 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: bflatclarinetist
Date: 2005-06-13 23:37
How do you know when a reed has had it's life? I have these 2 reeds that I've been using a lot because they had such a good sound. Now they sound horrible and stuffy, are these reeds dead?
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Author: GBK
Date: 2005-06-14 00:30
Signs that your reed should be changed
- After 3 weeks of non-use, it's still wet.
- The green and brown residue on the back has created an airtight seal - making a ligature totally unnecessary.
- Your reed has had more farewell concerts than Barbra Streisand.
- Your friends have inscribed "old lead tongue." on all your orchestral parts.
- The color of your mouthpiece and reed is curiously the same.
- The EPA has roped off the area around your mouthpiece with "Do Not Cross - Bio Hazard" tape.
- The back of your reed is inscribed: "Property of Anton Stadler- please return if found"
- Those annoying roots keep getting tangled in your ligature.
- Brand name: "Reek-O"
...GBK
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Author: Snowy
Date: 2005-06-14 01:24
bflatclarinetist wrote:
> hahaha..NOT FUNNY
So dosesn't anyone have a sense of humour anymore ?
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Author: GBK
Date: 2005-06-14 01:32
bflatclarinetist wrote:
> Thanks, I wasn't asking for a comedian to answer my question.
Lighten up. It's only a reed. If you aren't happy with it, dump it and move on.
Playing the clarinet should be enjoyable and not filled with endless, tedious questions about the obvious.
If you need others to tell you when to change a reed, you clearly are taking things way too seriously...GBK
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2005-06-14 02:30
I have a goldfish bowl - no water, no seaweed, no rocks, no goldfish. Just the bowl. I know a reed is dead when I find it going into the goldfish bowl in disgust.
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Author: Tyler
Date: 2005-06-14 02:57
Before you judge a reed, commit to playing it for five minutes and then see how it sounds/feels. Especially after I seal the back of my reeds by rubbing them on paper on a flat surface, when I first break out my reeds another day, they feel EXTREMELY stuffy, but after a few minutes turn out to have a great 'ping'. If you are dissatisfied with a reed WHICH USED TO WORK WELL after playing on it for 5-7 minutes, then I would not throw it away but store it somewhere where you could try it again in another year or so. My teacher has told me to keep most of my old reeds, as cane can sometimes change sufficiently over time to alter performance. She has told me of people who kept every reed they ever played in a shoebox or two for backup reeds to search through, in case they get in a 'reed pinch'.
If at first
It doesn't succeed
Try it again and again
But if it proceeds
To be a bad reed
Bash it into your music stand! [ or store in shoebox, ]
.......I'm still not up to the GBK poem standard...........darn....I'm trying......
Hope I've offered some hilariously serious advice. I think a good mixture of humor as well as seriousness is nearly always warranted, even at funerals.
Good luck!
-Tyler
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Author: RosewoodClarinet
Date: 2005-06-14 02:59
Dead reed is just unplayable. No solution to make it better. I would find new good reed or save good ones as much as possible.
RosewoodClarinet
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Author: bflatclarinetist
Date: 2005-06-14 03:27
Tyler, I've never thought about saving them. But I most of the time just throw them away because it's probably just gonna stay that way. Besides stuffy, the sound has been thin. Maybe I'll start saving them and see if something cool happens one day if I try one again hehe.
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Author: bob49t
Date: 2005-06-14 05:52
bfc,
Sounds like you know what to do with them.
However, recently found myself in this situation.
Reed gone anyway- thought I'd practice reed restoration.
Got out my ATG system last night.
Rubbed back of reed on wet and dry.
Nipped the tip.
Balanced the tip.
Plays passably.
Got ATG fever and went for better.
30 mins later had 10 fabulous reeds.
Suggest ATG system for reed management and keeping humour just below surface at all times.
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2005-06-14 09:59
Sometimes, your dead reeds might react better in different temperature/humidity circumstances. If you track how they react based on how the weather changes, you might find that some dead ones just don't work in certain situations and should be set aside for later. It sounds like they swelled up. You might let them sit for a few days and then try them again. They might work.
Christopher Nichols
1st Infantry Division Band
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Author: bflatclarinetist
Date: 2005-06-14 11:50
I know the temperature can change the reed but exactly how can that affect how it sounds?
Thanks, I've noticed the more I've improved my clarinet technique the more I'm more strict about the reeds.
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2005-06-14 13:23
I compare reeds. That's how I know. Your oldest reed might still be your best reed. Put your old reed in a group of 4 or 5 reeds. Test them one after the other. You should test some high notes to see how stable they are up high. It's pretty hard to do a blindfold test when you know what your old reed looks like but do your best. Do some tonguing also. If your old reed is discoloured then clean it up a little. Use a toothbrush or a cloth. You can also run the bottom of the reed over a straight edge ruler scraping debris off. One further tip is to keep the rails of your mouthpiece clean. I gently clean the rails with cold water frequently, You should have an assortment of reeds on hand. Practice with the new ones to get them working. I'm very aware of oversoaking new reeds. They don't need much water at first. If the tips wrinkle then flatten them on the table of the mouthpiece. Alot of this is somewhat off topic but may be helpful. good luck John
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-06-14 14:21
I save all my old furnace air filters in hopes they will magically become usable again. Ho hum.
Bob Draznik
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-06-14 15:04
I'd rather have a dead reed than a dead sense of humor. Unless, of course, I were about to perform a solo recital at Carnegie Hall............Is that your situation, Mr. bflatclarinetist? If so, I could understand your concern and your testiness. Otherwise, throw out the $#%^&* reed and play on another one.
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Author: Markael
Date: 2005-06-14 16:08
I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.
Thinking about this subject in light of the hugely popular thread on neurotic clarinetists, it has occurred to me: The clarinet would be the ideal instrument for someone with obsessive compulsive disorder.
One could set up a reed database, listing the vintage, characteristics, and life span of each reed.
The possibilities are endless.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2005-06-14 16:23
bflatclarinetist wrote:
> I'm just so sorry that my question was so OBVIOUS!
 ...GBK
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-06-14 17:26
LOL!!!!!!!! HAHAHA!!!!!!!!! That is by far the awesomest thing you've ever written GBK!
Omar- If you have 2 good reeds don't keep playing on them. Have AT LEAST 4-6 reeds and rotate them. I have some reeds that work well some days and the other day it won't sound so great, but I put it back in my case. I have 12 in rotation and so I always have at least 4 good ones at a time usually... Search the engines for reed breaking in and also reed rotation.
I do agree though that humor will help, lighten up a little bit little buddy! You'll be fine, I promise.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2005-06-14 20:06
bflatclarinetist wrote:
> Has it ever occured to you people that sometimes people aren't
> in the mood for a joke.
This is a BBoard. You're allowed to ignore what you don't like.
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Author: susieray
Date: 2005-06-14 22:15
bflatclarinetist,
I have an idea. If the reeds sound horrible and stuffy, don't use them. This may be a very difficult thing for you to do, but I would also suggest that you throw them away. Go ahead; it's good for the soul. You really will feel better. They are just little pieces of wood. Your life will go on quite well without them. Sometimes it is good to just let go and move on. Try it.
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Author: fredackerman
Date: 2005-06-14 22:23
bflatclarinetist seems upset by the levity shown by some of our esteem participants, well sorry it was you who started it by your subject matter! I mean "Dead reeds" is what I call a straight line that begs for a comedic response. Notice that with all the fun we received some wisdom? Lighten up, life is way too short.
Fred
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Author: Drenkier_1
Date: 2005-06-14 23:52
When I think my reed is "dead" I just send it back to the reed maker in a stamped Envelope that is addressed to "Fix My Reeds".
Kevin Collins
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Author: DavieCane01
Date: 2005-06-15 00:23
bflatclarinetist,
Reeds that once were great and are now caput are, in fact, dead. You can try a variety of things to eek out a few hours more, but it's never worth it.
The longer you read these boards the more you'll come to realize that GBK has a depth of clarinet knowledge and experience that few people on this board can match. He will often let people know when they've answered their own questions in a humorous way. Sometimes it's by silly poetry, sometimes it's like the response you got. Maybe it was a flippant (albeit very funny) answer; and maybe you took it personally. Don't make the mistake, however, of discounting what he has to say in other posts within other threads because of this. You will meet few people in your clarinet playing life that know as much as he does.
Post Edited (2005-06-15 04:42)
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-06-15 00:30
There once was a reed that was dead,
and its owner got stressed in his head.
He asked the BB
"Should I find a new tree
from which a brand new reed could be bred?"
Well the BB just laughed in a fit of bad taste
and quite rude they all were! as they posted in haste
with no thought that the reed owner's plight was quite real,
and a mood for bad jokes was not something he'd feel....
So we all hope he'll cheer up
(or maybe it's "she"?)
and throw out the old reed
and find a new tree.
Dr. Spreuss
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-06-15 00:31
--------------------
hahaha..NOT FUNNY
--------------------
Ya know, certain types of brain damage make it impossible to understand sarcasm for some folks.
"No, it's true -- many of you don't go a day without dishing out several
doses of sarcasm. But some brain-damaged people can't comprehend sarcasm,
and Israeli researchers think it's because a specific brain region has gone
dark.
The region, according to the researchers, handles the task of detecting
hidden meaning, a crucial component of sarcasm. If that part of the brain is
out of commission, the irony doesn't come through, the scientists report in
the May issue of Neuropsychology."
;)
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Author: Drenkier_1
Date: 2005-06-15 00:52
It's been shown that Zoloft now helps cure Anti-sarcastic people. If I wasn't a sarcastic person I'd take it
Kevin Collins
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Author: bflatclarinetist
Date: 2005-06-15 01:15
This has gotten into quite a fiasco...I'd just like to apologize for everything that I've said. I obviously wasn't in the mood for humor but I'm sorry for putting it on other people.
I hope you won't think that I can't take a joke in the future but everyone has their days.
Thank you.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-06-15 02:36
Not a fiasco, just a bit of fun --- no offense meant or taken, no harm done. And no apologies needed from anyone, I hope!
This forum is the only place for some of us to practice bad limericks, so we seize every opportunity, dontcha know......
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Author: rc_clarinetlady
Date: 2005-06-15 04:05
I show my students the famous wall test for reeds they think may be bad. I'm sure they're bad -but they aren't.
I tell them rather seriously that any reed that's bad will not survive a wall test. The gullible ones go through with it and then just look at me and say, " It broke, what does that mean?"
The sharp ones just look at me for a second and say, "No way!"
I learn a lot about my students this way!
My teacher did this to me in the 9th grade. I did not get to the wall. I cracked up before I ever got there. She loved to mess with my mind, bless her heart. She was fun!
Bob D.and GBK .. you are so funny......You make me laugh!
Rebecca
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-06-15 04:30
Rebecca-
I'll have to try that wall test with kids sometimes. lol... My teacher tells me that if I ever get frusterated with something that I can always get a huge pile of my really bad reeds that don't play well and just crack them on the music stand or on the wall. She says it will help you feel a lot better. lol. I've done it once with 1 reed and I have to admit that I liked it and felt much better! lol.
Post Edited (2005-06-15 04:34)
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Author: Drenkier_1
Date: 2005-06-15 05:48
No apologies needed. We were just bein stupid clarinet players (people call us that in band). I've gotten mad at sarcastic things before many times. Thank God for AntiDepressants! (just kidding, haha there I go again).
Kevin Collins
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