 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Karel Vahala
Date: 2001-08-29 03:37
This is meant as an observation and a query. It seems to me that the reeds I have most trouble playing successfully are those that allow moisture unevenly into the reed, as observed on the heel when immersed 1/2 way up in water for 2 minutes. Reeds that show moisture tracking up on one side of the heel, or asymmetrically, seem to be the main culprits. I do polish my reeds, but some just refuse to seal completely. Is there a better way of sealing a reed than polishing, e.g. natural waxes? Karel.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Karel Vahala
Date: 2001-08-29 03:47
I would like to add that I appreciate that uneven moisture penetration will unbalance a reed. Also that adjusting such a reed will unbalance it for next time, unless the moisture imbalance remains identical. Perhaps "The Doctor" has a more methodical explanation and hopefully a solution? Karel.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: KevinS
Date: 2001-08-29 04:30
I don't have a solution, but Ben Armato has an explanation. I don't want to quote the book without Ben's permission. Ben scientifically explains how the cane is structured, and goes over several possible causes of "unbalanced" reeds. If you don't have a copy of the book, it's well worth looking into. You can acquire directly from Ben or from Gary Van Cott at VCIS. Both are sponsors of Sneezy, and especially nice people to work with.
Good Luck!
Kevin
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2001-08-29 13:58
Dear Karen - I may have a long explanation but no real soulution just some points to ponder.
If you do not want a long-winded explantion of reed structure read no further.
A large caveat - I am not, nor pretend to be a plant physiologist, just a natural products chemist, so those that are more knowledgable please correct me and feel free to add your two cents! I would fail the final exam in plant physiology with the explanation which I give - it is my belief that the better that you know a subject, the better you are able to explain it so that people will understand it - so beware of my communications. Plants are amazing living organisms. The "mighty oak tree in the square" is mighty for a number of reasons, one of which is the ability to transport tons of water daily to heights of a hundred feet. The mechanical, fluid dynamic, and architecture of this fete is still being researched. If one looks at a piece of finished wood or cane reed it does not convey the amazing architecture of the water and plant nutrient system contained in the outer visable cellulose case.
The water transport system in plants is a four tiered system - ( I will only go into three because the fourth is a complex chemical interaction system) -- much like the municipal water system. There are large trunk feeder pipes, many valves and "T" connections to secondary feeder pipes, pressure and flow sensing systems, and finially a micro distribution pipe system to your bathroom faucet. There is also a reverse feedback system, not present in our one-way municipal water system that acts as a regulator for the forward flow (in plants this helps conserve water during drought conditions). Anyway, in our cane reed we have a section of this complete plant water distribution system. If you took sections of the "mighty oak" it would reveal a different architecture at different levels from the ground to the top-most branches and twigs. Cane is slightly different because it grows as individual component systems separated by nodes as we see in a long bamboo pole. There are some differences and differentiation (different structure) in the lower most sections of cane but these are for the most part not important to this discussion.
The pipes or tubes in the cane structure have a different cellulose structure, thickness, and cross linking pattern than the rest of the plant cells that are used for energy metabolism or photosythesis (which takes place primarily in the leaves). When wood or cane is dried (the water removed from the total structure) there can be a collapse of some portion of the original plant water transport archictecture. There are a number of factors which determine what the final dried cane section will look like microscopically and the functionality, compared to the original "pipe" structure.
Some of the factors which affect the cane microstructure are: 1) genetic lineage of the cane which determines the end structure and makeup of the cane, 2) environmental conditions under which the cane grows (temperature, nutrients, water supply, etc..), 3) age of the cane at cutting (older cane will have a more developed - in terms of the rigidity and durability of the pipes), 4) drying conditions - temperature, humidity, position in the stack, etc.., 5) processing, manufacturing (when the cane is cut with a saw, knife, etc. the properties (sharpness, etc.) of the cutting instrument will determine if the tubes at the cut (either at the butt or on the curvature and tip of the finished reed) are smooth which will yield an open pipe or less smooth which may crush and seal the end of some or most of the tubes.
All of the above conditions are present in the lowly reed which we use to play music. All of us have noticed that certain reeds absorb more or less moisture, in a more or less even way. I truly do not know what part the microstructure of the reed, and it's hydration capabilities have on the vibrational characteristics of reeds. One could speculate. I have been investigating reed modification techniques and have some emperical data on reed density, different hydration conditions and levels (using water, siliva, chemically balanced aqueous solutions, etc.), vibrational characteristics and acoustic signatures of different types of reeds, and different chemical crosslinking reagents for cellulose, etc..
This is a work in progress.
