 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Micke Isotalo ★2017
Date: 2026-09-19 14:38
This was recently touched upon in another thread, and for my part, I am one of those who experience seasonal variations in the strength of the reed, as between humid summer and dry winter.
Interestingly, however, different sources disagree on whether the reed feels harder or softer.
In this Selmer reed promotion video the bass clarinetist of the French Radio Orchestra tells: "I play a 3.5, but maybe in the summer when reeds harden, I will play a 3.25". See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0RG2sqEBkc
The opposite is said in this Marcellus reed break in method video (also referred to in that other recent thread), at about 34:30: "When the weather changes, on a rainy day the harder reeds will be the ones I probably like, and on a dry cold day it will be the softer ones." See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmTL_AOEOiQ&t=1343s
To be fair, I think it should be pointed out that none of these sources express themselves categorically (but instead with words like "maybe" and "probably") - but still contradictory.
For my part I've mostly experienced the same thing as in that Selmer video, where the reed feels stronger with increased humidity - but sometimes also the opposite. Thus, my own conclusion has been that reeds never behaves completely predictably - but having at least an idea of the most likely direction can be helpful.
What are your experiences?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2026-09-22 05:17
I am waiting to go through ANOTHER Winter before I get too far over my skis on this one. But I had wandered into a University study (grad paper most likely) that had spoken about what happens when there is MORE humidity or water vapor present in the air. This part is irrefutable. We know from Avogadro's number that there is a constant number of molecules of a substance in a given volume (at a given temperature). When water vapor is MORE present in the air there are LESS molecules of nitrogen and LESS molecules of oxygen, both of which are HEAVIER than water molecules.
SO............
The more humid the air, the lighter the air. What that does to your reed experience should be the following: The column of air within your horn will vibrate more easily when it is lighter. To achieve the same "feel" of resistance (all other things being equal) you should want to have a more resistant reed to make up for the lighter, quicker air column.
You can look at the air column as what affects the reed performance once the sound has been actuated.......the tail wagging the dog.
It is easier to judge this if you eliminate other reed factors such as how the fibers want to react when wetter or drier. There are no such extraneous factors using plastic reeds (Legeres for example). It DOES indicate that there is something else going on when environmental factors DO affect the performance of plastic reeds (which are impervious to changes in humidity).
..............Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: kdk
Date: 2026-09-22 06:54
Paul Aviles wrote:
> The more humid the air, the lighter the air. What that does
> to your reed experience should be the following: The column of
> air within your horn will vibrate more easily when it is
> lighter. To achieve the same "feel" of resistance (all other
> things being equal) you should want to have a more resistant
> reed to make up for the lighter, quicker air column.
>
What is the effect of water's being a better sound conductor than gaseous air?
Should the presence of more water vapor in the ambient air and in the bore allow sound to project more easily?
Karl
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: JMrnr
Date: 2026-09-22 10:14
Hi,
Water Vapor is a gas, so it’s not a better sound conductor, that only applies to water liquid.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2026-09-22 10:16
Karl,
If by "project more easily", you mean less resistance to the player, then yes, per Paul's explanation above, the reed feels softer, the resistance is less and the clarinet is easier to blow thus requiring a harder reed to get a player back to the resistance they are used to.
If by "project more easily", you mean faster projection of the sound, then yes, per the article below, sound travels faster in humid air, but the increase in speed is extremely small.
https://www.sciencing.com/humidity-affect-speed-sound-22777/
Just my understanding...
Post Edited (2026-09-22 10:22)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: JMrnr
Date: 2026-09-22 10:18
Anyway the air inside the bore comes from your lungs, so almost always at 100% of humidity….
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2026-09-22 10:55
JMrnr,
If the clarinet bore were "almost always at 100% humidity", to me this would mean that the wooden bore would always be dry and never absorb any moisture which we know that it does.
I believe the percentage of humid air in the bore would depend upon the density of the wood and its capacity to absorb the enclosed humidity.
Also, whenever a player takes a breath, the input air pressure drops to zero. If the ambient air is very dry, this, to me, would mean that the dry external air would go back into the bore.
I view it as a very complex process...
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarnibass
Date: 2026-09-22 12:34
I haven't looked at it much, but almost everywhere summer and winter vary by much more than humidity, and in some places the humidity is not hugely different.
My city is relatively dry, but I often have concerts and rehearsals in another city which is much more humid. During the same time of year, reeds generally feel softer in the more humid city. I often look for a good reed in the box depending on that, but I might even use a half size harder there.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: lydian
Date: 2026-09-22 18:41
Dan Shusta wrote:
> JMrnr,
>
> If the clarinet bore were "almost always at 100% humidity", to
> me this would mean that the wooden bore would always be dry and
> never absorb any moisture which we know that it does.
>
> I believe the percentage of humid air in the bore would depend
> upon the density of the wood and its capacity to absorb the
> enclosed humidity.
>
> Also, whenever a player takes a breath, the input air pressure
> drops to zero. If the ambient air is very dry, this, to me,
> would mean that the dry external air would go back into the
> bore.
>
> I view it as a very complex process...
That's not how humidity works. Air enters the bore at close to 100%. It begins to cool immediately due to the environment being cooler than your lungs which results in condensation on the inside of the bore. The cooler air is still close to 100% until it exits the instrument. It has nothing to do with the density of the wood. Presumably it's been oiled and absorbs virtually no water. Whatever small amount it does absorb would be in the form of condensation, not water vapor. When the player takes a breath, the second air flow stops, the warmer air inside the bore would slowly flow out of the mouthpiece tip and some of the upper holes. Given the time and size of these openings, that amount of air would be miniscule. The bore is not going to instantly fill with ambient air in that time.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
