Klarinet Archive - Posting 000104.txt from 1999/03

From: Richard Bush <rbushidioglot@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] FROM LEAKY PIPES TO CLARINET REEDS
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 12:04:48 -0500

GrabnerWG@-----.com wrote:

> In a message dated 3/2/99 6:25:26 AM Central Standard Time, CEField@-----.com
> writes:
>
> << I kiss the ground that Eugene Van Doren walked on. (And I think I might
> feel
> that way soon about Guy Legere.) If I had to spend as much time learning the
> craft of clarinet reed-making as my oboist friends spend making their reeds,
> I
> would have taken up the triangle. I know you were writing in jest, but please
> be careful about painting people with a broad brush. Life is BUSY and
> fascinating, with many things to explore. For some of us, reed-making doesn't
> fit into the equation.
>
> Cindy
> >>
> Amen Cindy! I make my living in the computer industry, while maintaining a
> busy playing schedule in two orchestras. Finding time to practice is
> difficult. When would I make reeds? At 2:00 AM?
>
> BTW, this correspondent did make his own reeds for ten years. I made some
> glorious reeds. I also made quite a few stinkers. The thing out of my direct
> control was the quality of the cane. When I had great cane, I made great
> reeds. When I had bad or indifferent cane......... * shrug *.
>
> I'm sure it's the same problem for the manufacturers, except they have to make
> reeds constantly....good cane or bad. Does anyone know the expense of idle
> equipment and workers? Payroll, utilities, rent, etc continue constantly. If
> the manufacturers only made reeds of the finest cane, one reed would cost what
> a box does now, or more.
>
> To Cindy and GrabnerWG,

It seems I did not make myself perfectly clear. I apologize.

I was not proposing making reeds from blanks or from scratch. What I WAS trying
to convey, and I was not speaking in jest, was that those who made reeds learned
about reeds, such as where to work on the vamp of the reed to achieve certain
desired playing characteristics.

I too am happy to have commercial reeds. This world can use just so many triangle
players :-)

Let me further clarify.

When one learns break in procedures, how to balance and voice a reed, one gains
greater control over their playing. Who doesn't want this?

The time spend learning to do these things pays big dividends. Less total time is
spent fussing with reeds and going through box after box to find that perfect
reed. Fewer reeds can be made to play better. All reeds properly prepared will
last much longer and give more consistent performance through their useful life.

Sounds like a win-win situation to me. If time is money and reeds cost money,
doesn't it make good sense to sound consistently better on fewer reeds that last
longer?

Since no machine can compensate for individual differences in each unique piece
of cane, regardless of how consistently they are cut, we are kidding ourselves if
we accept and consider commercial reeds a finished, ready to play product.

Changing weather is another reason to be prepared with reed adjusting knowledge
and working skills. Being able to keep a reed playing well on a dry, hot day or a
damp cool one is good for the player.

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