Klarinet Archive - Posting 001366.txt from 1998/10

From: Shouryu Nohe <jnohe@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [kl] Reeds + Studies
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 15:37:12 -0500

Something else I forgot to add...

> On Fri, 30 Oct 1998, Cox, Graeme wrote:
> > Some questions...
> >
> > Firstly, would you expect that the changes in temperature and humidity that
> > a reed encounters during cycles of being played then rested are likely to
> > distort a reed more than climatic variations? If so, why would climate be a
> > significant factor in reed performance?

Climate not only refers to humidity, but altitude as well.

The reed does absorb more moisture when you go from dry to humid
environments. This does not cause the reed to become porous again, but
simply makes it softer. We went on a Texas tour that ended in San Antonio
last spring, which is SIGNIFICANTLY more humid than Las Cruces.

Several of us found that the V12 4's we played in Cruces were far too
soft. 5's were just about right (except for Josh, who found that even the
5's were too soft).

This was also the case for me when playing in Mississippi my senior year
in high school - I was playing 2.5 Vandies on bass, and had to go to
3.5's.

The higher your elevation, the softer reed you will need. Any elevation
change of more than 2000 feet will make a noticable difference. I have
heard that some reed players in military touring bands actually have reeds
labelled by altitude, ie, set of reeds play best at 7000ft, set that play
best at 6000ft.

Once you get the reed sealed, warping is minimized. From then on, it's
just where you play that affects it.

J. Shouryu Nohe
http://web.nmsu.edu/~jnohe
Professor of SCSM102, New Mexico State Univ.
One of Key's 30,000 Friends
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