 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Suzanne
Date: 2001-07-22 00:37
A couple of questions:
Is it possible that a reed can be unbalanced from top-to-bottom? In other words, it could have more wood on the bottom half than what should be there compared to how thin the top half is? (I hope that makes sense.) What does an unbalanced top-to-bottom reed sound/feel/play like? How do I identify it so I can make the proper adjustment?
I often will have a wonderful sounding reed when playing legato, the reed is balanced side-to-side, but when I begin to articulate, the reed closes. Often with these kinds of reeds, the reed collapses in the altissimo as well. Working on balancing the tip has not helped this--either I am too novice at it, or I am doing the wrong thing. (I only take of the tiniest bit at a time too, maybe one brush with the rush at a time.)
Does anyone have advice?
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Author: mw
Date: 2001-07-22 02:14
IMO, unless you want to use the reed ONLY where it will work (not in the altissimo & sans articulation) (which seems quite impractical to me) ... you are forced to clip it (as little as you can) or to use it with a more open mouthpiece (although I find that moving reeds between different mouthpieces seems quite impossible to me at times, other times it works though)
ps of course, it is possible to learn to do more with SOFT reeds. some styles of music lend themselves more to soft reeds, than others .....
best,
mw
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-07-22 12:33
What MW said, some reduction in the tip mass sounds sensible.
I just had a lunch with Larry Guy and he talked more at length about reed prep.
His book is worth the money, it basically covers his costs, and is available through the Sponsors section.
Tom Ridenour and Dave Spiegelthal have also put forth break-in techniques that are in the public domain (that is, FREE!) which are effective, too.
Bottom line; get on a reproducible program for predictable results.
PS - Try the Legere as a 'stand-by' reed for the days when all else fails, at least you may continue to practice, and might sound pretty good!
anji
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-07-22 13:19
If it is closing up at the tip on upper notes, it could very well be too soft a reed for that mouthpiece. So either use a reed trimmer to clip a hairline off the tip, use a slightly harder reed to start with, or use a more open mouthpiece than you currently do.
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Author: Tim Sites
Date: 2001-07-26 20:47
It's very difficult to answer your question precisely because there are so many unknowns (what mouthpiece are you using, where does your lip press against the reed, where exactly are you making your reed adjustments, what brand reed are you using, etc.). None-the-less, the closing off of the reed when you articulate or on high notes does point to certain common problems.
First of all never adjust a reed until it is fully broken in (you may have certain break-in procedures you do to all reeds, but this must exclude any attempt to balance or adjust resistance). If the reed doesn't play well to begin with, throw it away. Most quality reeds today are manufactured with fairly good tolerances so if it isn't close to playing well to begin with, it is probably not worth the effort to try to fix. If you find that a large percentage of the reeds out of the box don't play well, change brands, style or cut until you find reeds that play better more reliably.
Trimming reeds to increase resistance is a last ditch effort. If you find you have to do this often, start using harder reeds to begin with.
If the reed does not close up before you begin making your adjustments, then either you are over adjusting (removing too much) or you are working too close to the tip. As a rule I never touch the reed within an 1/8" of the tip or within about 1/8" of the edges tapering slightly as you move about 3/8" from the tip. You can also adjust too far back, though you must remove much more cane to have a significant effect.
When adjusting reeds, don't just blow a few notes and go back to adjusting. Play where you have problems (in this case articulation and altissimo register) before you make more adjustments.
Lip position can also cause reeds to close up. Try taking in more mouthpiece and see if the reed still closes up. If it stops or at least doesn't close up as often, then you either need to adjust your embouchure or get a more open mouth piece with a shorter lay.
If your initial reed strength is 3 or greater, then unless you are removing a significant amount of cane, your reed should not collapse on most common mouthpieces. Many people are comfortable with hard reeds (4-5), but if you find that you -require- a hard reed in order to play in the altissimo register or to not loose your tone when articulating, you probably need extensive work on your embouchure.
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