Klarinet Archive - Posting 000645.txt from 1995/10

From: niethamer@-----.BITNET
Subj: Re: Reed Prep
Date: Sat, 21 Oct 1995 23:59:58 -0400

On Fri, 13 Oct 1995, Anne M. Schnack wrote:

> I've been getting my clarinet professor excited about this list, but
> she hasn't figured out how to access it from her e-mail account at
> the University of Iowa. Does anyone have any ideas on how she might
> access it?

Send the message "subscribe klarinet her_name" (without the quotes, and
with her name in that place) to:

Listserv@-----.bitnet

or

Listserv%vccscent.bitnet@-----.edu

> Secondly, she held a reed class for us this morning, and thought it
> would be interesting to hear everyone's methods for preparing their
> reeds. So... what are the methods out there?

Jay Winick wrote the following:

> I have found V12's to be good if the following is done:
>
> 1. Open the box as soon as you buy it. I try to use them about three to
> six months after opening. This includes taking all the reeds out of the
> box, and leaving them on a flat surface, face down. This can help with
> the "environmentally friendly" green reeds.
>
> 2. Soaking vs. not soaking: I don't know which is the right thing to do,
> but I've found not soaking them gives me a truer indication of reed
> quality.

In my experience it depends on the climate where you live. In cold, dry
upstate NY, keeping the reeds moisturized was a priority, especially in
winter. In hot muggy Richmond, letting the reeds dry as much as they can
(in 90% humidity) is more useful to avoid mold. Soaking in water is a
help if you're going through a box all at one sitting, and it does help
to "rinse" a reed before putting it away, but only for a very short time.
After this "final rinse", I flatten the back of the reed on a sheet of
plain paper. this 1.) seems to help the reed dry more slowly and evenly,
and thus not warp, and 2.) makes it easier to position the reed the next
time. If your reed has the impression of the window on the flat side, it
can feel stuffy, or have that annoying chirp from not sealing on the mpc.

Glenn Bowen, in his monograph on reed adjustment, pokes fun at the myth
of soaking in water to avoid soaking up one's saliva by pointing out that
once the reed is in your mouth, you can't very well avoid contact with
that saliva.

> 3. Goes easy -- it's my first time. Easy blowing, and minor reshaping
> seems to make them last longer, and with better results

Amen. 5-10 minutes a day for a week, and if you can't figure out how to
balance it, put it away and try tomorrow.

> 4. Repeat step three several times. A long break in really helps (if you
> have the patience).

For whatever reason, I have found this to be true with the reeds I make
as well. A week's break-in seems to work well for me.

> 5. Buy 'em hard. It is impossible to make a reed hard (sorry to all the
> clippers, but they never work great) but easy enough to soften them. The
> advice I was given was to imagine a diamond shape on the reed, work from
> the back of the reed forward, towards the outside. This has given me the
> greatest success with turning hard reeds into good, long lasting,
> dynamically responsive ones.

Clippers, even the best, *crush* the reed fibre, and cause it to sound
brittle/harsh. When I make a reed, I carefully hand sand the tip to
conform to my mouthpiece tip, which is not totally symetrical.

I make my reeds a bit hard on my ReeDuAl (yes, I cheat!), and once they
break in, they last a long time.

Lastly, my favorite reed book is "The ReedMate Reed Guide" by George T.
Kirck. It is available from GTK at P.O. Box 1217, Westbrook, Maine 04092
(207) 797-0857.

=========================
David Niethamer
niethamer@-----.edu
dbnclar1@-----.com
=========================