Recommended First Upgrade Mouthpieces (Clarinet & Saxophone)

Recommended First Upgrade Mouthpieces (Clarinet & Saxophone)

When a player, often but not always a younger child, begins to play their clarinet or saxophone they (and often also their parents) are faced with an almost completely unknown new world. The shiny instrument and lovely case are inspiring and the entire experience quite mysterious and perhaps a bit daunting but, working largely on trust and perhaps with the help of a knowledgeable teacher, the journey begins. 

The very first 'playing' involves trying to make a noise at all by learning to blowing upon the mouthpiece and reed, later the assembled instrument, and hopefully succeeding reasonably. With a soft reed and a bit of good coaching most players will eventually manage this and be inspired to keep going. 

With a reasonable amount of practice progress usually follows and so does the level of expectation of the player - both on herself / himself and of the equipment being used. The point at which it occurs to a player, or even the teacher involved, that the level of equipment might be an obstacle to future progress varies widely - and often the realisation come too late as frustrations may have begun that end with a player giving up dissatisfied with their tone or ability to control their instrument.

At the risk of being overly prescriptive I would like to make a few suggestions aimed at avoiding this fate and in the process encouraging and inspiring players in their musical efforts.

After many years working as teacher, shop sales advisor and drawing on my personal experience as well there are some easy, 'immediate' recommendations that can be made which may dramatically improve ones playing over even the best of the 'student', usually plastic, mouthpieces that are supplied with most clarinets and saxophones. These recommendations are as close as I can come to be guaranteed to be successful. All the below made of ebonite hard rubber unless stated otherwise. My quick comments follow each listed item.

Try the following for Bb clarinet:

• Vandoren B45 - suited to softer and mid-strength reeds, bright and responsive
• Vandoren M30 - mid-strength reeds, dark and mellow sound
• Portnoy BP02 or BP03 - mid-strength reeds, great projection

For Bass clarinet:

• Vandoren B45 - the all around standard of comparison

 For Alto and Tenor Sax (Classical):

•  Selmer S80 C*, C** or D - the standard of comparison
• Vandoren Optimum AL3 or AL5 - mid-strength reeds, dark and mellow sound
• Rousseau New Classic 5 - great control with a lively sound

For Alto or Tenor Sax (Jazz):

• Meyer 5, 6 or 7 - the absolute standard mouthpiece, warmth and projection 
• Otto Link 5 or 6 - darker and rounder
• D'Addario Reserve Jazz - centred sound and warmth with projection

For Alto Sax (Jazz Metal):

• Yanagisawa 6 or 7 - power with control

For Tenor Sax Jazz (Metal):

• Yanagisawa 6 or 7 - power with control
• Otto Link 6, 6* or 7 - a great 'traditional' jazz sound, favoured by players for decades

Soprano (Classical):

• Selmer S80 C*, C** or D - warm sound with great intonation characteristics

Soprano (Jazz Metal):

• Yanagisawa 6 or 7 - power with control

Any of the above, though different in sound quality (and that is the most important bit after all) are never-the-less considered reliable, tried and trusted and frequently recommended mouthpieces that will improve the tuning characteristics and control of almost any sax, from the cheapest and most cheerful to the finest professional models. I strongly feel that getting onto one of the above at the earliest sensible opportunity (Grade 3 is not too early and it is never too late to improve). 

In my opinion the mouthpiece accounts for at least 80% of the perceived sound with the instrument behaving like a megaphone, amplifying and adding resonance to the tone generated by the mouthpiece.

I have often found myself saying to customers and pupils - if you stay with such deservedly popular mouthpiece choices you cannot make a mistake. You might change your mind years later and you might purchase other options as well to suit your changing tastes - that is called progress - but you won't regret the investment in a good mouthpiece. 

Happy playing.


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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

How Long Should a Reed Last? ( Clarinet and Saxophone)

How Long Should a Clarinet or Saxophone Reed Last?

This question is sure to have occurred to all players of single reed instruments at some point in their playing journey. It must seem at times to be our version of  'How long is a piece of string?' and must surely be a real frustration to beginners, parents and non-players who need or wish to answer what might seem like a straight forward question.

The answer is not easy and a thorough explanation involves many variables, some of which we all would probably not wish to contemplate, i.e. cane is a natural product, we expose it to our acidic saliva and encase the reed under a mouthpiece cap or reed holder where bacteria can easily thrive, etc.

However a few observations and generalisations can be made that may be of some help - 

• Beginners tend to be very hard on their reeds, chipping the tips or breaking them during handling. For best results one should consider changing reeds frequently, perhaps every week
• If a reed has been chipped or split then it is best to through it away
• If a reed has become discoloured with mould or dirt it is unlikely to play its best and should be considered for retirement
• The more frequently you play a reed the shorter its 'life span' 
• A longer practise / playing session will shorten the time any reed will play at its peak 
• Rotating reeds (usually between 3 or 4 at a time) will allow them to recover and extend their useful life - as well as allow for more direct performance comparisons 
• Softer reeds 'give up' more quickly than medium strength and stronger reeds
• Reeds cut with thinner tips to be more immediately playable and more responsive will generally not last as long
• Reeds will not last as long in high humidity conditions
• Reeds change in their resistance with the change of the seasons i.e. a reed that played well in Winter may not play the same in Summer
• Reed performance changes with different altitudes and temperatures - anyone who might have toured or travelled extensively may have experienced this
• If you are a better player and your standard is high you will likely be more selective and critical of your reeds meaning that fewer may meet your expectations
• If you consciously improve your reed handling and storage habits, e.g. by using a storage case or reed holder, you will be able to get better performance from your reeds for longer
• If you learn the skills of reed adjustment, i.e. how to adjust your reeds by clipping the tip and also how, by altering the profile with reed rush, sandpaper, reed knife or finishing tool, you can extend the life of your reeds
• If you knowledgeably save your 'best' reeds for concert performance and are content to do at least some of your practice on reeds of slightly lower quality you will tend to be happier overall

SOME INDIVIDUAL REEDS ARE JUST NOT RIGHT FOR YOU OR YOUR EQUIPMENT- this does not mean that they are not likely to serve someone else well or that the manufacturer is awful or that you are a bad player - TRY SOMETHING ELSE

Every now and then we may find an EXCEPTIONAL REED.  It is almost of mystical status as it seems to make us capable of playing everything better: high notes speak more readily and accurately, low notes are pure and responsive, dynamics come easily, our tone is gorgeous and both we and our audience know it - HOWEVER - it also pays to remember that this is not normal and I suggest a quick read of the following:

An excerpt from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers this: 


Simple Definition of exceptional

• : not usual : unusual or uncommon
• : unusually good : much better than average
   

We are extremely fortunate to live in an age where commercial reed manufactures have, with the aid of computer technology, much research and mass production quality control, succeeded in making such a wide range of finely graded products that have a remarkable consistency. I often say to pupils and also must remind myself that, however frustrated I might become, I am more likely to have contributed to poor reed performance than the manufacturer, i.e. have I 'overplayed' the reed?, have I taken care in handling?, stabilised the moisture content?, kept my reed clean?, asked too much of it during rehearsals? etc. 

At such times it is worth remembering that we players have the responsibility to do our best with what we have available at any point in time and, of course, we can always change our reed - and we can be grateful that we are not brass players who have only their lips to blame!

Have fun.

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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

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