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Very kind! Thank you!

I thought so too -- thanks for the comments.

Thanks for the input! Interesting-- I was using the Fobes as my go-to, and just recently switched over to the zoom!

Excellent! You can do this!

Pretty sure I was using 3's across the board. It's possible I had 3.5's but more likely 3s. Hope this helps!

​@@queenreed373 Seem right strength numbers for the B40 lyre, that's what I wanted to check.

Festivals are also really nice clarinets - for me they are warmer sounding, can be quite even, have less projection or "ping". I almost bought one once, but I hesitated because I just couldn't get altissimo D - G to be up to pitch without biting. But, whenever I have a chance to try them at a shop, I do - because they usually sound so pretty and warm! No matter what you want to buy, I think you must if at all possible try them first -- there are duds out there of every make and model of every brand of clarinet. You want one that sings for you, regardless of what brand/make/model it is. Happy shopping!

Good question -- you absolutely do not need the Eb lever. It's fun to have, but there is always a way to sneak the pinkies around to make-do without the alternate Eb. On Bass clarinet -- that's a different story -- we need that lever (alternate low Ab) because of the added world of pinky crossings that occur since BCL's go to low Eb, and lower!

@@queenreed373 Thank you very much! You’ve been most helpful:)

Glad you like it - hope it's helpful!

You make such a good point. It would be so wonderful (for my sanity and my wallet) if all 10 in a box were essentially equal! Vandoren is making synthetic reeds now - maybe that's the ticket?!

Great question. Yes, we do need to put more pressure on the reed to get high notes to come out than we need to get low notes to come out. I find that there's a spot on the reed, about half-way down, that if I exert a little forward pressure from my lower jaw (moving it forward like a bulldog) into the reed, high notes can be activated. This is less like biting/chomping down and more like jutting my lower jaw a bit forward. A tiny tiny bit. So, without being able to see how you are positioning the clarinet, my first recommendations would be 1) put more mouthpiece in the mouth and see if this helps - you know it's too much if you start squeaking on everything and/or 2) take your lower jaw and move it forward slightly into the reed to help activate the high notes. There is, though, a certain baseline amount of pressure we need to exert from lips/jaw in order to get the full range of the clarinet to speak. If you're biting too much, you won't be able to execute big leaps very well and your tone will feel and sound stifled -- and double-lip embouchure will feel quite uncomfortable because your teeth will be digging into your lips. Hope this helps!

@@queenreed373 Thanks!

Excellent -- Slow, methodical practice works!

I like them! Warm sound, beautiful in the higher register. For me, they play on the flat side, so either I would use my non-13 series mouthpieces, or would end up using a tighter embouchure than I really want to use. The Festivals win the Prestiges on mellow warmth, but the Prestiges win over the Festivals on Rich, powerful, woody-ness for me!

I was using my B40Lyre - American pitch (13 series). I still have that particular mouthpiece, but I wore it out -- the edges were no longer "edgy" and it started to get unpredictable with pitch and color in my upper range. I have another B40Lyre that I use, but I also like the B40 (no lyre), though they have less color in the lower range for me.

excellent! It's so important to go with sound and feel when we play -- it needs to be comfortable in order to sing!

For me Fobes is 100% freer blowing. The Buffet is most resistant for me and the zoom is right in between. I'm not certain off hand what the bore sizes are -- and I suspect that is proprietary info that perhaps companies like to keep to themselves. BUT, I know that with the right tools, one can measure the bores -- and look for tiny differences in taper throughout (they aren't just a perfect cylindrical shaft from top to bottom of barrel). Also, you can always peer inside the clarinet, through both the top and bottom of the horn, to see if there are any "shelves" where the barrel is either narrower or wider than the top joint. Different models of clarinets may produce bigger or smaller shelves with different barrels. With the free-blowing nature of the Fobes, I personally lose a little focus and depth up high. For me, it's always a set of compromises -- free blowing, ease of play means I have to work harder on tone quality in certain areas.

