Klarinet Archive - Posting 000127.txt from 2001/09

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] Mouthpieces and reed longevity
Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 08:51:40 -0400

On Wed, 5 Sep 2001 11:44:39 +0100, tony-wakefield@-----.net said:

> Tony Pay says that his credit card makes his reeds last longer.

Actually it was a telephone card. And it was more that, when the reed
starts closing up on the mouthpiece too much, you can open it up a bit.
Slight difference of emphasis. As in, eating makes me live longer.

It was a response, really, to Clark Fobes's remark:

> From my playing experience and from working with many, many
> clarinetists the general experience is that reeds are more
> unpredictable and "fade" sooner on mouthpieces with tables that are
> slightly convex ,"humped". I have not measured reeds to prove this,
> but the anecdotal evidence is that reeds mounted on this type of table
> tend to bend or "warp" toward the tip rather quickly.

...so, easing the reed gently away from the mouthpiece corrects that
tendency. It also seems to 'take', in the sense that you don't need to
do it very many times.

> Surely the more one messes or stretches by force the fibres in a cane
> reed, the reed will eventually weaken to the point of not vibrating
> vibrantly enough. It will do this of it`s own accord, but when forced
> to some degree - - - - ?

I don't see why.

The wood in the body of a violin has been 'messed' quite considerably.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE GMN artist: http://www.gmn.com
tel/fax 01865 553339

... Please may I leave the room, sir? My brain is full.

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