Klarinet Archive - Posting 000800.txt from 1997/03

From: Bob <laker29@-----.NET>
Subj: Re: reed adjusting
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 12:34:09 -0500

Thanks Jean- Student of Charles Bay!
Please (if you will) contact me personally at <laker29@-----.net> to talk
more about what you & I learned about Reeds!

Sounds like you had (like me) some good teaching on "WORKING WITH REEDS"
that many or our readers could listen to!

I find so many Clarinet Teachers & especially "Band Directors" that KNOW
NOTHING about helping their CLARINET PLAYERS! Therefore their Clarinet
Sections are "sub-standard"....
Thanks also to Fernando (Brazil) for his input!
THIS IS REALLY WHAT THE KLARINET LIST IS FOR!! I hope that everyone out
there will "TRY" (experiment) with these Proven things, and Please Teach
These to your Students NOW! to improve our Students knowledge of helping
their Reeds/Playing!

At 10:00 PM 3/21/97, Jean Stott wrote:
>At 06:58 PM 3/21/97 GMT, you wrote:
>> Bob, I make it with my reeds!!
>> I close the tubes inside the reed puting nail polish on the reed's
>back.
>> The reed life is long and the tone quality is better.
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Fernando Silveira
>> Principal Clarinet - National Symphony - Brazil
>> Chamber Music Professor - Rio de Janeiro Federal University
>>
>>
>>At 16:38 20/03/97 -0600, you wrote: BOB LAKE WROTE:
>>>Cane Reeds are from a plant that is tubulor (full of tubes) I ask you to
>>>wet a "new" reed, and then "BLOW" thru the reed from the BUTT end and
>>>you'll see "LOTS OF AIR BUBBLES"! My "Reed Making" Professor back in l961,
>>>always said you must RUB the REED to seal up those Holes! He also sanded
>>>down the Flat side of the Blank until "Glass smooth" before making the
>>>first cut - using emery paper or very fine sand paper! This Man was Dr.
>>>Jon Moller at Univ. of Mich. I studied with him one year, and was
>>>fortunate to spend many hours on Sat. A.M. working in his office with him
>>>on Reeds!! I have used his techniques ever since! THEY WORK!! My Reeds -
>>>like His - are hard to keep wet, and last for 6 Months! I USE NOW-- VIC
>>>OLIVERIE "TEMPERED" REEDS.. #4 for me! And then I work with them as above!
>>>You might want to try 3, or 3-1/2 ? (#4's are pretty stiff)
>>>
>>>Bob Lake - Edina Band Teacher/Clarinet & Sax Player
>>>Edina Public Schools
>>>Edina, MN <laker29@-----.net>
>>>
>>>
>>>At 10:00 PM 3/19/97, Roger Lewis & Denise Gulliver-Lewis wrote:
>>>>Daniel Paprocki wrote:
>>>>> Denise,
>>>>> I see your point, but what about the time that the reed is being
>>>>> played? I usually will play a reed for 15 to 20 minutes (sometimes
>>>>>longer)
>>>>> before I re-wet it or switch to another reed. Isn't the 2 or 3 minutes of
>>>>> water soaking quite minor compared to the time it's on the mouthpiece in
>>>>> your mouth?
>>>>..................
>>>>
>>>>I had the same question at first. After some thought, this is what I
>>>>came up with.
>>>>When you put the reed in water, it is completely dry. As it dries out
>>>>and needs to be re-soaked, the interior fibres are still wet. We only
>>>>re-wet the outer layers. The interior fibres have soaked up all the
>>>>water they can, and are less likely to absorb large amounts of saliva.
>>>>Therefore, less saliva is absorbed by the reed. This is the only
>>>>semi-scientific reason I can think of. Other explainations are
>>>>welcome. Of course, I could be all wet....
>>>>
>>>>Denise Gulliver-Lewis
>>>>Principal Clarinet
>>>>Elkhart Symphony
> When I was at Ithaca College, in the early 60's, my clarinet professor,
>Charles Bay, taught me to seal off the tubules of the cane, also. The flat
>reed backs were polished glass-smooth on the large-grained paper of the
>Jean-Jean studies; the end of the reed was sealed in a similar manner.
>Wearing of lipstick (or gloss for guys) was encouraged because it sealed the
>cane on the mouth surface of the reed. If a reed was becoming too soft from
>usage, we took a number 2 pencil and carefully deposited graphhite on the
>reed, then rubbed it in. All these actions resulted in reeds that could be
>played a LONG time, and they seemed to be more resonant than untreated
>reeds. I still use this technique - it really works for me! (after being
>required in high school to take all that lipstick off before playing, this
>was a pleasant revelation to me) Last year, one of the guys in a summer
>concert band series was joking about my "war paint", but my reed didn't dry
>out or give out on those hot summer nights in an outdoor band shell... I
>must admit, I've been puzzled by the posts lately that refer to using a reed
>for maybe 20 minutes before changing it. There aren't that many worthy
>reeds in a box anymore... Jean
>>>
>>
>>

   
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