 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: KristinVanHorn
Date: 2006-06-27 16:02
Hello everyone I just started playing the clarinet several months now and I have a reed problem. I am using a legere reed. It's new but it seems too easy to play now and I think I need to go up a strength. The problem is that the next strength up is very hard to blow. Should I stay with the current reed or will I get use to the harder number?
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Author: hans
Date: 2006-06-27 16:52
KristinVanHorn,
What you have experienced is normal. You will get used to the stiffer reed as your embouchure continues to develop.
Regards,
Hans
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2006-06-27 18:41
Two thoughts: I think two solid months on the Legere reed seems like the life of the reed to me. Perhaps the strength of it had diminished with the repeated use. You may just need a new one of the same strength. Secondly, just to check, the Legere are available in quarter strengths (make sure you're going up only one strength).
..........Paul Aviles
P.S. You should be able to get four or five good reeds out of a box of ten real reeds for the same price. Rotating from one to the next each day, those five should last at least a month. Granted that's half the time you're getting now, but the return in sound is much more satisfying.
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Author: KristinVanHorn
Date: 2006-06-27 18:54
Paul Aviles wrote:
> Two thoughts: I think two solid months on the Legere reed
> seems like the life of the reed to me. Perhaps the strength of
> it had diminished with the repeated use. You may just need a
> new one of the same strength. Secondly, just to check, the
> Legere are available in quarter strengths (make sure you're
> going up only one strength).
>
> ..........Paul Aviles
>
> P.S. You should be able to get four or five good reeds out
> of a box of ten real reeds for the same price. Rotating from
> one to the next each day, those five should last at least a
> month. Granted that's half the time you're getting now, but
> the return in sound is much more satisfying.
>
Oops, I forgot the reed is only a week old. I was using rico but my teacher recomended the legere. It's a 2 1/4. I tried a 2 1/2 but it seemed really stiff.
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Author: Cuisleannach
Date: 2006-06-28 03:55
Reeds do need to be broken in...in my experience they drop a good bit as you play them more and more.
Another option to try is to sand very slightly the back of the reeds with 400 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper (it has a black surface). Put the sandpaper on a flat surface (I have thick glass cut and beveled for the purpose), put the reed on it flat side down, lick your fingers and with VERY SLIGHT pressure take a few swipes with the reed across the sandpaper...your teacher can probably show you how. This does two things:
1. Flattens the flat side of the reed to a nice, smooth surface
2. Takes a little bit of "meat" from the reed and makes it softer.
Remember that you can never put wood back, so go slow. Also remember that as I said before, reeds get softer as you break them in. I do this with all of my reeds prior to break in to get that smooth, flat surface, and because of this I normally buy a reed a little harder than what I would normally play "out of the box".
If you are going to do a lot of sanding (not recommended) you'll need to exclude the tip in the swipe, as it is quite likely thin enough. If the tip gets too thin, the reed will be unplayable....
Good luck!
-Randy
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Author: pewd
Date: 2006-06-28 06:31
you do not need to break in legeres, nor would i recommend sanding them.
imnsho, sanding down wood ones is too advanced a technique for a beginner.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Cuisleannach
Date: 2006-06-28 14:21
<<imnsho, sanding down wood ones is too advanced a technique for a beginner.>>
I start my kids off pretty young with reed work, pewd, but I do supervise them carefully...why I mentioned she might want to ask her teacher about it. I believe that sanding the backs smooth is so important it should be done to true up every reed before beginning work on it or even trying to break it in. I also believe that sanding the backs is straightforward enough to do, even for young kids. It is several years, though, before I allow them to even touch a reed knife or a reed trimmer.
-Randy
private teacher, too
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Author: KristinVanHorn
Date: 2006-06-28 15:05
Cuisleannach wrote:
> <<imnsho, sanding down wood ones is too advanced a technique
> for a beginner.>>
>
> I start my kids off pretty young with reed work, pewd, but I do
> supervise them carefully...why I mentioned she might want to
> ask her teacher about it. I believe that sanding the backs
> smooth is so important it should be done to true up every reed
> before beginning work on it or even trying to break it in. I
> also believe that sanding the backs is straightforward enough
> to do, even for young kids. It is several years, though,
> before I allow them to even touch a reed knife or a reed
> trimmer.
