 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-06-11 14:26
I normally play tenor sax with a Vandoren ZZ 2.5 in the UK which has the right amount of resistance with the 6*BBS or 7*B Lawtons.
However, while out in Virginia playing on EXACTLY the same set-up, it felt like I was playing on a cigarette paper of a reed, and all the other reeds in the box felt just as weak.
Same with an oboe reed I was using in the UK which was a shade tougher than I like (but it does what I want it to), out in the US it was all buzzy and lifeless (and difficult to keep in tune), as if it had been scraped too much.
Now back in the UK, these same reeds have restored to their former strengths, so I was surprised to see how much difference climate can make.
So is this why we in the UK are gobsmacked to read that a lot of N.American players use floorboards for reeds? Could the climate be the reason why so many N.American players contributing on here can play on what we in the Old World consider to be hard reeds?
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2007-06-11 14:41
High school kids in Hawaii often use strength 4. no joke. I grew up there.
also interesting- the 'death' of a reed is often due to the change of seasons. If you find a few good reeds in the winter you will find they 'die' about when the weather changes. save them for next winter and many will be just as good.
In Hawaii, the weather is almost exactly the same everyday and a box of reeds always lasted me about 2 months of 2hr/day practice. when I went to college I experienced winter and the quick death of a reed for the first time in my life.
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2007-06-11 14:56
It has been raining a lot lately here in the upper panhandle of Idaho, and I can't find a decent reed. Yesterday, I went through an entire box of Vandoren V12 3.5s and found not one that didn't feel like cardboard. Performances next week end, and only one precious, working reed.
I've had sudden reed death syndrome occur in this climate. One reed was making me feel like a master player on Sunday and was completely unplayable at my lesson on Monday.
I'm convinced that "its the weather," but I can't figure out what it is about the weather that makes reeds unplayable. Yesterday, it was about 58-deg F, and 55% relative humidity.
I'm having trouble with the idea that the humidity (probably saturated) in my mouth doesn't determine how wet the reed is while playing.
Thanks, Chris, for putting this thread up here. I wanna know, too.
I'm planning to spend some time at the Legere booth at ClarinetFest.
Bob Phillips
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Author: hans
Date: 2007-06-11 14:56
Chris,
It's not the climate; it's the time difference. When you played in the U.S. the reeds you had brought with you were suffering from jet lag
Considering that reeds are subjected to soaking, saliva, and having humid air blown into them, it seems unlikely that a change in local humidity would add much influence to a dead piece of cane.
Regards,
Hans
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2007-06-11 15:12
Maybe the reeds are also influenced by the - hmm... nevermind
Many times I play softer reeds (maybe 1/2 strength softer) in the summer than in the winter. For example, in the last few weeks (it got really hot) most of the reeds that were fine are slightly too hard.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2007-06-11 15:20
clarnibass wrote:
> Maybe the reeds are also influenced by the - hmm... nevermind
>
The research report I read mentioned that the necessity for reed changes for different climactic conditions was real - but due to physiological changes (our bodies change in relation to at least relative humidity). A slight change in the dimension of your lips will necessitate a change in the reed to compensate.
Right solution, non-intutive reason.
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Author: bufclar
Date: 2007-06-11 20:03
It could be a difference in altitude. The most drastic change I have delt with is when I go to Denver. Reeds get much harder up there in the mountains then they are at sea level. I guess the lesser amount of oxygen in the air must cause this but I have no clue why.
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Author: J. Usher
Date: 2007-06-12 18:35
I have always felt that altitude is the problem. In my area, we have the ability to drive from sea level to 7,000 feet in as little as 30 min. I have two students that travel down from the mountains every week for lessons here at Cal State. Over time we have settled on them playing 1/2 strength softer reeds at home than they do for me here. Additionally, I personally experienced this last weekend for the first time when I had to play a woodwind trio job in Big Bear CA. - I ended using the softest broken-in reed in my reed case. One that I almost discarded as being too light and buzzy earlier in the week.
Also, when I was a clarinet major at the University of Redlands under Phil Rehfeldt (years ago!), I remember something about he and a group of his students driving up the mountain and stopping every thousand feet to play their clarinets (must have been a sight to see driving by!) and recording their results. If I remember correctly, reeds became more resistant with every stop.
-Jon
Clarinet, Woodwind Methods, Music Ed.
CSUSB
San Bernardino, CA
jusher@csusb.edu
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2007-06-13 16:22
Well, to follow up on my reed/sob story:
I think that my problem last week was psychosomatic. I was not prepared for my Monday lesson, and that might have surfaced in my Sunday panic. About half way through my lesson on the next day (24-hours later, and 62-miles away), my bad reed(s) cleared up. This went along with the realization that my teacher was not going to actually scalp me.
The weather here has been pretty stable for several days now, and my reeds (and, presumably, me) seem to have recovered.
ARRGGGHHH
Bob Phillips
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