The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

RE: Preserving Reeds

Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-02-09 15:06

How bizarre that so far, four out of five people responding to this question suggest reed preservation methods they haven't tried yet! The first thing I'd suggest is, whatever you decide to do, please don't wait to do it until the reeds "look grungy". They're probably already deteriorating at that point, depending on what's in the grunge. I think the most important thing I do to extend the life of my reeds is a little bit of minor maintenance without fail, every time I finish practicing: I remove the reed from the mouthpiece and rinse both the reed and the mouthpiece off under the tap. Then I dry off the mouthpiece with a towel and dry the inside of the mouthpiece with a "mouthpiece saver" that I do not leave in the mouthpiece for storage. I blot the reed reasonably dry with the towel. IMHO, it's important to just blot or move the towel only from the base of the reed toward the tip, never the other direction and never crosswise (because that could mess up the grain). Once a week, I wash all my mouthpieces and reeds (no scrubbing, just swishing them around) in a mild solution of warm water and dish detergent, rinse with plain water, then rinse everything in a bowl with about half tap water and half mouthwash with alcohol in it. (I buy what's on sale -- Listerine or the store's generic brand.) The alcohol kills whatever cooties lurk in there, I hope. Then I rinse with plain water again and dry everythin goff as usual.

That's all I do. Grunge never builds up in the first place.
I think preventive maintenance saves a lot of hassle in the long run and I'm sure I'm spending only about 2 minutes a day on the rinsing plus maybe 10 minutes on the weekend to clean up all my clarinet and sax mouthpieces.

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics