Klarinet Archive - Posting 000034.txt from 2005/07

From: Don Yungkurth <chalumeau@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Re: Legere reeds
Date: Mon, 04 Jul 2005 10:40:41 -0400

Richard Sankovich <sanko@-----.edu> writes:

>A question for those of you who have been using Legere reeds: how long
>have yours lasted? (You should probably also include with your answer
>about how much time per week you play on a given reed.) The question
>occurred to me today as I put on my trusty Legere that I purchased about
>four years ago. I'm not a professional player; I'd guess that I play an
>average of 10 hours per week on that reed. It shows no signs of wearing
>out so far. I'm wondering if maybe the reed will outlast ME!

I used Legeres for years exclusively and they seemed to last forever for me also. About two years ago I started taking lessons again and found that I couldn't do things that my teacher requested, particularly with respect to dynamic range. I found this a bit surprising and decided to go back to my old cane reeds that had been properly broken in and adjusted. They seemed like oak planks compared with the Legeres, but I stayed with cane and in a few weeks I was doing fine again with cane. I tried the same old well-used Legeres again and they were way softer than I expected.

At this point I tried a new Legere of the strength I had been using and it played just like the cane reeds.

My conclusions (which my teacher agreed with) were as follows:

1. Legeres do soften with time, but at a very slow rate, compared with cane.

2. As my Legeres slowly changed, my embouchure slowly adapted.

3. If you use Legeres, you should probably do as is generally suggested with cane reeds and have a group of reeds you use alternately.

4. Add a new Legere from time to time for a reality check and retire the soft reeds.

Don Yungkurth

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