Paula Corley Visiting Vandoren in Paris
Hi, I’m Paula Corley. You can probably tell I’m not from Paris. This is my first trip here, and I’m very excited to visit Vandoren. I’ve been a longtime fan of Vandoren-I started on the purple box, a long time ago, and I started on a 2RV. My director that started me on clarinet talked about the importance of having really good equipment right from the start, so, I was very lucky.
Currently, I live in Texas, and I live near Austin. I am a teacher at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, and I also continue to teach high school and junior high students as well. My best piece of advice for a developing player is to get a good mouthpiece and good reeds to start. The truth is, the instrument doesn’t make as much difference, as the mouthpiece and the reed. All of the Vandoren products are good. My favorites, personally, for a student just starting, would be the 5RV Lyre. And the reason I recommend that is because it’s in the middle. And if you look at the chart (the ones that we get in the United States), it’s medium– it’s a good place to start. Probably won’t be your last one, but it’s a good place to start. I also really love the blue box Traditional reeds. They work really well for me in Texas. You can start with a 3 and eventually go to a 3.5. If you live in other parts of the country, you’ll have to consider the humidity, the elevation. I’ve lived in different parts of the country and played rue Lepic. I have played V12 (I like them as well), but currently the blue box work really well for me. Let’s talk about ligatures.
When the M|O came out, I was extremely excited. It’s the best ligature that I’ve ever found. I’ve tried many others with my students, and myself, and hands down it’s my favorite design. I think it allows the reed to vibrate freely, but you still have a good sense of control. I really love the fact that Vandoren offers several different price points. I play the gold-I like the warm sound the gold gives. I also have the silver one-it gives you a lot of zing. And my students usually start on pewter and they love them as well and they work really well.
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