 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: gregbaker112@gmail.com
Date: 2019-06-23 06:09
Greetings from not (yet) humid Minnesota!
What impact does a change in barometric air pressure have on the playability of reeds? Asking for a friend (me).
Greg Baker
gregbaker112@gmail.com
😀 "Hey! I got nothing to do today but smile."
-Paul Simon
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-06-23 07:42
I have had two inexplicable instances where I could't even get a sound out of a clarinet (just mouthpiece; on clarinet-tried three different ones). This happened one day last October and the other just two days ago. If I had a concert on those days I would have been completely without recourse.
The only thing I can attribute this two is some odd confluence of temperature, humidity and barometric pressure (air pressure determines how fast air molecules move). For the record these were pre-storm days with particularly low pressure (29.5ish).
But I have no scientific explanation for why my playing completely shut down.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-06-23 22:46
I thought I'd add Ricardo Morales' direct answer to your question:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0BmXMoPFHs
At 00:53 Ricardo Morales speaks of his reed strength options and notes that in high altitude places like Colorado, he uses a reed a half strength softer than closer to sea level.
Less pressure = softer reed
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2019-06-24 02:47
Paul is dead on. I have a friend who performs throughout the world, and he had to perform in Peru (I think?) at 8000+ ft. He went with a more open mouthpiece and a much softer reed.
I’m in central Virginia (~450 ft) and frequently find myself performing in the blue ridge mountains (~1000-1700ft)...and I use a softer reeds when I’m in the mountains.
Having said that — I haven’t noticed the same issue with the synthetics that I now use, but I’m also not changing a really significant altitude.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2022-05-19 20:44
Older thread but relevant to me again!
As severe weather systems roll through my area (low pressure systems) I have experienced another round of ZERO performance out of my reeds 3.50 Legere Euro Cut reeds. I even moved down in strength in the Euro Cut and still found relatively poor performance. I finally had pretty good results moving to a softer-than-normal Legere Signature Soprano Sax reed (the equivalent strength is softer to begin with). I believe the shorter length of reed helped the vibrations under these less than ideal circumstances.
It also seems that it is not necessarily the final barometric pressure number that creates the poor playing characteristics for my usual reeds, but rather it is when the pressure is heading downward dramatically that creates the unplayability. The other day the pressure was still pretty low but heading upward and my usual reeds were playing just fine.
Finally, since the last time this was an issue for me happened to be a change of seasons (the Fall), I believe the humidity and temperature are contributing factors as well.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2022-05-20 04:41
When a cane reed suddenly changes, always check if the reed can roll back and forth on a flat surface. If it can roll back and forth it is a humidity problem, maybe caused by the high altitude. Soaking the reed for a few hours to see if it corrects itself back to flat. If so, it is a humidity problem. I mark reeds to classify it as such.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2022-05-20 17:27
Ken, that's good advice. However, under extreme (very dry) conditions it is NOT the geometry of the reed that is the problem but that fact that the cane WILL NOT retain water. And that's not even an issue of new, old or broken-in when things are really bad.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2022-05-28 16:27
A lot of things must happen:
1. Water content of reed.
2. Swelling, or de-swelling, in the back.
3. Warpage due to the change.
4. Change in the interior tensions in the "wood".
5. In extreme situations (like 5,000 ft+) the density of the air's effect on a players blowing and support.
When I moved away from Colorado I thought I had an extra lung installed - and the altitude never "bothered" me, even above 10,000 feet.
I think pressure also affects mood and behavior, the change more than the kind of weather. Birds here in Florida know a storm is coming long before you actually see wind or rain.
- Matthew Simington
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2022-05-29 21:20
Hi Matthew,
It's really interesting that you mention the effects of pressure on behaviour, because I was reading about that in a book on respiratory physiology this week.
It's a book about chronic hyperventilation and the book says that altitute, changes in barometric pressure, and hot humid weather all have an effect on hyperventilation. That has a big knock-on effect on various bodily processes, which apparently are how people are able to predict a change in the weather long before it comes.
It's really nice to see you say that you have noticed this in action.
Jennifer
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2022-05-30 11:48
I have some new data. Firstly it is important to know that I play on Legere reeds which take a lot of variables out of the equation.
Over the last week I've gone from what I use in terms of reed strength and type 99% of the time (Legere Euro cut 3.5) to the back up reeds (Legere Signature Soprano Sax 2.75) several times and kept record of all local climate factors.
It now appears that it is a combination of high humidity and low pressure that requires the switch to the lighter reed. If the pressure is moderately low, but the humidity is also lower, there is no problem.
Perhaps the water content of the air also slows down the reeds ability to vibrate as freely as possible and this is not related to the effects of moisture within cane fibers........obviously!
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2022-05-31 03:43
Jennifer, I came up with it bicycling to work. Certain days I could tell as soon as I pulled onto the road that everyone was out to kill me, so to speak. It's really obvious when you are trying not to get killed. After a while I could tell it wasn't just my perception. People get really hard on the gas, change lanes a lot, tailgate, pass close, and everyone seems to think they're late and everyone else is in the way. It's like they're all on edge, or manic. It's usually a sunny day after a storm or overcast period, after a front goes through. I figured it wasn't nice weather because they weren't always like that. So I figured it might be barometric pressure. I saw a study cited somewhere about mood and pressure but I didn't follow up.
I found this: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28278268/
Quote:
The results showed that daily maximum temperature was the only meteorological variable to predict clinically-relevant mood change, with increases in temperature associated with greater odds of a transition into manic mood states.
- Matthew Simington
Post Edited (2022-05-31 03:58)
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2022-05-31 19:23
Hi Matt,
I know exactly what you mean about the dangers of cycling. I live in Cambridge, UK, which is a cycling city, and it can be pretty fraught at times.
It's very interesting - what you say about barometric pressure and mood states.
I will keep an eye out for that among our local cyclists.
Jen
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