Klarinet Archive - Posting 000618.txt from 2004/11

From: "Larisa Duffy and David Dow" <duffyl@-----.ca>
Subj: Re: [kl] HOW TO handle new REEDS?
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 09:17:16 -0500

Players who have a great deal of trouble getting reeds to work or play may
have major embouchure problems. In fact, alot of players and students tend
to blame the reed on all their trouble, woes etc.

When studying in France with Guy Desplus he felt "the Reed should not be
something one spends more worry over then the time spendt on practicing."

I feel he is right, instead today many players spend inordinate amounts of
time switching from reed to reed rather then investigating in methods which
may their reeds work...or work better..

Simply put I have 8 reeds at the moment which work perfectly well and know I
will not have trouble with getting more to play..I am not bragging because I
have to have reeds in order to play professionally....that is the vagaries
of being a perfomer..
the reed has the to the last thing in a perfomance one should be fussing
over...in other words you have to get reeds to play reliably!

sadly alot of teachers spend little time with their students teaching the
art of reed adjustment.

Ernst Ottemsamer of the Vienna Philharmonic Master class in 92..which I
attended spoke at a master class breifly...here are some of the notes I
took:
"Reeds are not a problem provided the player has good technique and adapts
the reed to the facing"...
"A reeds should play in all registers with even resistance...forcing for one
note menas the resistance of the reed is wrong."
"Wet reeds with water in a water bottle...proceed to practice every day this
way..."
"Clarinet players are too apt to blame a reed, instead they should work
harder on reed adjustment and their own
technique.:ie. Ottemsamer plays the final notes of the slow movement of the
Clarinet Concerto of Mozart very slowly...with a very nice diminuendo...then
says, "The embouchure must allow the the reed to speak...biting is a cheif
problem for clarinetists who don't practice keeping the embuchure quiet...a
reed that plays well will emphasize embouchure development..and have a
positive influence on projection..."

Harold Wright who was Principal of the Boston said "All reed adjustment
should be done by knife."
He disagreed with any buffing of the reed and polishing the vamp with the
fingers.

This he felt "Hardens and deadens the cane
Prematurely." This is a method I have adopted...I have always felt polishing
the reed with the fingers makes MY reeds play with an airy sound...this may
not be the case for others...I simply balance the reed in the areas where I
feel the reed is to thick..removing cane from below the tip or the balancing
of the rails with a Herder knife...

I never use sandpaper either....

Maybe Tony would be so kind as to tell us how he gets his reeds to work...?

Being a period instrument performer maybe we could be enlightened as to the
differences in resistances
from Modern Clarinets to Period instruments?

David Dow
Symphony NB

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