Klarinet Archive - Posting 000509.txt from 1997/03

From: "David C. Blumberg" <reedman@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: reed adjusting
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 08:13:33 -0500

The most exact way to test tip balance is to pass the reed over the tip of
your thumb-nail with virtually no pressure. If the reed gives resistance,
that is the hard area. It is not the thickness of the reed, but varying
density that makes the reed feel unbalanced. I play test - side to side,
then feel w/thumb, adjust, then side to side to make sure that I don't need
to do more. Remember-- You can't add back what you just took off. Any reed
can be made playable, but it is the sound characteristics of the cane that
you should look for. Why adjust a bad sounding (bright, etc) reed due to
bad cane.

>>
>10 playable reeds out of box is fantastic. The only thing different you
>might try is balancing the reed.
>Sometimes one side of the reed has more wood than the other. You can test
>this either by feel or by
>blowing into the mouthpeice favoring one side than the other. Some players
>use a thickness testing
>guage. Sometimes you can judge which side is heavier by holding the reed up
>to a bright light.
>Very often, just balancing the reed eliminates the need for a lot of
>sanding. There are several good
>books on this subject. One that just came out is "PerfectaReed and Beyond"
>by Ben Armato, former
>clarinetist with the Metropolitan Opera. It has many simple techniques that
>I have found work well.
>
>Marty Marks
>.
>
>
David C. Blumberg
Principal Clarinet Riverside Symphonia
reedman@-----.com