 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Joel Clifton
Date: 2003-02-22 01:32
I used to play with rather cheap reeds, but my clarinet teacher gave me two Vandoren V-12s, and I love them. They played very well. But then something happened to them, and I have no idea what. One day they were fine. After symphony band rehearsal I packed up and went home. The next morning I played one of the reeds, and almost every note was accompanied by a very high-pitched, dissonant whistling sound. If I really tried I could maintain that sound for several seconds. At first I thought it was the clarinet, and I made certain there was no junk in the mouthpiece, or bad seals, etc. Finally I tried the other V-12. Same results. I was VERY sure it was a clarinet problem then. Even though I though I was wasting time, I decided to try one of my diamond cut reeds. Surprisingly, it played fine, and I could not reproduce that awful sound!
What could be causing that problem? Nothing happened to the reeds between the time they played fine and the time they had that problem! I just packed them in my reed carrier and didn't touch them until the next day.
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Author: Joel Clifton
Date: 2003-02-22 16:40
Before I put the reed on, I always wet it and press it onto the flat part of the mouthpiece until it is perfectly flat, and then I put it on. I've played somewhat warped reeds before and they don't cause that problem. As for splits, I searched very carefully for splits all along the blade, and couldn't find any.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-02-22 16:49
Part of the breaking in and adjustment process for reeds (do a search on this site for reams of good information) includes making sure the back of the reed is perfectly flat and sealed.
After much playing, new reeds must be checked and adjusted as necessary...GBK
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Author: Wes
Date: 2003-02-22 17:21
Try scraping the crud off of both sides of the reed with a single edged razor blade, without removing any cane. This can make a difference, increasing the length of time you can use the reed. Good luck!
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