londonhusker

deleted

crowmadic

thanks to all....keep'em coming

rowuk

I think this is an interesting way for a teacher or music store to find a good match for a student. The problem is, if you buy all the combinations, you have a serious investment in things that you don't need and can't really resell.
When I play gigs with various horns, I do not have time to unscrew rims or backbore. I need a mouthpiece on each horn.
I wouldn't make the investment unless I was making serious money as a chop doctor! At that point, I would have enough experience to recommend without the collection.
Most Useful: School Band / Music store for loan or rent until the "right" mouthpiece is chosen. Is it worth it? IMHO, no.
How do I choose mouthpieces? My students start with a 7C or the 14B that comes with the Yamaha instruments. If they get a reasonable sound and make reasonable progress, I keep them on that for a year.
If their playing takes off and preference is classically oriented, we go for a bigger piece. If they are into music where high range could be a real issue, the 7C/14B is still OK. When they have reached a point where the preferences become stabilized, we look at the bigger picture.
I avoid the Holy Grail Syndrome that plagues many fine players. That is the biggest problem with a big playground! The search for the perfect mouthpiece often causes more problems than were present on the old piece! My firm belief (barring pure ignorance in choice) is that the mouthpiece cannot solve ANY playing problems, it can only make what you need to do more comfortable.

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.