Klarinet Archive - Posting 000048.txt from 2006/12

From: X-BakerBotts-MailScanner-tom.henson@-----.com
Subj: RE: [kl] A Puzzle
Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2006 17:39:48 -0500

Angelia,

You have asked a hard question to diagnose by e-mail, but I can give you =
some things to check. It sounds to me like your reed may be a little too =
hard somewhere and is not balanced and responsive. It is pretty easy to =
play on a reed and get a good sound in the lower register, but it is as =
you start to go up that the qualities of a reed become apparent. A good =
reed must play as well in the Altissimo register as it does in the =
lower. It must be light enough to respond quickly, but still have enough =
spring to it that you can produce very good staccato.

Make sure the back of the reed is not warped. You can check this on a =
piece of plate glass or Plexiglas. If necessary, you can very lightly =
sand the back of the reed on a sheet of 600 grit sand paper, but do not =
sand anywhere near the tip of the reed.

In general, try to never work on the tip at all unless you just have to. =
I have always been able to balance a reed without having to work on the =
tip about 99% of the time. About the only time I will attempt to work on =
the tip is when it is too thick on one side vs. the other. Then you =
carefully remove a little cane (reed rush or sandpaper), and I mean a =
little (microscopic). Just setting a piece of 600 grit sand paper over =
one corner and with very light pressure turning it sideways is all you =
need to do to get an idea of how little. You can take cane off, but you =
can never put it back on the tip.

Also, make sure that both sides of the reed are balanced at the vamp =
cut. Look at the vamp and see if one side of the reed seems to have more =
or thicker cane than the other side. Look at the reed profile from the =
side also to get a feel for this. You can also hold it up to the light. =
One side may appear to be darker than the other. If so, it has more cane =
and is thicker. This area of the reed determines how freely it will =
vibrate in general. If the reed is balanced properly, the reed will =
respond easily and freely, but still maintain enough resistance that it =
does not collapse and allow you to overblow it resulting in squeaks. Try =
and match what the other side is like. Once the reed is flat and =
balanced you may find you problem is fixed.

Conversely, you can make the side that has less cane thicker (assuming =
it is too soft) by turning the reed on it's side and sanding it down =
from the base of the reed to the vamp area, again avoiding the tip area. =
This will thicken up the side profile of the reed and make it blow =
harder on that side. Try and match the way the other side profile looks =
like.

A little hint, always take off a little at a time and then play test it. =
Never get over aggressive in removing cane. A little bit can go a long =
way.

Finally, try and train your mouth/lips to be sensitive enough to blow on =
a reed and tell if one side is playing heavier or lighter than the =
other. With practice, you can tell immediately where you need to work on =
a reed to quickly get it balanced. Sometimes you need to make a side =
blow harder to get the reed where you want it. It is not always about =
making it lighter.

Keep in mind that these suggestions are somewhat overly simplified. I =
would suggest trying this on an old reed first just to see if you can =
improve it. Once you start to experiment you will get better at it, but =
the key is knowing where the reed needs to be worked on.

Tom Henson

-----Original Message-----
From: Angelia Fagg [mailto:arfagg@-----.com]=20
Sent: Friday, December 08, 2006 7:25 AM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: [kl] A Puzzle

Hi everybody!

Here's a nice little puzzle for you. I'm in the middle of my twice =
yearly change-the-reeds-to-match-the-climate-change trauma. I spent my =
entire practice time yesterday testing my collection of reeds to see =
which ones would play well in dry, heated rooms, and one of them does =
not play an altissimo G. I don't mean "it doesn't sound good" or "it's =
out of tune", it simply ISN'T THERE. It plays beautifully, with a =
wonderful tone, up to F#, then the G fingering only produces a buzz like =
a kazoo! I spent ten minutes on this and never even got a squeak. I've =
never encountered this before and can't think of anything that might =
cause it (or fix it--it really does have a wonderful tone!). Any one =
have any ideas?

Angelia

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