>
> -Randy
> private teacher, too
Thanks for all the advice. My teacher recomended legere reeds because he said they are pretty much trouble free. I tried the rico reeds but i like legere much better.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2006-06-28 15:21
Try Vandoren Traditional cut #2 1/2.
Sorry. The original post said #2, however now that I think about it, I use a strength of the Legere that is 1/4 below the Vandoren reed strength that I normally use.
I strongly believe you'll learn more in the process of going through regular reeds in that the strength and balance will vary somewhat within any given box. This will make you more knowledgable in the long run.
..............Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2006-06-28 18:54)
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Author: Bill Stutsman
Date: 2006-06-29 03:07
Here are some other tricks you can try for reeds that are a little too stiff.
1) Rather than sanding, take the reed and lay in on a flat, porous suface. Typically, I wind up using a manila file folder laying on a desktop for this. Rub the reed back and forth lengthwise on the folder. The idea is to get the back of the reed smooth and at the same time wear away a little of the material so that it comes out thinner. To make this work you have to use speed and a certain amount of force. Be careful not to damage the tip.
2) If a reed is a little stiff, try puting it ever so slightly lower on the mouthpiece.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-06-29 07:57
Bill,
I use a cheap big 4-way nail buffer. It has 4 (sic) differently coarse grits and works great for smoothing a pesky reed. Together with curved nail scissors you have a cheap reed cutter. (Some dexterity required)
Also great for removing toothmarks from old mouthpieces (before putting a bite patch on).
That one looks like mine: http://uncommonscents.com/tropshin4way.html
--
Ben
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Author: seafaris
Date: 2006-06-30 00:23
The reed may feel to easy, but how is your tone? If it is good I would stick with that strength and maybe practice on the 2.5 once a week. I use 2.75 and # 3 legere's and don't find the #3 that much harder to blow, but the 2.75 sounds better for me. I also play 2.5 Vandorens a few times a week, especially if everything is going TO well, just to get my frustration fix in! :-)
Jim
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Author: KristinVanHorn
Date: 2006-06-30 00:34
seafaris wrote:
> The reed may feel to easy, but how is your tone? If it is good
> I would stick with that strength and maybe practice on the 2.5
> once a week. I use 2.75 and # 3 legere's and don't find the #3
> that much harder to blow, but the 2.75 sounds better for me. I
> also play 2.5 Vandorens a few times a week, especially if
> everything is going TO well, just to get my frustration fix in!
> :-)
>
> Jim
Well I think the tone is pretty good. I also tried a forbes debut today but I didn't like the way it sounded but I could play the 2 1/2 legere on it.
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Author: seafaris
Date: 2006-06-30 03:17
I have a Fobes 4L which is a great mouthpiece, and I play my cane reeds on it. It does not play the 2.5-3.0 Legere reeds well. What works well for me is a Walter Grabner k-14 which is not as free blowing. It plays the legere reeds well and my wife loves it for the Vandorens/Gonzales reeds she plays. Some mouthpieces are just more Legere friendly. I have tried a Legere 3.25 and 3.5 on the Fobes and it plays those better than the lighter Legeres, but the tone is not as good. Walter told me the more open type mouthpieces don't play Legeres well. I think they need a little more resistance.
Jim
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Author: KristinVanHorn
Date: 2006-06-30 23:35
seafaris wrote:
> I have a Fobes 4L which is a great mouthpiece, and I play my
> cane reeds on it. It does not play the 2.5-3.0 Legere reeds
> well. What works well for me is a Walter Grabner k-14 which is
> not as free blowing. It plays the legere reeds well and my wife
> loves it for the Vandorens/Gonzales reeds she plays. Some
> mouthpieces are just more Legere friendly. I have tried a
> Legere 3.25 and 3.5 on the Fobes and it plays those better than
> the lighter Legeres, but the tone is not as good. Walter told
> me the more open type mouthpieces don't play Legeres well. I
> think they need a little more resistance.
>
> Jim
I think I will stick with the 4c mouthpiece for now. I like the way it sounds. I would love to have a buffet r13 though. I here they sound really good.
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