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Reeds.....again

Author: Hans
Date: 2001-08-21 15:04

Thanks to Brenda I now have a new mouthpiece for my Leblanc Spirit, the 2550K-10M instead of the Leblanc 4L. It plays great and for me, a restarter or more just a beginner, it is excellent. I used a reed which came with the instrument, I guess it is a Vandoren but it only says 'superieur france 2.5'. I also have a box of Vandoren 3 but these do not work for me, I can hardly get any sound out of them. Now I bought a box of Vandoren 2.5 and to my surprise each reed - at least the first 4 I tried out - give me a different sound and are not quite the same as the first 2.5 reed I used. I guess this might have to do with the fact that they are still new. But I also read about the differences in strenght found in reeds coming from the same box. As a beginner - without teacher - I am just surprised about the differences between the reeds. But I guess that being just a beginner I should not worry to much about this problem as I'd perhaps better concentrate on technic. On the other hand, I notice the differences and look for a sound comparable top my first reed. Amazing and complex instrument, the clarinet. Well, this is really not a question but rather just a comment on how I am doing in these first months of clarinet playing.

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RE: Reeds.....again

Author: Jerry McD.
Date: 2001-08-21 19:04

Twenty five years later I still have the same complaint........

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RE: Reeds.....again

Author: Beth R.
Date: 2001-08-22 00:54

Hans,

In all the years I played clarinet long ago, I had never heard of soaking the entire reed for a couple of minutes before playing on it. I read about it here though. And honestly, I could not believe what a difference it made for me.

Previously, I would only find one or two reeds out of a box of 10 that I could actually stand to play. Now, I find more than half are quite playable.

You might want to try it out, especially before altering the reeds with sandpaper and such. It really softens the reeds. Of course, it's only my opinion. And I'm a re-starter too ;-)

Warm regards,
Beth R.

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