I've just finished a clarinet lesson and what an eventful one it was, more than normal anyway. (My clarinet lessons are quite boring)

I was getting a terrible tone out of my clarinet. It's only a Buffet B12 but it works well enough for what I want. Anyway, we were working on my terrible tone but getting nowhere, so about an hour in my teacher suggested testing the clarinet against his own amazingly expensive one, no idea of the make.

We soon realised that the mouthpiece that came with my clarinet was the biggest piece of rubbish you could come across. Playing on his made my tone so much better! I love clarinet now! (After having had some trouble with liking it)

I'm going to go and try out some different mouthpieces and find the one that suits me.

Being a bassoonist i never realised how much a good mouthpiece mattered to the sound you produce!

I'm really rather happy now

Just thought I might share that with you.

Do you have any similar stories/advice for us wannabe clarinettists out there?!

Hmm ... mouthpiece = reed for bassoonists!

I also play a B12, and agree about the stock mpc. I got a very nice vandoren 111 (now discontinued) off ebay, and the difference - especially to the throat notes - was instantaneous.

Warning though - some woodwind players (notably saxophonists) can become obsessed with the 'perfect;' mouthpiece. It don't exist, and trying to find it is an expensive game. Get one you like and can play, and stick with it for a bit.

nick

Actually, I'd say the comparison is more mouthpiece = crook for bassoonists. A good crook can make a massive difference to the sound and ease of playing.

My son plays clarinet, and now plays on a Vandoren B40 which seems to be a very good choice for him. Previously he played on an M30, which was pretty good, but the B40 seems to allow a wider dynamic range.

Chris