Klarinet Archive - Posting 000980.txt from 2000/12

From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Reeds
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 22:15:11 -0500

on 12/18/00 2:23 AM, Bilwright@-----.net wrote:

> Like everyone else, I've had the experience of deciding that a reed
>is miserable one day, and then the next day it plays beautifully. This
>means that there are lots of opportunities to develop superstitious
>behavior, especially for beginners whose playing varies more from one
>day to the next.
>
Reeds *DO* play differently from one day to the next, especially when
they're new. And once a reed is broken in, some of this can also be
attributed to the weather - the amount of humidity in the air seems to
affect reeds a great deal. Here in Richmond in winter, there can be cold
clear days (very dry, exacerbated by overactive heating systems) followed
immediately by warmer, more humid days, and it can raise H*** with one's
reeds. I don't think superstition has anything to do with it.

> But recently the reeds that have frustrated me have had visible
>asymmetries such as: [using Larry Guy's terminology on pg. 15 of his
>reed book]
>
>(1) patches that transmit more light than the rest of the reed when I
>put the reed on top of a photographer's light table. I recognize that
>a reed needs a 'spine' that starts full width at the 'shoulder' and
>tapers symmetrically as it approaches the tip and disappears at the very
>tip. I'm not talking about the differences between spine and rail and
>tip. I don't know whether these patches are a function of bad cutting
>or variations in the cane's density.
>
Probably a function of the cane. But I've had reeds that looked like this
that play great. As I think I said in the last post, I never trash a reed
without at least one playing.

>(2) thick fibers that raise themselves above the remainder of the reed,
>and the diameter of these overlarge fibers varies along their length,
>sort of like snakes who just ate a big meal and have bumps along their
>bodies where the undigested hunks of meat sit in their intestines
(SNIP of rudeness to overly-perfumed matronly ladies!!!) ;-)
> Recently I've had a bunch of reeds with this
>quality, mixed in with reeds that don't have it, perhaps 50%.
>
Supposedly (I don't know the science to back this up) if the surface of
the reed isn't smooth, it can affect the vibrancy of the reed - make it
feel stuffy and unresponsive. Possibly sanding the vamp of the reed with
wet/dry sandpaper could help this - or not.

>(3) the 'shoulder' of several reeds were not perpendicular to the reed's
>long axis. I didn't need a loupe to see this.
>
Ah, so then your eyesight is OK ;-) On the ReeDuAl I occasionally slip
and cut the shoulder of the reed so that it is not perpendicular. This is
supposed to matter, but doesn't seem to in any reproducible way.
>
> One detail --- which I asked about in a post yesterday, and a loupe
>is not required to see this --- is the curvature of the reed's tip.
>When it doesn't match the curvature of the mouthpiece's tip rail, it
>seems like sudden death to me. Depending on how I choose to position
>such reeds, either pat of the reed's tip falls short of the mouthpiece's
>tip rail, or the reed's tip protrudes beyond the mouthpiece's tip rail.
> The result appears to be hissing and added resistance. I've
>rummaged in the Klarinet archives a bit, and there does not appear to
>consensus about this, however.

The shape of the tip seems to matter, but to what degree I haven't been
able to figure out. When I make a reed, the tip is "square" (not quite,
but you get the idea) and a good reed will freely vibrate that way. When
I shape the tip by hand to match the tip of my mouthpiece, which no
clipper I've ever tried (admittedly not a large sample) will do, the reed
seems to get stronger and the sound less vibrant/strident/(dare I say
it?) bright.

BTW, in an article in "The Clarinet", Ed Palanker wrote about this same
phenomenon when he made reeds - they would play the "square" tips in
concerts! I've met him once or twice, but we never discussed reed making
- really!

Reeds that are wider than the side rails seem to respond a bit better
when they're narrowed to the same width as the rails of the mouthpiece,
and Larry Guy discussed balancing the reed by narrowing it from one side
or the other to get the heart of the reed a bit more centered, if
necessary. Whether it matters if the reed is *narrower* than the side
rails is a question no one seems to be able to answer in a satisfactory
way, and I don't have the time to worry about it.

> This is why I asked why there is more than one curvature in the
>industry. Obviously mouthpiece and reed makers wouldn't do it without
>a purpose.

And obviously you have too much faith in the care of the reed and
mouthpiece manufacturers! I don't see how a reed manufacturer could keep
accurate control of the shapes of reed blanks or their tips, even if they
tried, and I don't think they do. The interesting thing to me is that
Vandoren mouthpieces have a much flatter curve at the tip than the
Vandoren reeds do! It isn't even close, in my experience. If there is
some sort of purpose, it must be sadistic!! ;-)

Cheers!

David

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

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