As far as how to - or even why to - seal the reed (close those exposed water tubes in the reed structure), the different vibrational characteristics of reeds with differing hydration capabilities or unbalanced hydration characteristics, - I only have some guesses and scant scientific evidence at this point. This may be where art and science part ways (in my opinion only because science does not have sufficient data or explanations) and knowledge and experience in mechanically modifying or treating reeds has benefit.
As with any good - or poor - explanation there are many more factors to consider than evidence (or my abilities) to support a solution to the problem.
The Doctor
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: William
Date: 2001-08-29 15:08
Ben Armato's book, "Perfect A Reed....and Beyond" is also highly recommended by me. In addition to describing (in understandable terminology) the reed canes basic tubular structure and why it "behaves" like it does, he also has lots of suggestions (some quite interesting) on how to adjust them to help make them more playable. My own personal offering is that as a college clrinet student, we all experimented with different sealents to help prevent the reed from absorbing too much saliva. Mine was talcum powder, which I religiously rubbed into the reed after each performance. The only lasting effect of that process was to have the smoothest tongue in music school. After that failed experiment, I have since relied on rubbing the reed with nothing but one of my fingers, plus using some of Ben's suggested proceedures for reed balancing and care. I really don't intend for this posting to be a commercial, but, I also use his Reed Wizard which gives any reed the optimum profile for best performance--even if the cane is inferior to start with. I am still waiting, however, for someone to develope a reed sealent that doesn't taste like "after bath." How about it, Doc??? good Clarineting!!!!!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2001-08-29 16:45
Once I can deteremine the effects of such a sealant it should?? be easy. I have been doing some "flavor" and "scent" research on another product contract - not related to music in any way - that should cure the noxious smell and after taste of the sealant. I would have to be convinced and thoroughly test the product. Here we are talking something that does not exist yet. Mark has warned me about being too commercial in some of my posts - and rightly so in some instances. I do need everyone's feedback on new concepts, and that is hard to do without talking about product research (I have found that more than 95% of concepts and interactions with other companies never reach market) -- going down a lot of dead end toll roads on my part -- so I will try to separate my own products and new product concepts in my posts but still hope to get everbody's valuable feedback.
The Doctor
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2001-08-30 03:35
Dip the whole reed in water not part of it, as suggested by many, for at least 20 minutes. As to sealing some people use transparent nail manicure only on the heel.(See Klarinet archive)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Karel Vahala
Date: 2001-08-30 05:32
Dear Doctor, thank you for your post. I realize that plants are a complex structure, however my thought was that there "should" be a more effective way of sealing the "pores" - or the ends of the tubular structures which suck up the moisture into the reed, thus altering its balance and playing characteristic. Rather along the lines taken by William with his talcum powder; I am tempted to experiment with bees wax; if only it had a higher melting point. Regarding books, I have Larry Guy's book on reed selection and adjustment, but it does not deal with my possibly mistaken concept that "waterproofing" a reed would improve its reliability and consistency.
Karel.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2001-08-30 22:09
Dear Karel,
I am not sure that you want to waterproof the reed. A consistent moisture content is what you want. I had an interesting conversation with "THE, one of The, considered by many to be THE" top clarinetists around - I'm not giving away his secret because I suggested it to him and he said that is exactly what he does ---
keeps the reeds in a cigar humidor with controlled relative humidity (there are capsules that hold the RH at some predetermined RH due to the chemical mixture in the capsule), pulls them out and steps up on stage - recording studio.
I have been working on this problem for a reed treatment that would (this is a concept not a viable product) keep the amount of moisture in the reed within a defined range once you moisturized it - water, siliva, buffered chemical solution. The closest thing (I do sell it) is a product that is used by a number of symphonies thoughout many countries, in large quantities. It is a solution that states that it sanitizes the reed and has a proprietary mixture of natural humectants that keeps moisture (also within a defined range ) in a reed for a longer period of time than a reed that is not treated. I guess that these symphony players which have breaks in parts or switch between instruments (e.g. A, Bb, Eb, C) "feel" like it helps them not pick up an instrument with a dry reed. You should seek out other's advice and experience with any reed treatment product - we do have some symphony players that frequent the BB and a host of moderate to great players too that make their living (sometimes) playing for CHC.
The Doctor
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Karel Vahala
Date: 2001-09-02 05:53
Dear Doctor, it seems that my last post did not reach the BB. I realise that reeds that are completely dry do not play well. My interest was in the possibility of maintaining symmetrical and standard moisture penetration ( or rather preventing increase beyond a desirable point). I liked Yoshi's suggestion of sealing the heel of the reed, so limiting the capillary traction in the tubules that make up the reed?
Karel.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
