 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: araclar
Date: 2023-06-27 03:00
When you break in reeds, what kind of playing do you do? Do you avoid certain registers/rapid articulation/fast passages, or do you play whatever you want?
As I'm trying to isolate variables in my break in process, I worry that my noodling is too aggressive for a new reed.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-06-27 04:21
I think I've always gone through one or two scale routines from the Baermann. My routine was rather short, five minutes per day for about three or four days.
That is an interestingly structured question though. The main idea is to re-hydrate your reed. But also it is desirable to get the fibers used to moving.......I suppose. If avoiding anything is necessary I would say that the top altissimo would be a space you'd not dwell for long periods (say my full five minutes) since that does present stress only the the very top of the reed.
............Paul Aviles
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2023-06-27 05:51
I don't do any type of reed break in process.
After wrestling with it for years, I realized (that at least in my case) any perceived benefit was well within the placebo range.
Fuzzy
;^)>>>
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-06-27 17:32
The opposite of reed break-in process for me was grabbing a reed and playing through a full day of rehearsals. The reed turned green and soggy and never played right after that.
For me that was a real negative downside to just pulling a reed out of a box and blowing.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: araclar
Date: 2023-06-28 03:43
I'm not wailing in the high register, but clearly I am doing something wrong.
After just a few days of playing for one or two minutes I'm getting some warpage that doesn't seem to settle.
I'm keeping them in a semi-sealed environment at about 40% humidity, but it seems like the warpage is happening while I'm playing or soon after, not during storage.
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2023-06-28 03:46
Paul,
I can imagine that would be enough to convince a person.
I've come to the conclusion that a lot of the various reed rituals have to do with regional/local environments. I think that's at least one reason advice given by some doesn't work for others.
Two different university instructors I had (separated by a period of 10 years) came from regions significantly lower in elevation, and much more humid than where the college is. They systematically moved the students into specific reed rotation/humidification programs. Both instructors ended up with a studio full of students with warping or mildewing reeds. I have no doubt whatsoever that their methods worked for them where they came from - but they sure didn't work here.
Fuzzy
;^)>>>
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-06-28 04:20
Agreed on the different regions point.
How are the reeds warping?
I guess I left out a little. I'd wet a reed in a glass of water (half in, half out) for about 2 minutes, then play the reed for five, placing the next reed from a box of ten after about 3 minutes. This way I got through a box of ten in just about an hour. I placed the reeds flat side up on a dry surface in the order they played best (as close as I could estimate) until the next day. The order would change even on the fourth day but after that things usually were stable from there. It was only at the fourth day that I'd begin placing the reeds in a reed guard
As for moisture, I never sealed the reeds off in anything. I just took a Baggies Sandwich bag and just flicked a few droplets of water into it with the three reed guards of ten reeds and just lightly folded the Baggie as I placed it into the clarinet case. I never did anything very scientific with the reeds. I think early on I did try some commercial hydro container that I sealed and wound up with black mold. Never used anything like that again.
I did live in Orlando for two years and reeds NEVER behaved better!
................Paul Aviles
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Author: kdk
Date: 2023-06-28 06:28
araclar wrote:
> After just a few days of playing for one or two minutes I'm
> getting some warpage that doesn't seem to settle.
>
Could you clarify what you mean by warpage and how you're detecting it?
Karl
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Author: araclar
Date: 2023-06-28 07:15
Warpage on the flat side of the reed, not wiggly tip.
I check for warpage by placing approx half the bark of the reed on a piece of glass (with the rest of the bark and the vamp floating off the edge) and rocking it back and forth (from rail to rail, not heel to tip), slowly moving the reed further onto the piece of glass as I rock it. This way I can identify where on the reed the warpage begins and ends; typically warpage from the heel to the shoulders (or a couple mm into where the window would be) is problematic for me.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-06-28 07:33
So I can't say that I have ever tested for side-to-side warpage. I have had success with Vandoren standard, Vandoren 56 Rue Lepic and Vandoren V21s. The only 'warpage' that bothered my ability to get everything out of the reed was tip-to heel where the reed bowed upward in the middle, or rather, the tip came closer the the mouthpiece. I think just a little judicious bending will clear that up though.
.............Paul Aviles
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