 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Andy
Date: 2001-02-22 06:48
Erm......presently I'm using Grand Concert Thick Blank strength 3 1/2 and it sounds great...
I have a habit......that is to soak the reed in water for about a couple of minutes before i play on it. Does it harm the reed or anything else? I do so becoz i found that if i soak a dry reed in water and play it, its responsiveness is better.
The surface of my reed tends to get dirty very easily when it comes contact with my saliva. I felt very disgusted as I play on it. I remove the moisture from my reed evertime after I used it with a clean cloth but the reed still gets dirty. Is there a way to help.
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Author: Roger
Date: 2001-02-22 11:47
I have a medicine bottle I use to soak reeds. I no longer use pure water. Too many bacteria, etc. start growing. I use mouthwash. It works as good as water and besides, the reeds taste good!
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-02-22 13:49
Cane reeds are not meant to be played dry. The vast majority of clarinettists soak their reeds one way or another before playing.
Reeds will stay cleaner longer if you always wash your hands and rinse your mouth well before playing. If possible, avoid eating or drinking anything other than water before playing or see if have time to brush your teeth.
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Author: Aaron Diestel
Date: 2001-02-22 15:22
I always reccomend to ANY wind player to wait at least a half hour before you play after you eat. This lets any extra enzymes and bacteria from food, saliza, and expically soda or sugars from drinks to damage the reed.
One definate NO is drinking soda, expically Coke and Pepsi before you play. The acids in the Coke may be good for getting corrosion off you battery terminals on your car, but it's horrid on the wood, and expically the reed. The acids can do horrible things to the barrel and wod in the upper joint, along with the sugars getting tnto the reed. On the brass side of things, a music teacher whoo always drank pepsi had to replace the lead pipe on his trumpet after years of drinking soda before and during playing. If soda will eat through brass, just think what it will do to the reed and wood of the clarinet.
So my advice on eating is to wait at least a half hour after eating to play. Drink plenty of water to neutralize any acids in the mouth, even brush your teeth directly after eating. The go for it. That way you keep the possibility of all "outside" products from entering the horn. I follow the same procedure and my reeds last for a long while. of course I rotate between 15 different reeds at a time and keep them on glass.
Good luck
Aaron
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-02-22 16:30
Andy -
Soaking your reeds in water is exactly the right thing to do. Use fresh tap water, as any water carried around in a bottle and re-used can get full of mold. The right length of time is until the tip is no longer wrinkled -- usually 2 to 4 minutes.
Crud won't build up on a reed if you dry it properly before putting it away. At the end of a session, lay the reed across your left index finger with the bark under your thumb and the tip pointing up and to the right. Pinch the reed gently at the top of the vamp between your right thumb (on top) and index finger and slide your right hand toward and off the end of the tip until the reed feels dry. Then put it in an open-sided holder like the one Vandoren reeds come in, so it will dry completely flat.
If a reeds gets too dirty to scrape clean with your thumbnail, I've found the best cleaning method is to scrub the vamp (always from top to tip) with an old toothbrush and a tiny bit of toothpaste.
A reed near the end of its life can sometimes be revived for a few days be putting it in a shallow dish and pouring hydrogen peroxide over it, which dissolves grease. Leave it in until the bubbling stops. Peroxide loses strength over time, so buy it in small bottles. It's only water with extra oxygen dissolved in it, so it can't hurt you.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Bart Hendrix
Date: 2001-02-22 18:26
Sorry, I don't mean to be critical, but as a chemistry instructor I just can't let this pass.
Hydrogen peroxide is a molecule consisting of two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms. It is somewhat unstable and decomposes into water and oxygen, but it is not just water with extra oxygen dissolved in it. The typical 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide in water that you can get at the drug store is dilute enough that it can be handled safely as suggested in the previous post. However, it is a powerful oxidizer (that is why we use it as a disinfectant). If you happen to get hold of some that is more concentrated than 3%, handle it with great care. There is a serious risk that a more concentrated solution can cause significant damage to bodily tissues (the 3% solution is concentrated enough to kill bacterial cells -- how much more do you think is needed to kill your cells?).
Chemistry safety strikes again! ;-)
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Author: George
Date: 2001-02-23 14:25
Some of the confusion may come from the fact that when a weak hydrogen peroxide solution dries, the peroxide dissapears completely, becoming water and oxygen in the process. This is different from saying that peroxide is just water with oxygen dissolved in it! But there is no residue which can hurt you or anything else after it is dried.
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Author: Bart Hendrix
Date: 2001-02-23 17:50
Absolutely, the potential hazard is in handling of the solution -- and then only if it is higher concentration than that commonly available.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-02-23 23:04
Well said, Bart, H2O2, hydrogen PERoxide [sometimes called dihydrogen DIoxide {in a reed-reviver solution!}] releases what we used to call "nascent" [atomic, not molecular] oxygen when something oxidizable [combustible] is present. So, as said, be very careful in its use even at the usual 3% concentration [avoid anything higher!!] . As an old ChE, I can recall the short-time use of Na2O2 in toothpaste, and wonder about this new tooth-whitening business!! Take care, Don
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