Promenade no. 1; shopping for reeds, lets all talk about 'em :D

'Ello everyone!

I had decided to make this post with the thought of reed shopping in mind. To be honest, I haven't gone off to the music store for a reed for atleast 3 months, I only have 2...slightly....playable traditional vandoren reeds...

and let me tell you, I have had it with those two lonesome reeds! Horrible, the tone is DISGUSTING. Although as I think about it, it might be my fault for my inconsistent practicing...

I've been wanting to try out the 56 rue lepic vandoren reeds for quite some time...probably more than a year I've been waiting for the day I could. But as this day comes I notice...I realize actually that there is a chance there is a diffrence in strength.

Now, the wonderful rue lepics are supposedly made with...I believe it was thicker cane. I use traditional vandorens, size 4, so I'm debating; should I get size 3.5? Or 4? Perhaps I can always go ahead and get 5 3.5s and 5 4's in individual packs to try them out...plus these people on this clarinet bboard are constantly talking about individual packs...

But I'd rather check online...although people say getting individual packs are better...i like 'em in the box :D.

Now, another I've been noticing is the constant argument about what reed a beginner should start with. I think back to those...horrible...nightmarish days of honking and knowing not a thing about the clarinet...ah...memories <3

so anyways, and I think. I had a rico reed put in my clarinet case by the salesman, but mr.a wrote on the board on likke the third day of Band, "RICO=CRAP" [at first I thought it was spanish for crap O_o;], so...I can't remember what I did with it, I played it until my teacher said something [note, my teacher was not stuart at the time]. He gave me traditional vandoreen reeds, I guess I could play, my tone was very ugly though. His brother, of whom was subbing for him [yeah I know subbing is an odd concept in music for teachers, this was at a music store mind you] gave me mitchell lurie reeds instead, saying they'd work better for me...

they did, the tone was too fuzzy...I know now that its purely because of embouchure, ricos [isn't mitchell and ricos like the same?] work ebtter for beginners supposdely....

but...my vandoren traditionals were a match for me made in heaven, why?

Well, on the day of my first seating test my mitchell lurie reed betrayed me and broke. :[. I am almost surprised at the rude comments traditional vandorens get, I guess I'm just used to them and have never realized that it takes FOREVER to find the perfect reed in a box [I've realized that only recently in the passed couple of months]. But I've turned out fine, if not wonderful in terms of tone [OKAY NOT WONDERFUL! My tone still needs alot of work >_>; sure its dark and sometimes has the virtuoso echoe or something at the end...but...its not there yet =D]. I'm also amazed at the amount of work it took for others to get up to vandorens and move to different sizes...

this is basically my span of sizes so far;

size 2.5; october 2004-july 2005
size 3; july 2005-I think january or february 2006
size 3.5; february 2006[[hey thats when my clarinet lessons with stuart started x) AND when I got my E11]-December 2006 [ =D ahh all southern auditions <3 miss it so much :(]
size 3-3.5 [constant switching, feeling uncomfortable]- february 2006- july 2006
size 4; December 2006 to present [july 2007]

Now I still wonder about it, I think I made the wrong choice moving too fast from 3 to 3.5, but I'm consulting whether or not I had 2.5 until like june or may then 3 until august ish, then changed to 3.5....but...well...

I wonder how I moved that first, was it sense of motivation that drove me? That doesn't even make sense...it could have been constant practicing of video game music, but of course that can't be the reason, that wouldn't really develop my embouchure...but it might have helped with endura--no, I had a horrible embouchure in seventh grade, scratch that.

But the reasons from 3.5 to 4?

-LONG TONES
-E-11
-M30 mouth piece, rovner lig

...I think long tones played the biggest percentage.

for students, I'd suggest starting out with mitchell lurie, I'd prefer them more than rico, but please ocnsider vandoren

because isn't EVERYTHING different for every person, persepctives, whatever!? Like the faces of mouth pieces; I had to try...like well what felt like 20 mouth pieces before I got the right one [consulting between that M30 and M13 gave me a real headache...or were they both M30s?]. Playing everything range involved thing I could think of to compare, mutteirng randomness to my mom, "Hmm, the response is better, but I don't like the high notes", my mom fussing over the mouth pieces not being clean even if they were sterilized---

shows we're all different, whatever mouthpiece we have, its individual, whatever reed, let it be vandoren, rico, xilemna, whatever, will give us purely our tone...

SO! OFF TO GET THOSE 56s! I'll just ask for 'em in individual packs xP.

I'll write a review on them, and a little something to my friend chaz, whose birthday is today :)

guess whats going on today besides chaz' bday? GUSTAVO DUDAMEL IS APPEARING WITH THE LA PHIL FOR ZE FIRST TIME! [i think??? iono -_- might be for thenew season]. Isn't that cool chaz? Its like God's musical gift to you :D

but its not from me, that'd be awesome...I'd be worshipped forever and we can all play ravel's bolero just because I'm worshipped and EVERY command must be listened to ^_^ [oh isn't that unproffessional?]

wish me good luck with shopping