Klarinet Archive - Posting 000324.txt from 1998/01

From: Edinger/Gilman <wde1@-----.com>
Subj: reed closing on the mouthpiece
Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 22:38:59 -0500

I had said I wasn't going to post anymore on this subject (read: "talk
through my hat anymore"), but perhaps, since I was the one who first
suggested that the reed wouldn't close against the tip except when
tonguing, I can offer some newly-found insight (with the aid of Bill
Hausman and others, of course). If I may, an analogy or two may help
with what is intuitively difficult for some of us. Think of a slow
stream of water from a faucet. High-speed photography shows that it is
actually a series of discreet drops, yet the eye sees a stream. Of
course, no one is saying Niagara Falls is a set of drops, but in a
restricted flow, such as a narrow stream of water from a sink (narrow,
remember, not all the way open!), it applies, and the air through a
mouthpiece would be similar. The separation is lost in the flow, so to
speak. Another angle: if the reed didn't close periodically, it
wouldn't vibrate (I'm guessing), the air would just flow by. That's
why, as someone else said, playing with a reed on is so restrictive
compared to just pushing air through a hole. Hope that helps.

Bill E.