Klarinet Archive - Posting 000500.txt from 2002/10

From: "Bruce E. McGarvey" <bmcgar@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Whacky reed problem
Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2002 00:07:31 -0400

Folks,

Would you let me know what you think about a problem that I haven't
encountered before in my 40+ as a player?:

I have an adult student at the intermediate level who manages somehow to
alter reeds after playing them for a while so that they "close up" with very
little pressure, as if they're being warped towards the mouthpiece opening.

She's playing on the same mouthpiece facing and ligature as I do (Borbeck 11
and Gigliotti ligature) and I choose and adjust her 2 3/4 Gonzales reeds for
her. (I know the mouthpiece because it's a hand-me-down, and I have no
problems with my reeds on her setup.) I've check the ligature placement and
clamping pressure, and they're okay.

Everything plays fine for her for a couple hours, then eventually the reed
changes so that even I have a hard time using proper breath support without
the reed closing up on me. (I can't say how abrupt the change is, but she
says she doesn't notice it coming on quickly.) Consequently, althought her
embouchure is basically sound, she gradually falls into playing with a
flaccid embouchure and with less breath support just so she can get the
notes out--to the detriment of her sound and intonation.

I've watched very closely how she treats her reeds, and she's been very
consistent about how she places the reeds in her reed holder. Thinking that
the holder might be warped or otherwise faulty, I've had her change reed
positions in the holder (the old-style metal Reedgard [sp?], with the reed
places very gently in the holder so that the metal "clamp" doesn't crush the
heart), change holders entirely, and then eventually store her reeds secured
to a piece of plate glass with a rubber band. None of those things seems to
make a difference.

I'm stumped. It must be something simple, but I'm not seeing it.

Any sugestions? Or is this a case of shared hysteria?

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