Klarinet Archive - Posting 000119.txt from 1998/02

From: Jeremy Pickett <jerp@-----.com>
Subj: Re: BREAKING IN REEDS by DANIEL BONADE (part 3)
Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 14:30:05 -0500

Well, here is my two cents worth on the subject of reeds. everyone is
partially correct. to see why, let us first look at how a reed functions.

the reed is a piece of wood. this piece of wood is not only curved at
the but end, but it also is cut so that it comes to a very thin tip. the
curve of that cut is the most important part of the reed. it should (in
theory) have some mathematical relationship witht eh curvature of the
mouthpiece, which also does not curve only one way. the window of a
mouthpiece is not square. the rails on most (read, most, not all)
mouthpieces come closer togethor towards the table. all of these factors
have to be taken into account when considering reed work. you have half a
dozen different curvatures that must be taken into consideration when you
are doing anything to your reed.

second, as i stated above, a reed is a piece of wood. but not just any
kind of wood, it is made of cane (bamboo). cane is not grained exactly
like most other wood. it's 'grains' are very tiny tubes (i am not sure if
other kinds of woods are like this, so please don't ding me for my
ignorance on stuff other than cane). it is these 'tubes' that provide the
springiness that a reed needs to bounce back from the tip of the
mouthpiece.

third, how the sound is made is critical. the reed vibrates at a certain
rate per second. only the very tip of the reed should ever touch the very
tip of the mouthpiece. not only that, the entire curvature of the reed
must touch the entire curvature of the mouthpiece. if not, a clear sound
will not be produced. if more than just the tip closes on the
mouthpiece, the reed will have a tendancy to not spring back. that, also,
will not produce a good sound.

so, we have all this stuff to contend with, just to get a good sound our
of our horns. all this, and lots more. ligatures can cause problems, as
well as warped reeds, warped tables, uneven rails, messed up tips, and
lots of other things.

when a person says to you "never touch the center of the reed", that is
generally a good idea. the reed manufacturers are usually pretty
good about being close to the correct thickness that the 'heart' of a reed
must be. that being said, the reed may also have problems in that area.
the problems comes in when the heart is much too thin. that is why people
say don't touch the center. if it is too thin, it is very difficult, and
usualy not worth it, to try and fix the reed. most of the time, what you
are doing when you are doing reed work, is making the curves that the
vamp, heart, rails, and tip of the reed must have. so that the reed
vibrates well in all areas, and it has enough springiness so that it
correctly interacts with the mouthpiece. the way you accomplish this is a
persons choice.

i personally use a cross-cut file, and two grades of sand paper (150 and
400). i fidn this combination works really well for me. i use the file
to flatten the back of my reed, the 150 grit sandpaper to do any work
near, or on, the heart, and the 400 to do tip or rail work. i do not make
perfect reeds, but I think i know what I am doing.

i hope this helps shed some light on the subject. this was not a
definitive email, as i do not have the time or the patience to write
something that lengthy. i look forward to hearing responses from this.

jeremy