Klarinet Archive - Posting 000109.txt from 1998/02

From: Roger Garrett <rgarrett@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: BREAKING IN REEDS by DANIEL BONADE (part 3)
Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 14:29:55 -0500

On Mon, 2 Feb 1998, avrahm galper wrote:
> Breaking in Reeds by DANIEL BONADE (part 3)
>
> Two important points, however, should be made: do not use a knife or
> razor blade to scrape the reed, and do not scrape a reed in the center.

Oh boy.....there goes David Shifrin's, Herbert Blaymans, Lawrie Bloom's,
etc etc's techniques!

> A clarinet reed is not shaped like an oboe or bassoon reed.
> Scraping a reed with a knife, as double reed players do, makes ridges in
> a clarinet reed (line along which the reed bends abruptly), which is a
> serious defect.

Well....unless one uses a really sharp knife.....which many of us do!

> One concluding point: a reed that is too soft on the left side will not
> vibrate well, whereas the reverse will not affect its performance.
> This is caused by the Right hand's twisting the instrument slightly,
> with the result that the Left side of the reed is pressed harder against
> the lip.

After all those hours of balancing the reed.....and I find out now that
none of them played well. I'll be damned!

> The pressure of the ligature should be in the center of the reed.
> Second, the ligature should be about a quarter of an inch below the
> upper line drawn on most mouthpieces.

Whoops....there goes the Rovner ligature, the Luyben Ligature, and a few
others....including the Bay!

> Third, do not tighten the upper screw of the ligature--tighten only the
> lower screw. It is not an exaggeration to say that reed troubles of 90%
> of clarinet players are greatly aggravated by not observing the above
> points.

Uh oh......and I have tightened both screws for years......without knowing
that! I need to get the one screw Rovner!

Sorry for being so silly, but, as great as Bonade's teaching/playing was,
some of this information really is not accurate.

Roger Garrett
IWU