Author: Joseph Tomasso
Date: 2012-10-03 13:43
Do you play on american-scrape reeds? If so, 52 mm is really short for a reed and would likely cause you to scrape so much out of the back your pitch would be incredibly wobbly (both in pitch and tone).
I use Carolyn Hove's reed dimensions (solo english horn of the LA Phil, and besides being the best ehorn player I have ever heard, she is the nicest most positive influence, if you can apply to her yearly masterclasses!). Without getting into too much detail my finished reeds are 57-58 but the top of my heart is around 52-54. This way I don't have to overly define the back of the reed and focus on blending the windows to the heart, and then having a balanced tip (not having to scrape it to oblivion to vibrate).
I also no longer wire my reeds (another suggestion by the amazing Carolyn Hove) and find that if I choose the right shape, dimension, and tie length the opening is staple without a wire. I only seem to need a wire when I overscrape the rails, lose too much of the spine, or have made some sort of error in the scraping process.
If you're buying reeds from someone else I suppose it doesn't matter too much, but I would suggest starting to scrape some as soon as possible to get to know your instrument. I just switched to a Hiniker bocal and find myself changing the blend of my reeds (I don't have to scrape as much to get a singing quality which is great for pitch and tone). I think if I was not making my own I would be really struggling to find my "voice" if that makes any sense.
-joseph
Bachelor of Music, Sax/Clarinet Performance (2005, 06)
Master of Music, Multiple Woodwind Performance (2008)
Master of Music, Oboe Performance (2013)
Gainesville Chamber Orchestra (Clarinet)
University of Florida 2010-2011(Visiting Lecturer in Woodwi
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