@@queenreed373 thanks for the detailed response. Helps a lot. Have you tried any Backun barrels? Curious to how they compare to Fobes.

@@shutup_m8468 Yes I have a couple of Backun barrels -- There's a lot to like -- they can even out the sound among registers really nicely, and are usually very free blowing, but for me they get a little "tubby" sounding -- like not enough woody richness. That's another compromise I find happens a lot with equipment -- whenever I am trying to optimize even sound across the range, it comes at the expense of richness and depth. . .so that the sound almost takes on a "plastic" or "toy" sound.

@@queenreed373 I’m deciding between a Fobes Cocobolo barrel and a Backun Moba Cocobolo. I’m looking for a nice warm dark sound but with good projection and free blowing. What would you recommend?

@@shutup_m8468 well I do love my Fobes so that's the route I might go, but if you have the means and time, it's always good to play them side by side. Both of those barrels will have a warm, dark sound and good projection -- so test the intonation to break the tie!

hmmm, that sounds to me like the lip muscles are not used to the more circular shape (like a drawstring bag around the mouthpiece) that we have to make when we do a double-lip embouchure. That quivery, shakiness could be muscles trying to do what you are telling them to do -- sometimes it takes a couple of weeks for your brain to successfully send an efficient signal to your lip muscles. How to fix? Stick with it the way we might approach something like weight lifting -- 3 minutes of double lip today, 4 minutes tomorrow, 5 minutes the next day, etc. After about 2 weeks, I would want to see a marked difference in the shakiness.

How cool that you got it going!! Congrats! Going flat is par for the course at the beginning. Make sure you aren't concentrating so much on the flutter, that you lose embouchure pressure, and/or air pressure/air velocity. Also, keep your air speed up really high whenever you flutter--- higher speed than normal, because the fluttering tongue creates a lot of obstruction for the air to get around-- and keep your embouchure tight like a drawstring bag. If you do your clarinet embouchure and blow on your palm as though you're playing your clarinet with just your normal air speed, and then you blow with the flutter going, you'll see how much the air slows down against your palm with flutter. Also, you might need to take more mouthpiece in if tightening up the embouchure results in less air getting through the mouthpiece. Keep at it -- it gets easier and easier and the pitch will get where it needs to be if you keep focusing on air speed and embouchure firmness.

It probably wont work as well since saxes don’t have tone holes they have keys

it’s possible, just a lot harder. also clarinet has special overtones

​@@imauz1127yes it is possible I can do it on the tenor sax but not without squeaking a bit. Its really hard

Good question. If you are sticking with Buffet, I believe they designed the Tosca with more ergonomics in mind (same with the Divine). Remember for at least the LH C# pinky key, you can have a repair person bend the key to be closer to where your pinky likes to land. A good repair person can help with ring height, and a small amount of tweaking other key angles throughout the clarinet. The main deal though is that clarinets are factory-made, so tone hole distances, sizes, key sizes and installation are all pretty standardized. For what it's worth, I've tried a few Backun's and they feel different under the hands -- maybe would feel more ergonomic to your hands. Happy Clarinet Hunting!

@@queenreed373 Thank you so much for replying my message. I really appreciate it. Well, I will check the models you talked about carefully.

I can't remember! And I should have mentioned it in the video to begin with. I think it's in A minor, and I probably grabbed something close by which means any etude or solo from clarinet lit, flute lit, or sax lit! Community -- can you help out?

That sounds really frustrating. Remember that we do have to have some pressure to make the reed work -- and that it would be normal to get tired half way through a piece if you're trying to do something new with your embouchure! It may help to think of your embouchure like a drawstring bag -- equal pressure on all sides from your lips to the mouthpiece - that might help the muscles not get fatigued so fast. Happy Practicing!

Thank you so much! I never thought to think of it like a drawstring bag! Not I can finally play in peace knowing I don't have to worry about biting!

Hi Dmitry -- my second octave C is okay! I don't have terribly long fingers and I reach it just fine. Also the action has what feels like an appropriate amount of down-action.

@@queenreed373 thank you!