Klarinet Archive - Posting 000753.txt from 2000/07

From: Bilwright@-----.net (William Wright)
Subj: Re: [kl] The role of the reed
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 12:56:00 -0400

<><> William=A0Wright wrote:
As one last illustration, why does it make a difference which mouthpiece
you play? Because the mouthpiece bends the reed in a certain way?
Absolutely not.

....ooops, I got carried away with my own rhetoric.... my error and
apologies.

Obviously open mouthpieces bend the reed more than mouthpieces with
smaller openings, etc. Here's a better way of making the point that I
was trying to make:

Is it possible to build and play a clarinet without using a reed at
all? The answer is "Yes". Benade shows one in his bigger book (and
actually built one, if my memory is correct).

The point is: the reed is a valve that opens and shuts, thereby
introducing puffs of air into the clarinet's air cavity, thereby causing
pressure fluctuations and air motions (vibrations) inside the clarinet.
What you 'hear' is the air puffs that finally exit from the clarinet.
So in theory, you should be able to devise some other air valve besides
a reed that mimics the action of a reed.
Benade's example is a very small air tube attached to a
reciprocating air pump. No reed at all.

Obviously the reed is important. But it is only one part of a
larger system, and focusing too much on it would misdirect a student
away from the 'truth' (whatever that is).

Cheers,
Bill

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org