 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Richard
Date: 2000-04-08 04:13
I am a Band teacher and was wondering if any other Band teacher or clarinet player can help me out--My question: "What is the best placement for the reed on the clarinet mouthpiece--should the reed be exactly in line with the tip of the mouthpiece, should a "sliver" of black show just above the reed, or should the reed be placed with a bit of the reed OVER the tip of th mouthpiece?" Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks!
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Author: Rick2
Date: 2000-04-08 04:57
I align mine with the tip with maybe just a hairline of black showing. Too far up is not good, and too much black will dampen the sound.
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2000-04-08 11:48
Rick2 wrote:
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I align mine with the tip with maybe just a hairline of black showing. Too far up is not good, and too much black will dampen the sound.
A former teacher of mine once said that the ideal placement of the reed is if you can see a hairline of black from the reedside and a hairline of reedtip from the opposit side.
(It actually works) However, there is no ideal placement for any reed but there can be an ideal plecement for one reed depending on the quality of the reed.
Rick2 has a very good formula, but very often the position has to be adjusted a bit up-down or right-left depending on the reed-quality and only the player will know.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-04-08 12:52
Richard wrote:
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I am a Band teacher and was wondering if any other Band teacher or clarinet player can help me out--My question: "What is the best placement for the reed on the clarinet mouthpiece--should the reed be exactly in line with the tip of the mouthpiece, should a "sliver" of black show just above the reed, or should the reed be placed with a bit of the reed OVER the tip of th mouthpiece?" Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks!
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The answer is yes. All these are correct. Reed cane is a natural substance and no two reeds are exactly alike. Each needs to be mounted so that it will play its best. A reed that is running a little harder than normal will probably need to be mounted a hair below the tip of the mouthpiece. One that is running softer may need to be mounted a hair above the mouthpiece.
Then of course different mouthpieces have different tip openings and lay lengths. A reed that works great mounted even with the tip on one mouthpiece may need to be higher or lower on a different mouthpiece.
Every student has slightly different lips, teeth, tongue and embouchure. So one student may need to mount it a little high while another needs to mount it a little low. Or a student may be "between" strengths in their needs and can solve it by choice of mounting.
Even weather comes into play. The humidity in the air effects the players mouth etc and makes a reed act as if it were stiffer or softer on any given day. Change the mounting position to cope.
The ligature and its placement also affect where the reed should be mounted. With some ligatures you may need to move the reed up and with others you may need to move the reed down.
Notice in the last paragraph, I also mentioned ligature placement. This should also be varied to get the best out of each reed. If the reed is a little soft, move the ligature up. If it is a little hard, move the ligature down. Those lines scribed on the mouthpiece are basic guidelines only not sacred rules.
If a student mounts all reeds exactly the same and places the ligature exactly the same all the time, he or she will generally have constant reed "problems" and only find a couple of good ones per box. On the other hand, the flexible mounting approach will usually allow all reeds in a box to be played, although some will be nicer than others.
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Author: connie
Date: 2000-04-08 18:36
Everything that Dee said is right on, as usual. I'd like to add that it is sometimes necessary to position the reed a little off-center, either to the right or to the left, if the reed is not well-balanced. The bottom line is that new players should be encouraged to experiment with different reed positions to find what works best with a particular reed. When my kids were learning to play, they seemed scared to try new reeds, preferring the old way-too-soft familiar ones. I think they need to be encouraged to develop a mind-set that allows for this flexibility in positioning. Then, too, the parents need to be willing to pay for all these reeds!
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2000-04-11 02:12
You can read good articles on this matter at Tom Ridenour's home page.
<A HREF=http://home1.gte.net/klarinet/sale.htm>Tom Ridenour</A>
I also would like to suggest to read Larry Teal's 'Art of Saxophone Playing'. He experimented reed positioning effects with collaborations of acoustic engineers. The simplest conclusion:The reed 'must' shut the window perfectly when it bounces back to the tip by vibration. I think this means the different tip rail width mouthpiece need different level of setting precision.
As to setting the reed a little left or right, this comes from the reed design. Vandoren reeds are designed assynmetrical! (If they are measured by micronmeter, it can be known.) However,the 'reference' positioning should be the one perfectly symmetrical.That is the starting point.
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