Reeds and Mouthpieces
I don’t know if that will help but I have to tell about…
First I have to say that I am french, so please forgive the mistakes I could make in english.
I played clarinet for almost 30 years. I studied classical music. I have always been said to use an open mouthpiece (like Vandoren B40 or B45 or A2) with the stronger reeds I can blow with (3 1/2 in my case).
Recently, I had some mail exchange with famous mouthpieces maker Pomarico. He makes crystal mouthpieces. I asked him about the mouthpiece used by Giora Feidman, one of his renowned customers. He is no jazzman, even if he plays sometimes some, he plays essentially Klezmer music. But he has a very bright sound and uses lots of bends and other “jazzy stuff”. Giora himself answered me that he uses a very closed mouthpiece (the Vandoren equivalent is M15 I think) with 1 1/2 reeds !
What a shock! I always thought that to play jazz I had to use an very open mouthpiece and softer reeds. I couldn’t believe it so I decided to try that combination.
I took my old 5RVLyre (moderatly closed tip generaly used here in France for beginners) and a 1 1/2 reed I bought for my 5JB mpc. All I can say is “Whoa!” What an experience! I could do all I wanted at all heights, all bends, glissandis, klemerish sounds … EFFORTLESSLY!
Try it yourself and you’ll see … or more exactly, you’ll feel and hear.
The conclusion, for myself, is that:
Don’t listen to advices about mouthpieces and reeds you should use, given by people that don’t know you and your playing style. Try, without any a priori, different mpcs and reeds combinations until you find the one that fits you best. And even at that, it’s always a good thing to experiment, you could be surprised.
Great contribution. Thanks!
I am a”multireed musician” from Finland. I have not much experience about different clarinet mouthpieces. My teacher,Kari Kriikku told me to buy Selmer C85 120, and I have used it already about 25 years. I feel it´s possible to play jazz and classical using same mouthpiece. I should say, If you can get good classical sound, you will be able to pay jazz too with that same setup. But if you are looking for kind of Ache Bilk-sound I suggest to take up soft reed and open mouthpiece. Styles of Benny,Artie,Buddy and Eddie are bossible to play with Selmer C85, or mouthpieces alike.
Arto
E: I edited out some spelling mistakes and whatnot
sure you can use the same mouthpiece for jazz and classical, but using a different mouthpiece for one or the other can help open doors that using the same mouthpiece couldnt do
It´s very Interesting, I did combinations like this too. Now, in this moment , I use the Vandoren A3 mouthpiece and for me it´s an excelent mouthpiece. The sound is great for JAzz and classical music (in my Think).Somebody here have or had this mouthpiece?
Thiago
yes, i use it for about 10 years, and it is indeed a best choice for any style, that is, for me. it is kind-of demaninding on reeds though. for that i have tried a lot of different mouthpieces since, but none has fully satisfyed me.
Hi!
Me again…
Such an open mpc for classical music?!
After experimentating some time, I now play with only two combinations.
NB I am 1rst and solo clarinet in a orchestra (Wind instruments) We play a lot of Rocky-Jazzy music and musics from movies, but sometimes pure classical music (Strauss, Shostakovitch…) I also play myself Jazz and Klezmer.
For “classical”: Vandoren M15 with Leather or Optimum ligature and Vandoren 56rue Lepic 2,5 reeds (very very good reeds!).
For “jazzy”: Vandoren 5JB (or sometimes Runyon Custom Jazz #3 with spoiler)with Optimum ligature and Vandoren 1,5 reeds.
I use soft reeds because I can more easily do what I want with my sound (Doyts, bends, slurs, fall, drops, glissandis…) The counterpart is that you must have a very good technique to play in tune and control your sound, so it’s absolutely not for a beginner.
I wish Vandoren had reeds like Java or ZZ or V16 for clarinet. They could be good.
I never tested other reeds than Vandoren’s.
I also tried Pomarico Crystal Emerald Mellow with Pomarico light ligature but I found that I didn’t have enough power. It’s a good mpc but I think it’s a mpc better suited for playing in a chamber orchestra.
I play clarinet with a Buddy de Franco mouthpiece and have a Rico Royal reed. That is good for playing with microphone but when I have to play a capella in the senior citizen home it sounds very bad. Is somebody able to give me tipp which reed is best for playing alone without microphone?
Thanks for help
Ok, now, unless you spent a lot of money on a flat response microphone, the mic is probably coloring the signal. Most mics, like Shure 58s, etc, have bumps in certain frequency ranges. Generally, this is a good thing. For vocals, the bump might be good. For clarinet, probably NOT.
The best way is really to get a sound you like WITHOUT a microphone. So, if you aren’t liking the sound in the senior home, then you probably need to figure out why. There is probably something deeper wrong.
Thank you for help Rainer
@Rainer –
I agree with ericdano. Find a sound you like WITHOUT the microphone.
Yes indeed. Get a sound you like first. Microphones are soo varied that they can easily make you sound totally different (ie: using a SM57 then a AKGC414).
ok so iv’e been playing clarinet and bass clarinet for 5 or 6 years now but at my school my director doesn’t teach how to play jazz on clarinet and no one around my area teaches it so does anyone know were i can get a book on how to learn or a cd or something that can help me?
You might want to check out this
http://www.jazz-clarinet.com/?p=22
Or perhaps submit a new article asking the question
I’ve been playing the same mouthpiece set up for over thirty years. I have an old Frank Wells that I use with #4 Vandoren Reeds. I have an Kaspar (Cicero) and an old O’Brian Crystal as spares. This set up has been great for me in all situations: Jazz, Classical, lead in a big band…
I have been curious about new equipment because there are so many great choices that you can make these days in a custom mouthpiece but for one reason or another I have always gone back to my original set up.