Hi.

I haven't been playing the clarinet for very long (since september) but my teacher thinks that it would be good for me to get a new mouthpiece and seeing as christmas is coming up and everything (trying to drop subtle hints)....

At the moment I'm using the one that came with the clarinet so its not very good.

My question is, what sort of thing should I be looking at and what sort of price range? My teacher told me that there was no point in getting a nice clarinet if i had a rubbish mouthpiece, so my plan is to get one soonish and then think about getting a new clarinet maybe for my 18th. Originally the plan was to get a nice violin for the 18th which would take me to grade 8, but unfortuantely I got there quicker than intended.

I'm working on the grade 7 pieces at the moment, so I'm looking for something that would take me to gr8+. (I have no idea how the whole clarinet buying thing works. The only thing i guess I can compare it to is violin bows, and I know that I needed a new and better one to get past gr8, I'm assuming its the same with mouthpieces, but correct me if I'm wrong.)

Thank you,

x

Try lots! There's a lot of good mouthpieces out there, and by far the best way of seeing what suits you best is to try lots, ideally with someone else listening to you as well.

Good grief - how ever have you managed to get to grade 7 standard starting in September?! I'm surprised your embouchure's well enough established to think about a new mouthpiece yet! You must be incredibly gifted.

As Barry says, the best way to choose is to try out different mouthpieces and see which suits you best. Quality of tone is partly down to the mouthpiece, so it's important.

thanks barry for the advice.

BM, I don't know how it happened, I could already play violin/viola/piano so I didn't have to learn anything theorywise, and my teacher says that I've just taken to it really well. And also, just because I'm playing the grade 7 pieces, it doesn't mean that I'm grade 7 standard. I can still only play easy scales

thank you both
x

ok, I went to the shop today and I have the Vandoren 5RV and B45. on approval. Those were the two I loked the best though tbh, all the ones I tred were SO much better than the one I have at the moment.

Any opinions on either of these?

x

They're both good mouthpieces. If I were you, I'd let your teacher listen to you on both and take her advice about the best one for you. The B45 is excellent for classical clarinet, if that's your main interest.

Personally, I've tried both on a Buffet E13 and I much prefer the tone quality of the 5RV (which I've had for years and on my student model too) to the B45 but it is all personal choice. For me the B45 was a less defined sound more "fuzzy" quite good for jazz/blues but for classical I prefered the crisp quality of the 5RV.

Remember it's your feeling which counts. Trust your gut!!!
Dawn

Exactly the experience I had years ago!

The B45 has a much more open tip, so if you use the same reed, it's harder to control and will let more air in. Hence the fuzzy sound.

The 5RV has a narrower tip and much easier to control.

If you find that you're playing a #3 reed with the 5RV, you should use a lower strength - eg #2 or #2.5 reed for the B45. It will sound great!

Steve

Thanks I'll bear that in mind for the future.

Ok, I have decided to get the B45. because overall I thought it made a nicer, rounder sound. It was a close call though.



x

Thanks for letting us know, maya3. I hope you enjoy your new mouthpice for many months to come.

Join the B45 club!

Enjoy!