A Ligature Discussion - Clarinet and Saxophone

Ligatures in General

As an extra or upgrade 'add-on' for players the ligature has been a point of much discussion and debate for decades. Many different designs and materials have vied for attention and aspired to commercial success with what sometimes seem an endless parade of marketing in support the claims of better performance, tone colour, responsiveness, etc. This blog posting is my take on the subject.

 

The job of the ligature is to hold the reed securely in position on the mouthpiece. Everything follows from this. 

 

 

While many inexpensive ligatures are perfectly adequate there are also far too many that are of such poor manufacture quality or fit that performance problems are bound to occur leading to player dissatisfaction. Any metal ligature that is the wrong size, has become damaged or bent, or is not able to be tightened fully, should be replaced.

The possible upgrade ligature options fall largely into two categories:

• those designed to alter the natural sound by absorbing vibrations (to varying degrees) and 
• those that seek to affect the vibrations of the reed and mouthpiece (and hence the sound) as little as possible.

Many teachers and players know and recommend the Rovner flexible fabric range as a result of decades of familiarity and the standard, custom and light Rovner options fall into the first category. The Custom version, having additional material, absorbs more vibration and creates a darker sound; the Light version with the window cut away, absorbs less vibration and therefore has reduced a darkening effect. The Rovner standard (original) is the best known and the most often recommended as it suited to many playing styles and is the original and most familiar. Players perceive all of them as allowing the reed to play better – i.e. improved articulation response and reed sensitivity - over the performance of a standard metal ligature, the type supplied with most student clarinets and saxophones, and against which most comparisons are made. Every player should take time as some stage in their maturation to experience such products. Other manufacturer’s products falling into this broad first category include the Vandoren Leather and Classic string ligatures, BG standard flexible versions and Silverstein string ligatures.

In the second category are ligatures that rely on a small metal contact points to engage the reed. These are usually intended to allow the reed to vibrate as freely as possible and often seek as well to provide a greater security of contact between the reed and mouthpiece. All of these types of ligatures have the effect of increasing the presence of higher partial overtones in the tone, therefore sounding brighter, and aiding the responsiveness of the reed vibration as well as increasing the perceived volume of sound to be achieved with the same effort. Some versions are engineered to have as little contact as possible with the mouthpiece as well to further release vibration therefore maximising brightness (Francois Louis, Vandoren Masters Optimum, SAXXAS, Bonade, Rico H for example), others with much greater mass and increased contact with the mouthpiece are intended to add stability for a greater roundness of sound (Vandoren Optimum, Rovner Platinum, BG Super Revelation for example).

Some plastic ligature options are also worth considering, especially for the player who has ‘tried everything else’. Luyben and Bois with their dramatically different designs are cases in point and worthy of consideration.

 

How do I make a choice?

When you are trying ligatures is a good idea to make sure that you are using a new or ‘newish’ quality reed of sufficient strength (an older reed is likely to disappoint or make discrimination difficult and a too soft reed will disguise all benefits) and then  you should play the same scale, same volume, both legato and staccato, on each option under consideration, without spending too long on any one because it is the comparison BETWEEN ligatures is most important – they will all work - and one can easily lose track of what each plays like if too much time is spent.

A good ligature can be as important to a player as their choice of mouthpiece and it is worth taking time to discover the difference that can be made.

Apologies to any manufacturer whose products have not been mentioned by name. I am aware that despite my efforts there will be many omissions and, of course, new products are continually being introduced. I would encourage all players to be open minded and try the options available as widely  as is reasonable for them to do. It is not unusual to own and use a number of different ligatures for different purposes and to fit different mouthpieces.

Further comments:

How much should a ligature be tightened?

            Finger tight is the short answer. Too tight and the reed fibres are damaged and the reed’s vibration is strangled – too loose and the reed more likely to move or begin to warp and then  will not hold a vacuum.

Are most of the brands available for metal mouthpieces?

            Yes, but some metal ones have to be very carefully sized for fit. There can be more confidence and ease in offering flexible ligatures in cases of unusual dimension or shapes.

Personal opinion:

The ligature is the ‘icing on the cake’ and reflects a player's personal preferences and playing concepts. In my estimation the ligature is responsible for approximately 3-5% of the overall sound generated. It has a bigger impact upon ‘playing feel’ and reed response than tone quality itself.

In my opinion the mouthpiece, and very importantly its reed match, is far more important. My estimate is that together they are responsible for up to 70% of the overall sound generated. Getting this combination right will have a huge impact upon tone.

The combination of the above leaves just over 20% effect upon sound from the instrument itself.

These conclusions are not meant to suggest that the ligature or the instrument used is not important, far from it, but they should indicate the relative importance of the mouthpiece and reed working well together. As long as the ligature does its job - holding the reed in proper position - results will follow. It is in the subtleties of the result that the interest for the player really lies.

-----------------

The tips and comments above are the result of many years of providing help and advice, my personal interest and study, and the teaching that I have done during my career. I have many colleagues and teachers to thank for sharing their thoughts and suggestions on this and other topics. In addition I am indebted to Woodwind & Reed, Cambridge ( www.wwr.co.uk ) where, in the course of helping customers, many of these concepts have been refined and have proven helpful.

Thomas Dryer-Beers