Who Died and Made You King?

One of the more troubling things I’ve seen in the music world lately manifests out of nowhere.  It happens whenever I talk to one of my students about reed choices.  Now, if the student is on a decent to good set up I rarely bring up the idea of new equipment (or at least I try to).  But, if the student feels that they’re at an impasse and is interested in trying something new I like to give them all of their options.  I say, “Well there’s these types of Vandoren’s, these types of more boutique reed choices, these types of Rico’s…..” and right there, the student inevitably goes “Rico’s SUCK!!” or “My band director said Rico’s are bad”.  And, inevitably, I start to suffer an aneurism.  More than likely, the student has never tried Rico reeds, ANY Rico reeds.  What is also unfortunate is that a lot of times the person (usually the band director) that gave this student this well-intentioned, but wayward advice ALSO hasn’t tried Rico.  A lot of times, but not always, this is because they were originally a brass player and don’t actually have years of experience playing woodwind instruments.  So, I’m asking the question, who died and made Vandoren the king of all reeds, mouthpieces, and other related music products? Is it because of the number of reed options?

Rico Has:	Vandoren Has:
Rico Reeds Rico Royal Reserve Reserve Classic La Voz Grand Concert Select Grand Concert Select Evolution Mitchell Lurie Mitchell Premium Rico Select Jazz (which for years have been known as Rico Jazz Select, but whatever) Plasticover	Traditional V12 V16 ZZ Java Java Red (A very recent addition versus Rico’s RSJ which always had the filed or unfiled option) 56 Rue Lepic (Specifically Clarinet)

Is it because of artist endorsements?  To boil it down, Rico seems to have more jazz and a fair amount of Bass Clarinetists while Vandoren more classical and definitely more Clarinetists.

Is it because of reed consistency?  Ask anyone that plays Vandoren and they’ll probably tell you that their reeds aren’t the exact same from reed to reed.  In fact, reeds are inconsistent in every brand.  Some vary more than others, but the brand and sizing are estimates; you’re going to find pure consistency issues with just about any brand.  And, if musicians work on their reeds, does that mean the reed manufacturer is good or does it mean that the musician is a good “reed-tweeker”?

Is it innovation?  Rico has just come out with a huge series of products trying to regain their name.  For example: the Rico Ligature, the Rico Cap (almost a Brilhart mouthpiece cap reissue), the H-Ligature (a throw back of the old Harrison ligatures), and the ReedVitalizer humidity packs.  Even if someone uses Vandoren reeds, a lot of times they’re using a Rico ReedVitalizer along with their reed regiment, NOT a blue Vandoren reed holder with a “humidity control” that makes your reeds moldy.

Is it quality of cane?  I can name at least 5 brands that age their cane longer, use more choice cane, and have higher quality control than Rico or Vandoren (Gonzales, Riggotti, Roberto’s, Alexander, Daniel’s).

Is it because Rico (kind of) doesn’t make mouthpieces?  Well, they certainly have not delved into the world of mouthpieces yet.  However, they do have a neck strap that people tend to like.

I guess my big point here is that I find this debate ridiculous (which is why I ironically continued it on this blog).  You use what works.  If a Rico Grand Concert gets you a better sound than a Vandoren 56 Rue Lepic, fine.  Yes, you can take facts about the reed manufacturing process to help in the selection, but the second that someone uses brand recognition to make that decision for them, they’re not thinking about sound.  And, isn’t sound really all we should care about?

Lesson with Jerry Bergonzi

Hi guys! I found a great series of videos that Rico Reeds has put out on YouTube of Jerry Bergonzi.  He's got some great advice and some really cool techniques to improve your saxophone tone, articulation, & embouchure.  This is a set of 14 videos courtesy of Rico Reeds.  They have even more videos on their YouTube channel, some of which you'll see pop up here. #1. Jerry Bergonzi's intro

#2. Jerry Bergonzi explains how to develop a concept of sound

#3. Jerry's comments on Vibrato. I also have a cool post with an exercise that Branford Marsalis uses.

#4. Neck & mouthpiece test for a full sound. Tenor = Concert E, Alto = Concert Ab

#5. Breathing. Personally, I think this video should go first.  No matter what instrument you play, breathing is THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT.  I agree with his insights about the "yogic breath" (Liebman talks about this in his DVD "The Complete Guide to Saxophone Sound Production").  BUT, in my personal opinion, beware of what muscles you're using to move air from your lungs and through the horn.  Some people tend to push too hard with their abdomen and create tension in their throat and hands.  You're body naturally moves air in and out of your lungs, so just allow it do what it does: BREATHE.  Check out this cool book titled The Science of Breath by Yogi Ramacharaka.  This was recommended to Bobby Shew by Jon Faddis and it's what Shew recommends to any trumpet players trying to improve their range.

#6. Jerry talks about relaxing your throat for a good saxophone tone. He says a little bit about what I wrote for video #5.

#7. Articulation Pt. 1 - After attending Jerry Bergonzi's masterclass at Tenor Madness in Iowa, I can tell you that Jerry actually has a fairly strange concept of articulation.  When he's playing fast lines, he says he 'half tongues'.  Although his technique isn't as common among sax players, he makes some very good points about articulation and freeing up his tongue to do as many different things as possible.  His colleague at New England Conservatory and Saxophone legend George Garzone has an opinion completely opposite Bergonzi.  He did a masterclass at Lamont School of Music and explained that he almost NEVER articulates and teaches his students the same.

#8. Articulation Pt. 2

#9. Breaking in reeds - Another tip that might help people out there is putting a date on your reeds.  As soon as I decide to use a reed in my rotation I put that day's date across the back part of the cane.  This lets me know how/if my reeds are holding up, am I going to have to change soon, are my reeds not lasting very long which could hint at a possible change in size, type, or brand, etc.

#10. Reeds & Embouchure - Explanation of his "non-embouchure embouchure"

#11. Reed Adjustment & the Relationship to Your Equipment

#12. Plug for Rico Reeds and their Reedvitalizer. I actually started using these early to mid 2008 and I hated them.  But, I kept using them just to see how they would affect my reeds in the long run.  I have to say after using them now for a couple of years, they are an invaluable tool.  I just use one 73% humidity pouch in a tupperware container for all of my instruments' reeds.  These really do keep your reeds sounding and playing consistent.

#13. The Joy of Playing

#14. Jerry talking about his concept behind saxophone embouchure. There are Italian subtitles to this that cover some of the video screen, but it's still a great tutorial on saxophone embouchure.