 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: fernie51296
Date: 2011-04-16 23:50
Someone told me that it doesnt matter if you cant play on a 5 strength reed. That you have to stick with whatever is easiest for you. While someone else told me that you want to try your best to play on hard strength reeds because they sound better. I play on a 4. Should I just keep playing on a 4 or should i be trying to work up to playing with a 5? Niether of the people i talked to are clarinetists so i dont really know who to listen to.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-04-17 00:06
"size doesn't matter".
A reed strength must match the mouthpiece and the player. If it doesn't, it sounds like sh** regardless of strength.
Play with what you're comfortable with. This is about fun, and musicality, not some weird chest-banging contest.
--
Ben
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2011-04-17 00:17
Play the strength reed that works best for you and your set up. If you are currently playing on a 4, that might be too stiff or it might be too soft for you. Try a variety of strengths and see what works best for you. I know lots of people who do very well on a 3 or 3 1/2. There is nothing magic about any particular number and it is not a competition to see who can play the hardest reed. You might be able to play a harder reed, but it may be at the price of having to bite the mouthpiece. The important thing is that the reed, mouthpiece, and the instrument match your needs so that you can play easily and with good tone. If you have a private teacher, he/she should be able to help you find what is best for you at this point in time. Without, at the very least, hearing a sample of your playing, nobody here will be able to accurately suggest what strength in what brand you should be using (keep in mind that strengths do vary some from brand to brand). My brother and I both play clarinet. Using the same mouthpiece on the same instrument, we use different strength reeds to arrive at pretty much the same tone. Use what works best for you after trying a variety.
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2011-04-17 00:18
What Ben said. The second person is a fool, and gave you bad "advice."
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
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Author: William
Date: 2011-04-17 15:27
Play with a reed that responds easily, without excessive "bite" (which is bad), and rely more on your embouchure to create the tambre of sound your ear tells you is best. Try to use even pressure from top and bottom lip as well as the corners, what I like to call a modified double-lip set. Find your tonal center, leaving room to bend any note up or down, depending on intonational concerns. This takes real control and is something amature players often mistake for "proper embouchure". A good way to approach this is to try a double lip set for a short while at the start of every practice. It will give you a "feel" for using more upper lip control--and will help refine your sound without simply going to a stiffer reed (which is NOT always the magic answer). Rule of thumb--the more you play, the stronger your embouchure, the stiffer the reed. Too stiff too soon is a mistake.
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Author: jennlynn
Date: 2011-05-03 17:31
When I was still learning, my teacher wanted us to have a 2.5 or something similiar. I played for years, in the highschools wind ensemble in 7th grade second chair etc... my stepdad knew nothing about the instrument and picked up reeds for me on occasion. He picked up 5s starting in 8th grade. I was unaware, so I adapted. My teacher wanted to know why I was struggling a little more, not much but noticeable... he looked at the reed and was shocked at the number and congratulated me on doing as well as I was on it, suggested I back down to a 4 if I wanted to have an easier time of it.
Long story short, it wont hurt you to have a harder reed, but try to work up gradually if you dont want to struggle getting the upper end of the notes. Beautiful sound though. Crisp and clean when you do land it.
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Author: davyd
Date: 2011-05-03 17:45
All reeds are not created equal. A Van Doren 3 is as hard as a Rico or La Voz 3.5 (at least in my experience).
Reed strength is not player strength. This is music, not weight lifting.
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Author: Claire Annette
Date: 2011-05-12 17:36
I'm thankful for what I'm reading here, especially after a lesson I gave yesterday. One of my high school students said that a college student (who was part of her band when he was in high school) is out of school right now and hanging out with the high school band. Mr. Music Major apparently knows it all after his sophomore year of study.
My student was concerned because she said Mr. MM told her she needed to be playing on a 4 reed and not a 3.5 for her mouthpiece. I rolled my eyes and told her the same things that have been said in this thread. One size does NOT fit all and quite frankly, I'm tired of talking with other clarinetists (in person) who are so focused on what they play that they can't be bothered with investigating other brands of horns, mouthpieces, reeds, etc. Teachers especially, have to realize that their students may not be able to afford the same equipment they play on themselves. There are alternatives.
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Author: TianL
Date: 2011-05-12 19:03
i've been told that i should play on super hard reed and i've been told that i should play on soft reed. after all the experiments i think i'll stick to the middle.. i think either extreme is not good. the super hard reed add too much tension.. and may even screw up the embouchure a little. the too-soft reed can also mess up one's embouchure, and at the same time, it may sound good in a small room but may sound too thin in bigger rooms especially on the lower notes.
just my 2 cents.
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2011-05-12 19:27
The correct reed strength is that strength that gives you the optimium tone/flexibilty/intonation/response etc with your specific mouthpiece setup (all assuming you are a mature experienced player).
That strength may be 2 or 5 or anything in between for you.
What strength anyone else uses is of absolutely no relevance..
The suggestion that you should be constantly working towards stronger and stronger reeds is absolutely wrong.. the maximum strength is reached when you find that optimum noted at start.
