzy sound is usually indicative of a bad pad. I would suggest carefully inspecting the pads in the upper portion of the top section of your clarinet. I may be wrong, however, I strongly suspect that you simply have a bad pad. I also suggest doing an air leak test of the upper section. It should seal perfectly like a "Coke" bottle, meaning absolutely air tight.
I hope this helps you.
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Author: DaphnisetChloe
Date: 2019-12-29 13:05
Your word for it is hissing. I always described it as fuzzy. I'm a freelance player and my pads are all in fine condition. I'm talking about just at the softest dynamics. If one bites on the reed and mouthpiece it eliminates this 'hiss' but then one will play sharp which is unacceptable. I can find reeds that work which do not have this problem and aren't too soft however it's a case of 2-3 reeds in a box of 10. So ultimately, designing a more reed friendly mouthpiece is necessary.
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Author: fernie121
Date: 2019-12-29 20:12
If you can not play ppp with a clear and beautiful tone and fff with a clear and beautiful tone, than something is wrong. First thing is to learn to balance your reeds. If your reeds are not balanced, it’s impossible to fully control without biting. Than you might want to look at the mouthpiece.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-12-29 23:50
There is a balancing act (as I describe it) between embouchure control (pressure if you prefer) versus the amount of air pressure (or pushing with your abdominals). The best way to appreciate (or train for) this difference is a long tone exercise prescribed to me by Clark Brody. You begin just blowing past the reed (no musical tone) but firm up your embouchure (as air is moving) until you just barely grab the softest sound you can produce (almost inaudible). Then you increase by degree (eight dynamic levels in all), counting to 8 which will be as loud as you can possibly play (usu. at about 54 beats per minute), then go back down another 8 counts fading away to nothing (fade so YOU don't even know if the note has stopped or not).
This sort of long tone exercise should open up awareness of what the ratio of "lip to air pressure" is at any given volume. It also illustrates clearly that there IS a "lip to air pressure" ratio.
You should be able to establish a clear, ringing, controlled sound AT EVERY VOLUME LEVEL. If not, you need more or less of one of these components to the other (if that makes any sense).
Ok, here is a video of Stephen Williamson of the Chicago Symphony giving an example of an extreme soft exercise (starting at 3:50) that illustrates the SOFT side of the equation. Notice he's pretty exhausted at the end........he's working quite hard throughout!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4teoC3OnEg
...................Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2019-12-30 00:03)
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2019-12-30 02:54
I think I may have found the answer and I believe fernie121's response pretty much hits the nail on the head.
From 08/14/19 to 12/29/19, a significant change in the climate (or weather) took place. According to the following article, under the section "When reeds do not respond easily or the sound is fuzzy", it states that changes in humidity can cause..."a fuzzy noise accompanying your pianissimo." Why? Changes in humidity cause reed tips to become thicker and stiffer.
For a more, complete explanation as to why climate changes produce a fuzzy sound in pianissimo, please read:
https://www.foglietta.de/com/clarinet-reeds/playing-in.htm
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2019-12-30 06:44
My 2 cents is I went through the usual experimenting with a ton of mouthpieces in my early years, particularly while in University. Settles on the Van Doren V360 and used that for about 25 years (still have it as my spare--they are not made anymore). Switched to the Van D. 5RV around 2000 and continue with that today.
I use Van D. 2 1/2 reeds.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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