 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: NBerg117
Date: 2017-01-04 08:02
Hello fellow clarinetists!
I am a 16 year old High School band student (Junior) who is currently seated as second chair in our school's top ensemble. I play on a late-1980s Buffet E11. I have had an issue for a long time with warping reeds. It seems like no matter what I do my reeds tend to bend inwards to close off the mouthpiece over time. I have tried a couple of different reed holders now, and none of them have seemed to make any difference. I play on a Vandoren 5RV lyre with a Vandoren Optimum ligature. I usually play with Vandoren V21 3.5s. I have noticed that these tend to bend more frequently/quickly than V12s or other reeds that I've used, but they all tend to bend no matter what. This has left both me and my instructor for private lessons confused, and while he has given me countless suggestions on how to fix the issue, nothing seems to work! Over time, every one of my reeds ends up bending in towards the mouthpiece, making large register jumps very prone to squeaking. (Especially in the beginning of the 1st Brahm's Sonata, which I am currently working on for my state solo competition along with some scholarship auditions, etc.) I have been suffering through this problem for a long time and I was hoping that one of you would be able to shed some light on the issue. Has anybody else experienced this? How did you fix it? Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-01-04 08:55
Do you dry your reeds by squeezing them against the mouthpiece with your thumb? I used to do this and had exactly the problem you describe. Now I carry an old plastic library card (same size as a credit card but thinner) and slide it between the reed and the mouthpiece when I squeeze the reed. The reed no longer bends in against the mouthpiece.
Tony F.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2017-01-04 11:00
Do the reeds recover their shape after resting and drying or is the warp permanent? Does this happen as you play or is the reed, once warped, warped from the start of the next playing session?
Karl
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2017-01-05 23:13
Hi
Buy a LEGERE Signature Series synthetic reed. You will never have warping problems or ever have to wet the reed, it immediately responds, fantastic.
You'll never go back to cane. Good luck!
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: ClarinetRobt
Date: 2017-01-05 23:46
I love it when someone types exactly what I was thinking. Legere Signature is certainly a great reed and qualifies to be the only reed you ever need. Switched a student of mine with a cane allergy to Brad Behn's Legere friendly mouthpiece with the Signature reed and she's never sounded better. (Clark makes equally fantastic products.) Warping is now a non-issue.
~Robt L Schwebel
Mthpc: Behn Vintage
Lig: Ishimori, Behn Delrin
Reed: Legere French Cut 3.75/4, Behn Brio 4
Horns: Uebel Superior (Bb,A), Ridenour Lyrique, Buffet R13 (Eb)
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2017-01-06 00:33
I am a Legere convert and don't have any disagreement with John's or Robert's enthusiasm about them. They do make warping in the usual sense a thing of the past.
But what Nick seems to be describing isn't the curling up of the sides so the center of the reed protrudes down its length that is usually meant by warping. He talks about the reed's bending in toward the tip rail of the mouthpiece - the tip opening closing up. This can happen from applying too much pressure against the reed while playing.
I don't know that Legeres can resist this kind of bending or not. Perhaps, because the material is, I think, naturally more resilient than wet cane. But I think it's a separate issue from "warping" as we normally complain about it with cane.
Nick, it might be worth a try just to see if the plastic reed solves the problem. My limited experience with my own students is that you may have to overcome your band director's objections to the experiment.
Karl
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2017-01-06 01:00
Legere reeds are certainly a viable option, but they are not a panacea.
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2017-01-06 03:33
Never seen a reed do that on its own. Sometimes the flat part bells out and sometimes the tip goes squiggly, but never seen one, let alone all of them, go concaved lengthwise. Any possibility you're biting too hard?
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-01-06 03:41
They don't do it on their own, they need some external force. Biting or wiping the reed hard with your thumb will do it.
Tony F.
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2017-01-06 10:35
Tony,
Yeah, if you don't treat them as evanescent, delicate phenomena, then synthetic might be the way to go. What, "The Tale of Genji" as required reading for clarinet students at conservatories?
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-01-06 15:51
this bending phenomena also applies to synthetic reeds. I ruined a Legere Signature when I was biting too hard.
I don't entirely understand the reference to a fairly obscure 12th century Japanese text. What are you trying to say?
Tony F.
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2017-01-06 18:14
It's frequently regarded as an expression of the transitory and hard-to-grasp nature of everything in life, and beauty in particular. Applies as well to music as a whole as to decent reeds, but it's more immediate and painful when it happens to reeds. Probably not so obscure for Japanese people.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-01-06 20:20
Thanks for the explanation, I see what you mean. Perhaps I can find some answers there as well.
Tony F.
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2017-01-06 22:53
Do you bite? If you are putting too much pressure on the reed they do that. That's why a reed that is too stiff at first will seem to play softer after a half hour (or however long - I'm not talking about break in). If you do it all the time and they don't get flattened out I think they would stay that way.
Make sure to put the reed in a flat reed holder when done. (Not the one it comes in.). Make sure your reed holder isnt bent.
Rotate reeds. I play almost every one in the box, a use a different one each time I get the horn out. (For the most part.) Have at least 5 reeds all the time.
Don't soak your reeds. Wood that gets soaked and then bent tends to stay bent. I just wet mine a little.
- Matthew Simington
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