Standard Ligatures and Student Ligatures

UTEP Horn Guy

UTEP Horn Guy

Hi everyone.

I would first like to say how VERY INFORMATIVE this forum is. I really enjoy reading these threads!

I guess I'll lay this out... I'm NOT a woodwind player. I play trombone. BUT! I'm very interested in learning about woodwinds (in this case, ligatures). Mainly because I'm a music major who's on the verge of graduating and I feel... well, unprepared to go into the teaching world with what knowledge I know.... or lack of knowledge. So if you can please help a fellow who's willing to learn I'd be more than appreciative.

What are some good ligatures for the beginning student and for the average joe?
 
Welcome UTEP horn guy

for students (such as my son) I found that a simple single screw ligature makes one more thing easier for them. The "de facto" standard of this is from a company called Rovner, such as here
http://www.rovnerproducts.com/ligatures.htm#dark

It's simply to install and remove and low cost. There are many copies out there and for simplicity they are all about the same.


by the way, what mouthpiece(s) do you play on and what brand * model of trombone ?
 
I also heard that Bonade was a good choice too. Any other brands to look out for?

As for my weapons, I currently play a Getzen 3047AF Custom Tenor with a Schilke D5.1* mouthpiece. I tweaked my horn a bit by changing the tuning slide in replace with an Edwards single radius rose brass. I also had an Edwards T2 silver 'Kitzman' leadpipe, but I had to return it to my friend :-/ I also play on a Getzen 3062AF Custom Bass (non-tweaked) with a Schilke 59 mouthpiece.
 
UTEP: There have been some recent discussions here about ligatures. Many of us favor the metal two-band/two-screw ligs. My favorite is Selmer's stock metal lig. I don't think it matters at what level a player is playing - good ligs are good ligs.

I have a lot of the others (various Rovners, Bonade, Vandoren Optimum, etc.), but I use the Selmers for my performing instruments (sop sax, alto sax, clarinet). The two-screw ligs aren't that much more difficult than any of the single-screw ligs, in my opinion. A critical issue is making sure the lig fits whatever mouthpiece is being used. DAVE
 
One other thing I noticed about ligatures is how you put one on. My instructor placed his with the screws facing in front of the horn, yet the students [including myself] placed our ligatures with the screws behind the horn. How does this affect the sound? And should I look out for one?
 
Some ligatures are made to screw at the top and some are made to screw at the bottom. I think the general rule of thumb is that the screws are on the right side.

Selmer and Bonade make nice screw type metal ligatures for sax and clarinet. The Bonade ligatures come in two styles - standard (screws on the bottom) and inverted (screws on the top).
 
Specifically, my Bonades for soprano saxophone have two lengthwise ridges inside the lig. The ridges go against the reed. One Bonade lig has the ridges so the screws are on top of the mouthpiece, while the other has the ridges so the screws are underneath the mouthpiece.

I noticed no difference with either lig.

I have experimented with regular Selmer ligs with the screw up or down and it made no difference. I've found that any changes in one's set-up (mouthpiece, reed, lig) are more influenced by the quality of the reed one uses than any other factor (assuming of course, that mouthpiece is the best you can find). Another important factor is the acoustics of the room where you are testing such things.

So, screws up, screws down, mox nix. DAVE
 
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