 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: beejay
Date: 2001-09-24 13:32
Last night, I prepared two reeds and was very happy with them. This morning, they sounded terrible. I fished two other reeds out of the rejects box where I put them months ago, and they sounded just fine. What changed? My embouchure? My ear? The reeds? I sometimes get the impression that these expensive little slivers of wood are downright perverse.
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2001-09-24 14:29
>these expensive little slivers of wood are downright perverse.
They are, they have a life of their own ;->
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Author: GBK
Date: 2001-09-24 15:07
Reeds are like cats...sometimes they are in the mood to play, and sometimes they are not. Seriously though, many factors contribute to the change from day to day. What was the weather/humidity like yesterday? What is it today? That has a major influence on the swelling of newer reeds from day to day. ..GBK
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Author: Ed
Date: 2001-09-24 15:17
As stated, weather, humidity, probably barometric pressure, allignment of the planets (well, I'm not sure about that one) all have an effect as well as embouchure, etc. For one thing, it is best to adjust over a few days a little at a time and let the reeds settle in and adapt.
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Author: ron b
Date: 2001-09-24 15:48
You changed, BeeJay. Rather, I should say you adapted... to the reed. A sign of maturity :]
It will only get better. Barometric pressure has a marked effect on angling (fishing) but little, if any, effect on dead reeds.
- ron b -
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-09-24 17:25
I'm definitely in the "Reeds are capricious" camp.
I have a coupla Legere synthetic reeds laying around to confirm or refute this.
Onna day when the Legere misbehaves; it's me.
Onna day when the Legere is juss fayn; it's the f***kin' cane!
Get a look at Larry Guy's book, it talks about some preparatory steps to seal the vamp.... this helps a little.
FWIW - If you have played more than 10 hours on a piece of cane, the clock is against you... they willnay last ferrevah!
anji
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Author: William
Date: 2001-09-24 17:38
Thanks!!!! (for sharing your reed woes) Misery loves Company. Good Clarineting (D-mm the reeds, full speed Ahead!)
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Author: Earl Thomas
Date: 2001-09-25 02:32
II would like to recommend that you take a look at Benny Armato's book on Reeds, "Perfecta A Reed....and Beyond". In addition, any articles you might find by Kalmen Opperman, another rreed Wizard, might be helpful.
I have had very good luck with reeds lately, but that's probably because I'm using my depleting stock of Morre reeds. Vandoren V12s are usually quite reliable, but not always. Remember, the thicker the heel, the better chance you have of finding some reed satisfaction.
You might try using a cutting edge at the beginning of the "vamp" and creating some gracefully sloping "windows" on either side of said "vamp". I call the area where the uncut cane has
been tapered towards the tip by the manufacturer. If you open up some "windows", you'll find that your reeds will become quite responsive. This takes time and practice at "whittlin'", but it should pay off.
I'd also suggest that you might look into trying Zonda and the Vandoren "Black Master" brands.
Much good luck to you - but, it is not all "luck", really. One can work with reeds successfully, but it takes lots of experience, experimenting and enthusiasm.
Sincerely, E.Thomas
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Author: Suzanne
Date: 2001-09-25 06:22
If someone covered me with spit and then banged me against hard rubber rails with hot air, I'd be pretty pissed off too, and act accordingly. Don't blame them.
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Author: Robin
Date: 2001-09-25 06:25
Another slave to the reed here!
Maybe Beejay, you did something I often do - played on a poorish reed for a while and gradually adjusted to its quirks and problems. But in the morning your lips, embouchure and blowing set-up had forgotten how to adjust in this way. For me, it's often a question of how far I go in compensating for the reed's problems before throwing it away.
In the end, what often works for me is just to remember to blow the damned thing. It sounds strange, but I think in all of our tinkering away at reeds and balancing etc, we often forget to see what it does when we give it a good air supply.
At any rate - we're all in the same boat.
Good luck to you.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-09-25 12:40
Some people get fussier and fussier until they are satisfied with nothing, while others get more and more versatile until they can get good results with almost anything. The former is a bad way to go. You will finish up with a very expensive drawer full of mouthpieces, if not clarinets. The reeds are a training ground for versatility. Hehe!
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Author: beejay
Date: 2001-09-25 17:04
Gordon,
I realized that long ago. I stick to the same mouthpiece (Charles Bay) and the same clarinet (RC), and that reduces the variables to two -- the reed and me. The strange thing is that when I am in a good mood, reeds seem to play better, so there has to be something personal in this.
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2001-09-25 17:51
I never play the same reed 2x in a row. I also tend to change during a practice session. I work very little on my reeds. Sand the back to flatten it, reduce the thickness of the tip a bit and balance it. And unless I have to play some very fast staccato and/or crazy intervals I find most reeds are satisfactory. Sanding the tip a bit helps me a lot.
The hardest part is not to get too attached to your best reed ;->
My 2 cents...
-S
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Author: David dow Sympony NB
Date: 2002-04-26 16:36
Blame it on the reed..I always blame myself instead...
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