 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: knotty
Date: 2015-06-23 21:19
I've always done a break in procedure, typically play a new reed a minute or so for a few days and longer each day. Similar to what Mark Nuccio does.
I heard somewhere, can't remember, they said Julian Bliss opens a new box and plays a performance with it without any break in.
Is this true? I would have thought the reed may not perform well without a break in period, what's the story?
Thanks!
~ Musical Progress: None ~
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Roxann
Date: 2015-06-23 21:31
One of our reed musician who played 7 shows with us last week purchased a new reed to use. The reed worked fine for 3 days then she started having problems. We examined her instrument very closely and could find nothing wrong with it. We finally attributed the fact that she flat-out couldn't play some of the notes to the way she DIDN'T break in her reed properly. Not breaking in your reed properly might not matter if you only plan to use it once. However, if you plan to use it over a period of months or even days, it may not be such a great idea. Or, as I experienced a few months ago, if I don't give my reeds a chance to rest for a couple of days before playing them again, they quit playing. Knotty...how about testing out a new reed against one of yours that you've broken in then filling us in on what you found out. I'd be very curious. I know some folks who never break in their reeds. They have one reed they love and play it full out right from the beginning. Now I'm curious as to what others' experiences are.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: kdk
Date: 2015-06-23 22:00
knotty wrote:
> I heard somewhere, can't remember, they said Julian Bliss opens
> a new box and plays a performance with it without any break in.
>
>
> Is this true? I would have thought the reed may not perform
> well without a break in period, what's the story?
Well, first, be careful about believing everything you hear, especially about high profile players. Whether it's true or not is something only Julian Bliss or someone closely associated with him could answer.
It's certainly possible to play a new reed without breaking it in. A reed may play wonderfully right out of the box. The issue is how it plays after a few minutes, after a half hour, after an hour, as it soaks up more and more water? So Bliss may well take the reed out of the box, put it on his mouthpiece and just play it if he's willing to adjust to it along the way as its vibrating characteristics change. That's a matter of his flexibility.
Players who use various break-in processes also do it to slow or prevent the reed's rapid decay from a too long initial exposure to water. There are players - Julian Bliss may be one - who play a reed once or twice and then toss it and pull another one out of the box the next time they play.
Not the way I do things, but it's a big world with lots of different people in it.
Karl
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2015-06-23 22:23
I have my break in procedure that's worked well for me for many years, it's on my web page. But there have been a few occasions, just a few, that I just didn't like what I had, opened a new box our of desperation, found a wonderful reed and played a concert on it. One time years ago, I performed Strivinsky's Story of A Soldier on a new reed, it played great. But the next day it was trash, but it saved the day, or performance. So yes, a reed right out of the box can play very well, may get soft or soggy after you play for a while, but maybe not. There's no absolute when it comes to reeds. If you want to make them last, breaking in and rotation is the long proven method.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: knotty
Date: 2015-06-24 00:49
Thank you, I seem to remember now more of what Julian said. It was at one of those sessions where he was a guest performer talking to a high school band I believe. It was opening a box, quickly evaluating the reeds and picking the best one to play. After the performance he discards the reed.
~ Musical Progress: None ~
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: fskelley
Date: 2015-06-24 01:53
How do you know that a reed that has been overplayed initially, is really permanently ruined? I strongly suspect that if left for days or weeks or months under reasonable storage conditions, most would return either to something akin to their new condition, or a "properly broken in day 2 or 3" condition. Do you have carefully studied or anecdotal evidence otherwise?
Not all of us can wantonly discard reeds that potentially have good play left in them, not even at $2.20 a pop.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
Post Edited (2015-06-24 01:57)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2015-06-24 02:32
I'm one of those cavemen who'd clamp on a fresh reed five minutes before a concert and play an hour and half and then use that same reed until it's worn, then repeat as necessary.
My playing improved more by practicing than by spending a lot of time breaking in reeds. I have found a brand that allows for such frivolities and intend to continue as long as that brand is available.
I understand that others have different approaches and don't claim that my method is superior. It just happens to work for me. :-)
--
Ben
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: kdk
Date: 2015-06-24 03:31
fskelley wrote:
> How do you know that a reed that has been overplayed initially,
> is really permanently ruined? I strongly suspect that if left
> for days or weeks or months under reasonable storage
> conditions, most would return either to something akin to their
> new condition, or a "properly broken in day 2 or 3" condition.
> Do you have carefully studied or anecdotal evidence otherwise?
>
You may well be right. I've had similar experiences fairly often. I've given up on reeds but only abandoned them on my desk instead of tossing them and, days or more later, when I can't remember what was wrong with them, I've tried them again and found that many played well.
But my sense is that if I relied on that kind of extended wait state to revive each reed, I'd need to have as many waiting as I now normally have in rotation and preparation. Same number of reeds, just (maybe) on a different schedule.
Anyway, *how* you get to a playable reed when you're rehearsing with an ensemble or performing isn't nearly so important as *that* you have one when you need it.
Karl
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: fskelley
Date: 2015-06-24 04:56
Karl- I keep pretty good notes on my reeds (engineering habits- Excel, LOL) so I know when an old bad reed revives after a long time. Happens pretty regularly, enough that I'm skittish about throwing away anything. Especially a dead playing Legere, let's say.
BUT- I find many such revivals are short lived, the reed was bad before and returns to bad pretty quickly. I'm reminded of old dead batteries that will light a flashlight brightly, for about 3 sec, then the light dims.
In the specific case of a new reed played too much too soon so it is too waterlogged, I think you've got a good chance of it recovering completely. Or, if it doesn't, perhaps it would have gone bad during a nice slow breakin anyway- in which case the overplaying didn't kill it after all. One of many things we can't ever know for sure.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
