Klarinet Archive - Posting 000250.txt from 1997/02

From: Karl Krelove <kkrelove@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Reed Changes
Date: Sat, 8 Feb 1997 18:33:43 -0500

At 08:23 AM 2/7/97 -0500, you wrote:
> I've been playing on V12 3 1/2 reeds now for about two years.
>Recently, however, everytime I would go into my lesson, my professor would
>say, "gee that reed sounds very soft." And so, the next time I bought
>reeds, I bought one box of 3 1/2 and one box of 4. Now, when I try to
>practice or play on the four, I find that either I sound horrible or I get
>terribly dizzy after 10 minutes. How does one go about making the
>transition to a harder reed?
> Thanks for your help.
>
My experience with my own playing and with students over the years is that
if the reed sounds "horrible" or you are seriously uncomfortable playing on
it, it isn't a good reed for your mouthpiece and instrument. Getting "used
to it" may easily start really bad habits as you accommodate a basically
unresponsive setup. Neil alluded to the range of reed stiffness in a box of
reeds that are supposedly all one strength. Especially with Vandorens (see
all the wise cracks in previous threads about "the one good reed in each
box") you may only get one reed (or a couple) straight out of the box that
will work well on your mouthpiece or any other mouthpiece this side of
paradise and the rest will sound horrible and make you dizzy or sound too
thin. With some skill you may be able to adjust more than that so that
they'll play OK, but if you're just popping reeds out of the box and onto
the mouthpiece, your chances are slim of picking the good ones right off
the bat. Try the whole box, and if you can't find any that play
comfortably, then try a half strength up or down.

Karl

   
     Copyright © Woodwind.Org, Inc. All Rights Reserved    Privacy Policy    Contact charette@woodwind.org