Klarinet Archive - Posting 000616.txt from 1995/05

From: John Roman <JohnARoman@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Church gigs
Date: Sun, 21 May 1995 18:46:43 -0400

On Saturday, May 21, in response to my posting Robert Moody wrote:

<<I think we both agree the best solution is to find a way to keep it (the
reed) moist.>>

Robert,

You're absolutely right. However, in some cases a reed will begin to dry if
it's not played continuously. Sometimes this seems to happen more rapidly
than we expect and with disasterous results. We've all been there and I was
not trying to make light of the situation. The points that I was trying to
make (apparently not too successfully) regarding the original posting were
twofold:

1st... If you're apprehensive about whether a reed is going to respond to
what you ask of it at any given time, it may not, simply because you're
apprehensive. It's a mental thing. I try to do everything I can to assure a
good response and then have confidence in my equipment.

and

2nd... It pays to make sure that the reed you're using is one that tends to
be consistently responsive even when it begins to dry. Reed characteristics
do change but not overnight and although different areas of a reed will dry
at different rates thus causing warping, a good reed that has stood the test
of time, played well yesterday, and is properly conditioned will probably dry
fairly evenly and would probably be a better choice under the conditions
described.

John Roman

PS. I hope we're allaying the fears about postings from AOL.