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Re: Optimization

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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