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Origin of the reed design

Author: oca
Date: 2012-03-31 01:08

The primary job of the reed is to stop the air and release the air into the horn.

I would assume the first reed was a thin, straight piece of wood that was too soft and easily succumbed to lip pressure, thus closing off all air. The second reed was probably a thick, straight piece of wood that was too stiff so that the reed could not waver back and forth, thus allowing the air to pass undisturbed into the horn, making no sound at all. The third reed made was probably an angled piece of wood, thin at the tip and thick at the bottom to fix both previous problems.

So what inspired the rounding of the reed? Why is middle of the reed (the heart) rounded so that the edges are lowered?
http://lpwindsusa.com/reedanatomy.jpg

Please correct me if I made any mistakes, I am only speculating.

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Re: Origin of the reed design

Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2012-03-31 11:33

I believe reeds were a part of the mouthpiece originally. The aperture was cut into the mouthpiece/reed. I don't know where I read this. It doesn't appear to be in the one book I have on this subject. Baines, WW Instruments and their History. Perhaps this was true of the chalumeau?

Freelance woodwind performer

Post Edited (2012-03-31 11:42)

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Re: Origin of the reed design

Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-03-31 12:02

As cane is tubular and the outer surface of the blank is curved, once you start scraping it to form a flat you'll naturally end up with a parabola-shaped scrape. If the blank was a long rectangular prism, the scraped area will be rectangular, but nothing in nature is like that. A completely flat vamp may not have had the desired resistance so a curved vamp was developed to give it some backbone. But if you look at some reeds, some have a much flatter vamp than others.

Any authoritative book on clarinet history would have some insight into the development of the reed and mouthpiece - G. F. Rendall's book or similar books ought to shed some light on this.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

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