71 year old Tenor Luciano Pavarotti lost his battle with cancer today. Of all the opera singers, he was my favorite. In the three Tenors concerts, he out shined the other two. Yahoo News has a link as well.
Author: ericdano
Fixed Downloads
There was a little problem downloading files. That is now fixed. Enjoy!
Jazz-Clarinet new site
Yes, we’ve moved to WordPress. We’ve ditched Slashcode. I think most all of the comments transfered. Some of the lame discussions/comments got dumped. All users have contributor status. So, you can start new discussions and what not. Enjoy!Some of the files are not working yet, like II-V-I patterns for Clarinet. Hopefully soon.
Rubber vs. Wood
Dubya writes “what are the differences in hard rubber vs wood for clarinets? I know plastic is the student model material, but I’ve seen pro stuff in both of the others. Is there a quality difference, or is it more up to preference? What would guide those preferences?”
I can’t think of any “Pro” clarinets that are made of rubber. Never heard of such a thing. There are clarinets that are made of wood, wood and carbon fiber (called Greenline by Buffet), or ABS Resin (Plastic). None of these are rubber. Wood is the way to go. If you live in an area where cracking could be a problem, or are playing in situations where cracking might happen, the wood/carbon fiber is the way to go. Plastic is for student models. Wood simply gives you a better sound, and the cracking potential is very low. So get a wood clarinet.
Clarinet Mouthpieces for a Buffet R 13?
Aaron writes “Hi, my names Aaron and have been playing my clarinet for 6 years. I started on a Buffet E 11 and have finally convinced my mom to get me a R 13. I tried it out with a B 45 but, its a little resistant. Could someone makes any suggestions for good mouthpiece reed combos that would get a me a dark sound. I play mainly classical. If you want to know what I need. I need a reed mouthpiece combo so I can play Percy Grainger’s Molly on the Shore without resistance. Thanks”
There are a number of mouthpieces to try. Fobes, Vandoren, etc, etc. You should go to a local music store and try a bunch out. If you don’t live by one, try the Woodwind/Brasswind. They have a reasonable return policy on mouthpieces.
Leblanc or Selmer – Best clarinet for jazz?
pattern_sound writes “So, im looking into getting a new clarinet. i have it mostly down to between a Leblanc Pete Fountain, and a Selmer Signature. I will be playing jazz, alongside some orchestral and new music type stuff. would the Selmer be more versatile, by less jazzy?”
Totally does not matter what kind of clarinet you play. What you should be looking/listening for is what kind of sound you want to get. If the Selmer is the sound you want, go for it. Same for the LeBlanc. Buffet might even be the clarinet for you.
Vandoren 5JB clarinet mouthpiece and reeds for it
Ken Mills writes “The Vandoren 5JB clarinet mouthpiece, with the side walls filed further apart where they go to the bore, is a hotrod. The Vandoren 2½ reed is not too soft, and the Marca 2 or 2½ are the same style of reed. Now one can go up to double high C. The sound is the most dark in the clarion register and the power is the most so that nobody can stand up to me outdoors unless they play the trumpet. Use it with a large bore clarinet, but it should be sort of a high pitched instrument such as the Selmer, or what is another one? The alto sax is too bright so that we have trouble with treble, except for, of course, Paul Desmond. Get out of my way, because clarinet goes just as low, you sax people.”
the B45?
An anonymous coward writes “Hey,I’ve been reading articles here and I wanted to ask you, is the Vandorem B45 a student mouthpiece? Which reeds do you prefer for playing jazz?”<p>
Not at all. A B45 is a very good mouthpiece. I used one for a couple of years, and I know a few people out there who still do. When you get more into clarinet, some people like to try to find a different sound that the B45 doesn’t lend itself to. A darker sound. A B45 to me is kind of bright, which is good for Jazz playing in my opinion.
Do different type of barrels influence the sound?
Anonymous Coward writes “Hey,
Does a different type of barrel influence or change the sound?? The other day I saw in a site hundreds of different type of barrels and I just wanted to ask you if it really makes a difference. Thanks”
To make a long story short, yes, it does effect your sound. It depends on the player, for some a different barrel changes a lot of things, for some, it doesn’t change hardly anything. Go to a music store that has some barrels and try them.
Jazz Greats Collages
I’ve been making some collages to decorate the hallway in the store that I teach at. With OS X, it’s a piece of cake to generate PDFs of them. Well, that and Adobe’s InDesign.
Adobe Acrobat Reader 6 is required to view these. Enjoy!
Benny Goodman Collage (121.7 KiB, 838 hits)
You do not have permission to download this file. Please either login or create an account first.
- Eddie Daniels Collage (732.6 KiB, 563 hits)
You do not have permission to download this file. Please either login or create an account first.
More to come!