Author: William
Date: 2009-08-11 14:52
It was the legendary emeritus Univeristy of Michigan Professor of Clarinet, William Stubbins, who (reportedly) use to scream at his students, "Play the reed, don't let the reed play you!!" And for years, I have tried to do this while at the same time using all manner of balancing, breaking in, rotating, saliva only, sanding, Reed Wizardry and other mystic pagan rituals, with only marginal and short-lived success. That is why I have admitted that the reed has played me to defeat, and have decided to look elsewhere--and that has led me to synthetic reeds, Forestones, to be specific. What I like best about these new composite reeds is that they are like puppies--always eager to please and ready to 'go'. Never have to balance, break in or even extensively warm up--just pick one out of the reed container and play effortlessly with a sound that frankly, no one notices as different from cane. Clean articulation and consistant performance from the beginning of practice/gig to end. And, so far (after using for three months), every reed I've tried still plays the same. They seem to last forever. The only thing I have noticed is that my multiple tonguing efforts above C6 are not as successful as with a good cane, but I'll keep working on that. Small price to pay for not having to fight the cane wars anymore. My apologies to Bill Stubbins, but I really am a much happier clarinetist these days and have not lost any credability with my fellow musicians nor my audiencies. However, Mr P, I do still "feel your pain". Have a great day, everyone.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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