 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jerry McD
Date: 2002-08-07 06:09
At the end of this week I am going to Utah and the climate is VERY different from here in Minnesota. On an average day it is about 80 degrees and 50+ percent humidity (plus we are about 200-300 feet above sea level). Salt Lake City is 4400 feet above sea level, generally about 90+ degrees and usually less than 25% humidity. My question is....do I have a prayer that any of my reeds will work? I guess I should be more specific because I know how to adjust reeds, but in general how will they play when compared to my current climate? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Jerry McD.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2002-08-07 07:06
It has been my experience that reeds will be a little stiffer at higher altitude than at near sea level. Thus, one could take a little silicon carbide abrasive paper to the higher altitude.
As an oboe and a clarinet player, I went to Mammoth mountain a few years ago to play some summer concerts. The humidity where I live in Torrance, CA has been 80 to 82% full time since about May with a temperature of 75 to 80 degrees. At the concerts at 8,000 and 10,000 feet the oboe reeds were almost hopeless and had to be seriously lightened up and the clarinet reeds were almost ok. Good luck!
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2002-08-07 12:13
Keep one or two Legere reeds in your case for backup, in case you get totally frustrated!
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2002-08-07 12:44
As a traveler and clarinet player I find that if I take my own environment along with me that there are no serious problems that I can not overcome with changes in altitude, temperature, and RH. If you condition the reeds by keeping them in a sealed container that keeps the RH at around 50% and ambient temperature between 60- 80 degrees F you always start off with a reed, no matter what the temp and RH (high or low), in the same state. Altitude sometimes does funny things but if you have a selection of reeds with different characteristics - a little softer-slighly harder than usual then a little practice in the hotel room will tell you what configuration to use. If you let the reeds aclimatize to the conditions at hand (e.g. super low RH) you start off with an unknown and when the reed gathers moisture during playing it might not be the reed you wanted for that day. We have not considered the phase of the moon in our discussions but I plan on coming out with a lunar guide to clarinet playing!
The Doctor
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Author: Bob Schmedake
Date: 2002-08-07 22:23
I wish I had read this thread before posting my new thread on altitude. It makes a big difference to me. I am having a real tough time adjusting to a 6000 foot difference right now.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2002-08-08 06:05
L. Omar's comment on storing reeds reminds me that I also store reeds in a plastic sealed sandwich box which has a bag of silicon xxxxxxxx(I forgot what) dessicant in it as well as a RH meter. When the RH gets up to about 60%, I cook the dessicant in a 250 degree oven for 10 minutes and put it back in the box. The box is mostly for oboe reeds although I put clarinet and saxophone reeds in it also. The local 80% RH all the time in Torrance, CA(Los Angeles area) makes oboe playing very difficult because the reeds get stiff and unstable. When brought down to 50%, things are fine. Good luck!
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2002-08-08 13:23
Just one word of caution - the silica gel in some packets can leak out (usually as dust) and is a neurogenic agent (a small proportion of the total is unreacted and is the culprit) - not the best thing to have on one's reed. Try and get the sealed plastic canisters that they use in bulk drug bottles to desiccate the contents. Talk with your local pharmacist or buy them commercially. The little packets that come with electronics parts are ok if tightly sealed but they are a throw away item and therefore the contents are of poor quality and ungraded per size and usually contain a fair amount of the bad dust. Erratum - I can't believe that no one "bit" on the lunar guide to clarinet playing!!
The Doctor
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Author: Mark S.
Date: 2002-08-08 14:34
Jerry,
Taking the orchestra audition? If so, good luck!
Heavy emphasis on having a wide selection of reeds ready to go, especially some that might play a little soft in Minnesota. You may find that some of your reeds that are played out at home will be reborn at higher altitude.
All great suggestions above for creating an "environment" for storing your reeds, but remember all bets are off once they come out of the box and go on your horn. They'll warp right on the mouthpiece if it is dry enough. I try to stick with very seasoned reeds up there -- less chance they'll go on the fritz after 15 minutes on the horn.
Good luck!
(So, Omar, I guess using the dessicant as a salad garnish wouldn't be a good thing... Once you publish your lunar guide, would you consider doing a study on the gravimetric variability by location/altitude on the planet and its impact on reeds?)
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2002-08-08 16:28
There are many devotees of the Farmer's Almanac for a planting guide so what shall we call this one? Yes, I think that an appendix of lattitude, longitude and elevation, as well as a Solar/Lunar graph would be useful. Any other suggestions for appropriate information needed by the clarinet player?
Thanks - The Doctor
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Author: Jerry McD
Date: 2002-08-08 16:53
Mark S. Yes I am doing the orchestra audition...my first professional one! I'm not holding out much hope of actually getting the job (the realist in me) I just want to go and not make a fool of myself he-he. This afternoon I am doing an incantation over my reeds trying to raise the spirits of my goods reeds of the past.....Hey Doc, you got that chart done yet?
Thanks everyone for your input, I'm leaving Saturday and I'll post when I get back and share my experience.
Jerry McD.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-08-08 17:52
L. Omar Henderson wrote:
> Any other suggestions
> for appropriate information needed by the clarinet player?
A belief in astrology or other supernatural power.
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