Posted by Wade on October 09, 2003 at 12:06:02:
In Reply to: Good Mouthpieces for Beginners? posted by Keilly on October 05, 2003 at 21:47:23:
Keilly,
I live in a State where money is an issue 100% of the time: Mississippi. The Median income here is something like $16,000 per annum and MANY public school students are from single-parent, multiple-child homes.
While the very low cost of living helps to cushion that low median income level, MSRP for musical equipment is the same from State to State. That means that mouthpieces cost the same for Mississippi parents as for New York parents; you can see our problem here. Right? So I always suggest cheap-but-functional things to classes of beginners, and try for a more tailored fit with private students, who, by and large are more serious and usually not beginners.
With this in mind, I always start a class of beginners with the Blessing 6 1/2 AL for trombone or baritone and the Blessing 18 for tuba.
While these are not great choices, they are good because:
1. Both mouthpieces are very inexpensive, which is very attractive to parents in this community. The costs associated with membership in a school band are a very big burden to many Mississippi families, with not a few kids dropping out because of having a badly broken instrument that can never be repaired due to the cost, which is really unfortunate. Despite what you seem to think (based on the wording of your post) the quality of most inexpensive mouthpieces is very high. The only real variable is the accuracy of the tolerances, not the quality. And in the case of Blessing mouthpieces, at the beginner level, this is okay. I have NEVER seen one of these that had peeling or thin plating, nor have I ever seen one so misshapen by the machinist that it failed to play properly. In fact, I think that Blessing makes very underrated products for the low price that they charge. (But that is an opinion based on my repair experience. You mileage may vary.)
2. Both mouthpieces help the vast majority of 11 year old students produce good tone, intonation, articulation, and slurs. Both mouthpieces give the player fairly decent dynamic control as well. Are they too big for little 11 year old faces? Not in my experience.
Since they are inexpensive and available at every music store in the area, if Jr. loses his, Mom can get a new one on any day of the week after that next paycheck; they are perpetually in stock. This goes a long way with me and many Band Directors. Buy a kid a PT and then see him lose it, and it will be a while before mom can get another one; that is a safe bet with a whole lot of parents these days.
Unlike Chuck Jackson, I personally do have problems with the 24 AW style of rim, though the sound is really quite nice. But if a student shows up to a sectional or masterclass of mine with a 24 AW, I do not say a thing about it unless they are having some sort of problem related directly to the mouthpiece. I have noticed that some kids that start on that particular mouthpiece end up with very weak tonguing skills that show up when moving to a sharper rim profile; maybe the 24 AW hides that? I don't know. Kinda makes me go "hmm . . . "
Anyway, like Chuck, I feel that the mouthpiece is just another piece of equipment that allows the kid to play the horn. It should be cheap, functional, and readily available. These kids that are just starting out need really fine instruction regarding tone production and mouthpiece buzzing, breathing, basic articulation, posture (a constant battle), holding the instrument correctly 100% of the time (also a constant battle), and the understanding that band really is more fun when one gets better through daily practice.
With the limited amount of time you have with them, why spend any time at all wondering about the esoterics of their mouthpieces? Just get them to love to play and practice by being really positive about the instrument and an impeccable example of an instrumentalist. Because, in all, honesty, their little facial muscles will not be able to do too much better with a nicer mouthpiece; not as beginners. Just get them to love to play their horns; get them to love to practice.
As they mature, some of them will clearly benefit from a change of mouthpiece; most will not.
Mouthpieces are not a panacea at this age; positive, aggressive, proactive teaching is; setting very high ensemble musical standards and maintaining them at all costs is; creating an environment where home practice is "cool" and (hopefully) normal is.
This is my 2¢ regarding BEGINNERS; I feel entirely different when it comes to older kids as they diverge into the more- or less-serious categories of players.
This is a good topic, and you ought to post your feelings about this at the end of the school year. I for one would be interested in hearing about your decisions and the reasoning behind them.
Ciao!
Wade "blah, blah, blah" Rackley