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Author: Clarimeister
Date: 2011-05-12 20:18
Most of my colleagues and myself agree that you should use at least in my opinion the hardest reed that is comfortable. Too soft of a reed will be fine for the lower register but once you get to the clarion and altissimo registers it'll sound buzzy and flat. Too hard and you'll start to bite to get a sound which is a big no-no.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2011-05-12 20:23
It is pretty rare that a player plays strength 5 and is using the correct strength.
Kids use 5's because they don't know otherwise, and bite like all hell.
Don't bite, and play what is comfortable, sounds good, and responds well.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2011-05-13 02:59
The answer is simply, you play on the strongest reed that you are comfortable with, the one that gives you the best tone, the best control, best articulation and the best feel be it a number 3, 4 or 5. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: mrn
Date: 2011-05-13 10:53
The above posters are right---there is such a thing as playing on too soft a reed, but there is also such a thing as playing on too hard a reed.
Playing on too soft a reed can cause your tone to sound spread and your pitch to go flat. You may also find that the reed "chokes off" and stops vibrating when you try to bring the pitch up (by applying more embouchure pressure). Worst of all, your high notes (altissimo and perhaps even upper clarion registers if the reed is really, really soft) won't speak properly--you need a certain amount of stiffness in the reed to get those high-frequency vibrations.
Playing on too hard a reed, on the other hand, will be tiring, will force you to "bite" to get the sound out, and may result in a airy, "fuzzy" sound. (which might be perfect for some jazz styles---listen to Jimmy Giuffre's clarinet playing, for instance---but will sound absolutely awful in "classical" playing, where having a proper characteristic clarinet sound is a must)
So while it's true that sometimes you will sound better with a harder reed, the reverse can also be true. In the end, you have to find what works best for you.
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Author: Nessie1
Date: 2011-05-13 12:30
I'm surprised that noone so far has picked up on the point that the OP mentioned that the two opinions he had heard were from non-clarinettists - while they may know something about the clarinet they certainly don't have the experience of playing on a range of reeds which would help them to make an informed decision.
Vanessa.
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Author: stasou
Date: 2011-05-14 02:54
Play what's easiest for you?? Hmm...Then everyone would be playing 1's. Just pick whatever you think sounds best.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-05-14 16:40
And then we have the players who brag with their #5 shingles, but they have to sand and rush them down before using them while we #3 bottom feeders just slap on fresh one on and resume playing...
--
Ben
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Author: kdk
Date: 2011-05-14 17:14
This one isn't really completely fair. I generally agree with what's been posted here so far - I've said the sames things myself in other threads. But there is a difference in sound and response between a stock 3-1/2 (name the reed brand) out of the box and a 5 that's been re-sculpted to make it more responsive than it was as it came out of the box. It's almost like making your own reeds, except all but the final shaping has been done by the manufacturer. The feel of the amount of resistance may be similar to a stock reed of a lower strength, but there are noticeable, and to some players, valuable differences in the vibrating characteristics.
Karl
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-05-14 17:40
Hey Karl, I get your point. But technically a "re-sculpted" #5 isn't a #5 any more, and most people who simply use them as a kind of blank don't make a fuss of its strength anyway.
--
Ben
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2011-05-14 18:04
My teacher's theory (and a very sound one at that that I agree completely) is to break in and start with a reed that's about a half size too strong. Basically make sure EVERY reed fresh out of the box is stuffy and too hard. Then you can (as Karl said) have enough reed to sculpt and shave later to tailor it to yourself.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: mrn
Date: 2011-05-15 16:17
David wrote:
> But, the reed strength has nothing to do with the dimensions of the reed.
> They all are the same dimension among the same make of reed.
Just to clarify--that depends on what you are referring to as "reed strength."
If we're talking about the strength printed on the box by the manufacturer, then you're absolutely right--the manufacturer cuts all the reeds of the same make/model of reed to the same dimensions, so how they are graded as to strength depends solely on the material properties of the cane.
However, if we're talking about how one reed responds on a given mouthpiece vis-a-vis another (possibly from a different manufacturer or modified by the player), then the dimensions *do* come into play. The bending strength of a solid object depends on the shape and relative dimensions of its cross section, as well as the inherent strength of the material involved.
The range of different strengths of reeds for a single make/model depends only on the material properties simply *because* the manufacturing practice is to hold the dimensions of reeds within a single make/model fixed. Presumably, they do that to try to make the reeds as consistent as possible within their manufacturing capabilities.
Changing the dimensions of the reed will change the strength, though, too, which is what makes it possible to "balance" a reed to compensate for non-uniformities in the material strength of the cane that can occur within a single reed (because cane is a natural product).
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-05-15 20:30
mrn wrote:
> If we're talking about the strength printed on the box by the
> manufacturer, then you're absolutely right--the manufacturer
> cuts all the reeds of the same make/model of reed to the same
> dimensions, so how they are graded as to strength depends
> solely on the material properties of the cane.
From what I've seen in various videos, manufacturers cut reeds to specs (say a #4). Then they measure them, and some go into the #4.5 bin, other go into the #3.5 bin, and other into the #4 bin indeed. Same procedure with all other strengths.
So, when you buy a box of #3.5 reeds, some of them may have been cut with #4 dimensions, some with #3 dimensions and so one, but all are measured to be "#3.5 stiff". That's why you like some more than you like others, because they inevitably respond differently, even if they share the same stiffness.
--
Ben
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