 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: rgoldem
Date: 2009-10-17 23:01
What is the problem with soft reeds? I mean really soft, 1 ½ or 2? They seem to work well for me and everything is easy. Somehow, I have the feeling that this is wrong. What do you think? Thanks.
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2009-10-18 01:19
There are two ways that a reed can be soft.
1. The cane is cheap and soft.
2. The cane is high quality, but the reed is thinner.
Some brands have more of 1 some more of 2, some both.
There is really nothing wrong with soft reeds if they get you a good result. The instrument is a tool to make music, and if you can make music with a soft reed, then there is no problem.
However, I personally feel that 2.5 of any brand is just about as soft as I would go or suggest to a student, except in some rare cases.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2009-10-18 02:14
A reed may be too soft if:
- it closes easily enough under normal playing conditions to make repsonse unreliable
- your pitch goes progressively flatter as you go above F5 or G5 (top line or the space above it)
- your tone quality sounds either pinched or unfocused and harsh
- articulating causes a scooping pitch at the beginning of the note (the "attack")
- your dynamic range is limited to mezzo-something - neither loud nor soft are possible without major sacrifices in tone quality
Any of these can have other causes, but the easiest fix to try first is usually a half or even, if you're using a #1-1/2 or a #2, a whole strength harder. If that doesn't help, look for another solution.
If you notice none of these problems in your playing, then it may be that your mouthpiece works well with the soft reed and it isn't a case of the reed's being too soft, but just soft enough.
Karl
Post Edited (2009-10-18 15:29)
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Author: William
Date: 2009-10-18 15:41
Elmer Ziegler, a 1960's local music store owner and exclusive Buffet dealer once told me that Gus Langenous (sp??) had, "the biggest sound in New York City and he used a #1 reed". And my old clarinet professor said many times that "most clarinetist's use reeds that are too hard". Benny Goodman once said that he used a softer reed for jazz than when he tried to play classical music.
But that's all what OTHER PEOPLE say--what works for you is most important and if a soft reed lets you play it "your way" with a sound that you like, I would say, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. I think the real mistake is with the clarinetist that tries to improve tone quality and range by simply switching to a harder reed (or new mouthpiece, ligature, barrel, etc) rather than relying on embouchure control and quality time spent practicing. I agree with our MSO clarinetist Greg Smith who says, "rely more on practice than equipement".
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Author: interd0g
Date: 2009-10-19 15:35
I have always used much softer grade reeds than others say they use on a given mouthpiece.
And yet I see mysekl as an iron-jawed veteran of endless noisy jazz sessions with groups large and small.
I find that if you want fluent improvisation the instrument needs to speak readily in any register, so you can negociate stuff which by definition, you have not anticipated or practiced.
( Unless you are a purveyor of 'licks' ugh!)
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2009-10-19 16:49
This brings up a point that often gets glossed over - the clarinet is played in a wide variety of contexts, and the needs are different from one context to another. There are differences in the tonal expectations of clarinetists who play jazz, "classical" (symphonic, chamber, theater pit and even concert band playing all have slightly divergent needs), klezmer, etc.. Some differences are imposed by various playing conditions - playing acoustically in a large concert hall is not the same as playing in a 300-seat recital hall is not the same as playing into a microphone (whether in a noisy club, outdoors or even in a concert hall with gigantic amps and speaker systems). The choices players make about equipment are very dependent on how and where the equipment will be used.
Karl
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