 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2017-03-21 03:13
Though playing for 2.5years, I am almost embarrassed to ask such a question but in practicing and trying to rotate through 2.5 and 3 strength reeds I find when one squeaks or doesn't play well I get stuck in trying to find out the reason, thus wasting practice time and never do find the trouble. I was curious what experienced players do and wonder if maybe I should just not it and go on to another reed, and come back to this problem later in spare time? Seems that may be the best approach but I wondered what others do.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-03-21 04:31
Chasing bad reeds is a waste of my time. I bin them immediately and move on. If I think it might help I'll try once to correct it, but I don't pursue it beyond that point.
Tony F.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2017-03-23 03:04
Ditch the problem reed, move on to the next. Don't necessarily throw it out, cause there might be a day where due to weather, humidity, temperature, etc., that reed might be the best. But for that practice session, don't use it, and just move on.
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2017-03-23 18:12
Alexi makes an interesting point. Some reeds seem to vary between good and bad on different days.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2017-03-23 18:46
Philip Caron wrote:
> Alexi makes an interesting point. Some reeds seem to vary
> between good and bad on different days.
Within limits. If it's really awful today, it's not going to be a gem tomorrow or any other time.
And, I've generally found, a reed that squeaks usually does it because of a flaw in the grain. It may squeak less some days than others, but those reeds seem to be always unstable. Best to ditch them.
Karl
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2017-03-23 20:55
kdk wrote:
> Philip Caron wrote:
>
> > Alexi makes an interesting point. Some reeds seem to vary
> > between good and bad on different days.
>
> Within limits. If it's really awful today, it's not going to be
> a gem tomorrow or any other time.
>
> And, I've generally found, a reed that squeaks usually does it
> because of a flaw in the grain. It may squeak less some days
> than others, but those reeds seem to be always unstable. Best
> to ditch them.
>
> Karl
Yes, within limits. An awful reed that is awful most of the time, literally throw it out. If a reed just seems stuffy, or hard or soft, keep it for another day.
An easy thing to do that sometimes helps squeaky reeds is to "sleal" the back and top of the reed. Put a piece of paper on a flat surface, put the reed on that paper, and just rub it back and forth and circular on that paper. It'll make the back of the reed very shiny and after about ten to fifteen seconds, should be very smooth and easy to rub on the paper. You can also seal the top of the reed by wrapping a strip of paper around a finger and rubbing the top part.
It might help.
Try it on a garbage reed first so you get the hang of sealing a reed without damaging it before testing it on a decent reed and accidentally damaging the reed.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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