The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Reed strength

Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2017-06-07 00:31

Hi John,

Be prepared for a variety of answers.

Note that many jazz players use very soft reeds. (...and some use very hard reeds...)

Once you have enough experience behind you, then you might want to revisit this question. Normally, as folks learn clarinet, they end up in the 3 1/2-4 reed strength range...some a little harder than that, and some a little softer...but generally in the 3 1/2-4 range.

Many times, it seems that once people find the reed strength that they're comfortable with, they stick with it until they either change mouthpieces or instruments (or both)...or have simply improved to the point where they realize that they need a slightly different reed to achieve their goals. That was the case with me. But also - with experience comes knowledge of what sound you're really wanting, and which reed/mouthpiece combination will help you achieve that sound.

So for me - there's not really a "right" or "wrong" answer pertaining to soft reeds. I used to play on a #5 when in college, but didn't get the sound I wanted. I changed mouthpieces and went back down to a 4, then a 3, and now play 2 1/2's where I live, and 3's at sea level.

Keep in mind that folks like Benny Goodman actually used "soft" reeds and sounded great - even in the altissimo. Artie Shaw preferred harder reeds...and sounded great - even in the altissimo.

If you don't get many responses to your post, you might want to try using the search tool on the forum and try searching for "reed strength" or "soft reed" etc - there have been several discussions on this topic in the last few months, and maybe you'll be able to glean some information from them if replies to this post are sparse.

Warmest Regards,
Fuzzy

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics