Klarinet Archive - Posting 000908.txt from 1999/08

From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Reeds that last?
Date: Sun, 29 Aug 1999 21:00:40 -0400

on 4/8/98 1:29 PM, Meira Mulan wrote:

>I have come to discover that I am pretty rough on reeds, and I wanted to
>know which are the best reeds to use. And how can I make them last onger?

If you use commercial reeds, the way that you break them in will
determine how long they will last. Short playing periods at first, with
no extreme dynamics or very high register playing will also help. A great
book, in addition top the Kirck book already mentioned, comes from a New
York clarinetist, Larry Guy. I can't find my copy quickly, but the title
includes "Adjusting Single Reeds" and you can get it from Larry directly
for $15. His address is:

36 Hudson Avenue,
Stony Point, NY 10980

I highly recommend this book, and no I don't get a cut! ;-)

Another strategy that I use is to start breaking in new reeds **while I
still have decent reeds that work**. This eliminates the "peaks and
valleys" where you have reeds that work, and suddenly they all die and
you have to break in new ones, which all seem too hard.

To **really** get reeds that last a long time, learning to make your own
from tube cane will help. I make my own on a ReeDuAl, and find in
addition to controlling the dimensions of the blank and reed more
carefully, that I can cure the blank and break in the reed carefully to
make it last a long time. For someone who plays many hours a week, that
is very helpful.

David

David Niethamer
Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
dnietham@-----.edu
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/

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