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Reed thickness and Pitch

Author: MrZap
Date: 2006-01-24 13:08

First off, hello to everyone on this respectable BBoard.

I just registered, because I have a burning question. It's not specifically about the clarinet, but I'm playing a small cousin of the clarinet, called the xaphoon.

However, since they are both single reed instruments, I would like to ask a question. If unappropriate, please remove.

I have a Vandoren #2.5 and a #3 reed. I like the sound of the #3 much better, the only problem is that I just cant seem to play it in pitch (I check at my digital piano constantly). Its always about a half note higher. I can adjust my embouchure, but not really enough to account for this difference.

I know that with a clarinet you can adjust the mouthpiece, but the xaphoon is made out of one part (a bamboo stick). The #2.5 plays perfectly in tune.

My question now is, do you also believe/think/know that the thickness of the reed is related to the pitch it produces? Or perhaps do any of you know what I am doing wrong? (or might the reed be not so good...)

Warm regards

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Re: Reed thickness and Pitch

Author: Bassie
Date: 2006-01-24 14:02

Well, on a clarinet, if you've got a really soft reed, it's easy to play flat by just relaxing the embouchure. You can't do that so much on a hard reed as the tone would just change to airy fluff.

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Re: Reed thickness and Pitch

Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2006-01-24 14:34

I think Bassie has it!

A softer reed has more pitch flexibility than a hard reed --particularly if you want to play flatter.

Maybe you need to invent a tuning barrel for your xaphoon --although a semitone is a lot of adjustment.

The alternative is to develop the embochure needed to bring your harder reed up to pitch. I'm sure that our more highly developed clarinets have fewer intonation problems than your instrument.

I'm only a participant here, but think your question is entirely appropriate. Welcome aboard!

Bob Phillips

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Re: Reed thickness and Pitch

Author: ron b
Date: 2006-01-24 19:21

Please allow me to extend a Welcome Aboard as well, MrZap

I'm glad you found the BBoards.

The ads I've seen make the Xaphoon look like a fun instrument to play and your question is perfectly appropriate. We're all in favor of having fun with music and your question immediately provokes a couple of random thoughts:

A question comes to mind: Does the Xaphoon require a clarinet reed or a sax reed?

Anyway, first, I would certainly try more than one reed of any given strength, on any mouthpiece, before making a dicision. Maybe at least half a dozen or so to find that really "good" one.

Then, if at all possible, try different reeds in combination with different mouthpieces. Some mouthpieces will play a little sharper, some a little flatter, depending on many factors we needn't go into just now... but, they do; and the more combinations you can try, the more likely you'll find a good setup for your particular Xaphoon. Being made of bamboo, I imagine there will be a greater variance between them and perhaps metal, plastic or even hardwood instruments.

- r [cool]

n b -

Post Edited (2006-01-24 19:24)

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Re: Reed thickness and Pitch

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2006-01-25 01:31

Did you see the little movie on "The Making of the Xaphoon" on the maker's website? He took his hunting knife, inserted in the end of a blank, gave a couple of good scrapes and the pitch went up a full half step.

Maybe yours is just a little over scraped (?). A stronger reed will play a little lower but only in the relm of 10 cents at the most, if that.

Perhaps, as we do with clarinet tone holes, you could try adding some tape (perhaps going into the bore from the bottom by an inch) to the inside of the bottom and see if you get the reverse effect of the little movie.

..............Paul Aviles

P.S. A fellow clarinetist watched the movie and heard the sound clip with
me and bought a xaphoon !!! We are an obsessive lot.

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Re: Reed thickness and Pitch

Author: MrZap
Date: 2006-01-25 12:26

First off, thanks for all the reactions. Bassie's comment sure seems plausible to me.

My instrument takes a tenor sax reed.. I'm not sure how different this is from a clarinet reed. (personally, im aiming more for the clarinet-like sound.. sure seems a safe bet to proclaim the clarinet above the sax on this board

)
But i am gonna try some more reeds. This problem really needs a fix!!

I really can't see how im doing something wrong embouchure-wise (Its pretty loose, if I go looser my upper teeth lose contact with the mouthpiece, so the pitch cant go lower, only higher.. but I just might be missing out on something

) Also someone told me to *never* lose contact with the mouthpiece with your teeth.. any comments on that? (I like to do that to cover up some of the weaker notes)

to ron b: the xaphoon does not have a mouthpiece, it is carved right into the stick itself.. which has pro's, but also con's, as we now clearly see

So perhaps i'll try to adjust the overall pitch of the instrument, but I still think its weird that the pitch changes with reed strength.. oh well.. if other reeds don't work ill just have to live with it.

(perhaps if anyone becomes curious, www.xaphoon.com is the URL of the website, so you can have a peak at it)

Thanks a whole lot anyway!

(Btw: Paul: that movie is really amazing, he just pokes a few holes with a hot stick an blows a perfect D! )

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Re: Reed thickness and Pitch

Author: Bassie
Date: 2006-01-26 07:13

MrZap -

You don't need to put your teeth on the mouthpiece of a clarinet - it's called a 'double lip' technique. There have been endless arguments on this BB about the relative merits of teeth or no-teeth. I think it's fair to say that too much pressure on the teeth is a bad thing.

As for reeds: if you look in the list of recent threads you'll see one about bass clarinet and tenor sax reeds. Shape-wise, they're interchangeable! So maybe you need to find a box of bass clarinet reeds to play with (next time you're feeling flush with cash - I certainly don't have a local store I can go to to buy just one bass cl. reed) :-D

Happy tooting,

Bassie

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Re: Reed thickness and Pitch

Author: seafaris
Date: 2006-01-26 14:56

I looked at the Xaphoon and thought it was amazing. I would also write or call the designer in Hawaii, I bet that he would have some suggestions.

Jim

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