The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Reed Obsession

Author: swkeess
Date: 2009-02-05 02:07

I did a search on this topic, as well as reed etiquette, but cannot find an answer to my question. I play both in a trio and a community band with an excellent clarinet player who majored in music at a premier university here in Canada. I am an ordinary amateur musician who dropped a music major after the first year and graduated with an all-purpose degree in psychology. I did not play clarinet for over 20 years and then took it up again with a renewed interest to the point where I am now taking lessons again and playing better than I did when I left off majoring in music (in my humble opinion).

My friend seems to have an obsession about reeds. In every trio rehearsal she will select and reject about a dozen reeds. The other clarinet player and I have to stop playing and listen to her critique of each rejected reed as well as an assessment of the characteristics of the various reeds she has played over the last few weeks, along with an analysis of how the weather affects the reeds. In concert band, she spends more time trying out reeds than playing. This past rehearsal, she must have tested at least 24 reeds during the two hour time period, all of which she had already selected and played beforehand.

I know that GBK has fifteen reeds always on hand: five he is breaking in, five for concerts, and five that are at the end of their life for practising with. Apparently he selects his (one or two) reeds for the occasion. Other people have different reed rotations. Since I don't play as much, I usually have one or two reeds that I really like to play on, as well as one or two that will do in a pinch. I like to play on reeds that play well out of the box (Gonzalez F.O.F. 3 1/4, the same as my friend plays).

Am I an unsophisticated player who can't tell the subtle differences between reeds or is my friend too obsessed with finding exactly the right reed? Have you had an experience with another clarinet player like this? I am just curious to know if this is a problem with me or with my friend.

Susan Keess

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics