Klarinet Archive - Posting 000347.txt from 2003/01

From: "Forest E. Aten Jr." <forestaten@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] legere reeds and ligatures
Date: Sun, 19 Jan 2003 10:54:24 -0500

Richard,

Plate glass is no guarantee that a reed will stay "flat"...

Forest

----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Bush" <rbushidioglot@-----.com>
Subject: Re: [kl] legere reeds and ligatures

> Some possible explanations for this practice might be that it was
> difficult to work mouthpiece tables to a flat condition or that the
> reed maker didn't have flat, plate glass to guarantee that their reeds
> were truly flat on the flat side.
>
> When reeds are left on the mouthpiece, they swell in the window way.
> This dampens their ability to vibrate.
>
> On Friday, January 17, 2003, at 02:36 PM, James Fay wrote:
>
> > 19th C clarinettists playing on newly hand made reeds sometimes would
> > leave
> > the reed -- tied to the mouthpiece with a string ligature -- on
> > overnite to
> > help the reed conform to the mouthpiece table.
> >
> > Mabye we should consider this.
> >
> > I just bought 4 Legere's today for the 1st time and hope to spend some
> > time
> > with them tonight.
> >
> > --Jim Fay
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Alan J. Nussbaum" <ajn8@-----.edu>
> > To: <klarinet@-----.org>
> > Sent: Friday, January 17, 2003 1:28 PM
> > Subject: Re: [kl] legere reeds and ligatures
> >
> >
> >> I have a somewhat different point about Legeres that I'd be
> >> interested in hearing about. I wonder if the Legere users on the
> >> list would mind making the following quick and simple experiments and
> >> reporting back: Take a Legere, lay it flat-side-down on a flat
> >> surface (like a piece of glass) and press down on the extreme butt
> >> end of the reed with your thumb. Does the tip visibly rise off the
> >> surface? Now press down on the tip in the same way. Does the butt
> >> end rise off the surface? This *does* happen with all three Legeres
> >> that I own. Now put the Legere on your mouthpiece and secure it with
> >> the ligature in the usual way. Look at the mouthpiece and reed from
> >> the side and form an impression of how far down the mouthpiece the
> >> you can see light between the reed and the facing. If your
> >> experience is like mine, the reed will stand away from mouthpiece for
> >> an astoundingly long distance--well below the intended bottom of the
> >> curve of the facing. Now do the same with a brand-new cane reed
> >> (that has not had enough time and wetting to get warped). Is the
> >> narrow V of light between reed and mouthpiece not noticeably shorter?
> >> From my experiences with Legeres I think I have to conclude that they
> >> have a marked tendency to warp away from their flat side for some
> >> reason. If others have the same experience, I'd be interested to
> >> know that. If not, I wonder what I could possibly be doing wrong to
> >> make them curl away from the mouthpiece in this way.
> >>
> >> Alan Nussbaum
> >>
> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> Richard Bush
> rbushidioglot@-----.com
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

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