 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: vjoet
Date: 2006-07-11 13:42
Hi all,
I'm got a question that I'm at a loss to explain.
Background: My saliva is highly mineralized. The consequence is a reed lasts at most a week. (The mineralization is so great that in the Army I had dental work done on a Friday; on Monday the dentist could not visually identify which tooth he had filled.)
My practice is done in the office, and ranges in length from 30 minutes to 4 hours a day -- depending on what work things need attention.
For the last 4 or 5 weeks, though, I've been able to use a single reed (Xilema). The only difference is I am soaking the reed in water when work calls me away, versus letting it dry and then rewetting.
I recall a mention on this board that some double reed players store their reeds in water; perhaps that is where I got the idea to try the long soaking. (It wasn't for the longevity of the reed but for convenience in resuming practice after tending to work matters.) Conventional wisdom states you soak a reed only until it flattens out, and oversoaking makes it waterlogged. But I haven't found this (with this one particular reed, anyway).
Is it possible the thorough wetting (up to hours at a time) is really beneficial to lengthening the reed life, or it more probably that it is the characteristic of this one particular reed?
I always have 4 reeds concert-ready, but this one is so excellent, so responsive and resonant, that I love playing on it. And I am amazed I've been able to play on it so long.
Could it be conventional wisdom is wrong, and long-soaking is beneficial to the reed? I'd be great is a couple of you would soak a good reed 2 or 3 hours, put it on, and see if the long-soaking has been detrimental to the responsiveness of the reed. And if others suffering from the effects of high mineralization on the reed, would try the long soaking to see if it also lengthens the playability of the reed.
vJoe
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-07-11 14:36
When I'm done practising I simply (yet thoroughly) rinse mouthpiece and reed. I don't want to taste yesterday's beer the next morning...
--
Ben
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2006-07-11 14:56
Interesting investigation. Very recently I have started soaking reeds for long periods of time (for me that is 10 or 20 minutes) and find that they don't get water logged. The fear I had all along with longer soaking was not an issue of water logging but a concern that the reed would some how become settled into playing well only when damp. That is, if I left a reed on for a concert in winter when the indoor humidity is relatively low, I worried that such a reed would quickly become non-functional in a situation where that would be embarassing to say the least (of course I hasten to add that SOAKING would pertain to reeds that have already gone through the three day break-in period).
So far, that does not seem to be the case but I had only started this new soaking business at the very end of last winter - more daring experiments to follow.
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2006-07-11 15:59
Wow...what job do you have that you can practice for up to 4 hours while at work???
K.
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