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 Wetting the reed
Author: rockymountainbo 
Date:   2005-08-12 12:30

What do you do to wet your reed before playing/practicing. Do you suck on it or put it in a cup of water?

I tend to suck on mine for a good 15 minutes. It's like walking around with a smoke...I quit 11 years this October.


[ Post retitled for clarity - GBK ]

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 Wetting the reed
Author: Bnatural 
Date:   2005-08-12 12:53

Personally I suck on both ends of the reed for a few minutes before I play (in my mouth)



Post Edited (2005-08-12 14:56)

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 Wetting the reed
Author: Markael 
Date:   2005-08-12 13:03

Water.

I try to get the entire reed wet.

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: rockymountainbo 
Date:   2005-08-12 13:18

hey, how'd someone change the topic name from stupid question to wetting the reed. am i being watched?

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: Mark Charette 
Date:   2005-08-12 13:22

rockymountainbo wrote:

> am i being watched?

You're posting to a BBoard read by literally thousands. You didn't expect to be watched?

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: rockymountainbo 
Date:   2005-08-12 13:25

lol...i needed that this early in the morning (prior to my coffee).

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: jmsa 
Date:   2005-08-12 13:45

To rockymountainbo: We are in the same neighborhood. I quit smoking 11 years ago as of this coming March.

jmsa

Post Edited (2005-08-12 13:46)

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: Don Poulsen 
Date:   2005-08-12 15:12

I put my reed in my mouth, but I certainly don't suck on it. (Though some may say that I suck at playing.)

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: Tyler 
Date:   2005-08-12 15:22

I wet the reed in my mouth. I think I'll try soaking it in water again, although my past experience has shown that the reeds usually seem to play 'stuffily' immediately after a soaking.......maybe they need to dry out for a while after being soaked........who knows?.

-Tyler

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: Brenda 
Date:   2005-08-12 15:49

If they soak a long time, yeah, they'll be stuffy! Usually a minute or two is fine, like the time it takes to assemble your instrument. If they're forgotten for 1/2 hour or so they're toast.



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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: EEBaum 
Date:   2005-08-12 20:18

Water. Minute or two. Just the top half. Reeds last for months. (granted, I have a 16-reed rotation). Response decreases significantly the first time I mouth-soak them.

-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: Marcuin 
Date:   2005-08-13 15:03

I always wetting my reed in my mouth for one minute before I plaing. After i do it, it's easier to play in all register.

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: christian_comeau 
Date:   2005-08-13 16:40

I also suck it, but not for 15 min! That's way too long, just 30sec or 1 min, more than that, it gets too wet, I tried water, but it just doesn't feel good, maybe with warmer water...

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: Arnoldstang 
Date:   2005-08-13 18:21

New reeds...I soak them in air and then put them on the mouthpiece to test. John

Freelance woodwind performer

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: Clarinetgirl06 
Date:   2005-08-13 19:12

Well, after my reed is broken in I smooth the back of the reed with 600 gage sandpaper. Then to soak, I pop the whole reed in my mouth and keep it in for about 30 seconds. The spit and the smooth back of the reed mounts it very nicely to the mouthpiece.

Although to break in particularly hard reeds, I will soak them for 5 minutes in water and then let them dry flat and then I'll play them for a few minutes. If it's still too hard, I'll repeat the process the next day.



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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: sfalexi 
Date:   2005-08-13 21:23

I always wet my reeds with saliva. My reasoning being that if I'm going to play them, my mouth doesn't secrete water. So in my mind there's no point to wetting them in water if they're not going to be played with it.

For RIGHT before playing, I just wet it a little bit (15, 30 seconds maybe) by holding it in my mouth as I'm assembling the clarinet. Then I put the reed on and start practicing/playing and after a few minutes of that it is usually ready to go.

Alexi

US Army Japan Band

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: chipper 
Date:   2005-08-15 16:08

Any experience with soaking with wine? Red or white? Import or domestic?

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: DressedToKill 
Date:   2005-08-15 16:51

I use vodka, actually. Same with my double reeds. (I'm also an oboe/Eng.hn/bsn player.) It keeps them wet and also discourages the growth of bacteria...and it tastes good.

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: rockymountainbo 
Date:   2005-08-15 17:04

Everything always seems to sound better to me when I wet my throat, I mean reed with wine or vodka.

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 Re: Wetting the reed
Author: Hiroshi 
Date:   2005-08-15 18:17

Some people recommend to rub reed surfaces with pencil stick while others to paint reed stock ends with transparent manicure.
This will affect through where reed is made wet.

If reeds are stored in a bag with a Rico Reed Vitalizer 84% RH, soaking or wetting is unnecessary,they say.
http://www.ricoreeds.com/productdetails.aspx?productCategoryName=Accessories&productID=4086

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