 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2012-10-05 09:39
I tried using a reed a bit more than 1/2 strength softer than I usually use for about three weeks. The immediate effect was that it was easier blowing of course, but that pitch variance and wobbly pitch instantly became the most obvious issue. I also found that I had to learn to relax more on high notes and "open my throat more" on most notes just to get them to sound full. The most obvious instructional value was that any "biting" was sufficient to actually close the reed on the mouthpiece facing making the sound momentarily cut off before I reminded my self to caress the mouthpiece and not strangle it. It seemed that I felt that on slow or difficult passages I had to imagine the note before I played it in order to get an attractive sound.
A few weeks later I put my usual reed strength on the same instrument, same mpc and suddenly wobbly pitch problems disappeared. High notes were more relaxed than they were before the soft reed experiment, and my confidence and expressiveness were up too. I frequently had to stop what I was doing to make sure I was remembering the lessons I learned with my soft reed experiment. At times I wasn't sure that biting hadn't begun to sneak back in to my playing, and other times I wondered whether my throat was as fully open as before. Overall, I felt that at least some of these good qualities are staying with me.
I learned that harder reeds can mask some problems and that soft reeds can be teachers in themselves. I must also add that I use Legere reeds that have totally predictable qualities and strengths reed to reed. Perhaps people that use cane reeds have so much natural variability that these lessons and adjustments are instinctual. Maybe this is one of the big disadvantages of using Legere and other synthetic reeds. They offer no surprise factor and and although users may benefit from consistency, they may also become slow on their feet to adjust to the reality of the moment. Cane users have to make due with reeds that are so underpar at times that they become masters of flexibility in their playing.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: William
Date: 2012-10-05 15:42
My college clarinet professor once said that most clarinetist's use reeds that are too hard. That is to say they are relying on the reed to produce the sound rather than on their own embouchure strength and control. I find, in my own playing, that I get good results from softer reeds when I am in optimum playing condition. They allow me to control pitch more accurately, be more musically expressive and still play with a full, vibrant sound in all registers. It's kind of like, all of the reeds I thought to be "too soft" suddenly become alive and sing like angels when I have my embouchure of steel. It also reminds me of what retired Univiersity of Michigan clarinet professor, William Stubbins, reportedly used to "scream" at his students, "PLAY THE REED, don't let the reed play you". Again, the more in control and shape you are, the less you have to worry about finding that "perfect" reed. Almost any reed will become playable if you are "up to it".
Another quote comes to mind, made to me many years ago by a local music store proprietor. He said that Gus Langenous used to have the "biggest sound" in New York City and he used a "#1 reed". Just reporting what I heard, but it might have some relevance to this discussion.......
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Author: Bill
Date: 2012-10-05 16:05
I too have discovered a new joy in playing through the use of softer reeds. In my case, I did not go down in strength but simply heavily adjusted #4 reeds. I have never enjoyed the clarinet so much. Etudes I thought banal suddenly become enjoyable to play.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2012-10-05 16:31
I've often found that reeds that feel responsive and sound "full" in my practice studio (a 10' x 14' room with painted dry wall and carpeting) turn out to be inflexible and too covered and dull sounding when I play them with other players in even a moderate-sized rehearsal room or a concert hall. The less resistant, more vibrant reeds that feel a little soft in the practice room sound much fuller, project better and are easier to control and tune in the larger venue.
Karl
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Author: SchlockRod
Date: 2012-10-13 15:35
Garth,
First off, note that I'm a 2nd-time beginner (like a 50-something 5th-grader again) but have a lot of sax experience and good command of that sound.
What I just experienced may be interesting in light of what you said.
"Laboratory conditions": Large-chamber, quite concave-baffle mpc, long facing (~16.5mm), fairly open @ 0.047" (but remember it's long).
This is a very easy-blowing setup for me - the register break is like butter. And the sound is very mellow and colorful - with the right reed, which is what I'm still looking for, and the subject of this.
I sat down yesterday and wet several broken-in cane reeds, each of them balanced and with tables lightly sanded smooth, 600-grit sandpaper (seems to bring out the best in cane reeds), along with two Legeres.
Results:
1. The too-soft (for me at this point - based on lack of solidity and/or too much brightness/shrillness to the tone) reeds were all, in addition to sounding bad (a) very much effort to bring up to pitch (I found myself tensing, biting), and (b) very erratic in tuning, sharp in some parts of the range, flat in others - it's like they exaggerate the minor tuning idiosyncracies of my equipment.
2. The next group if reeds, harder strength but of same cut as 1st group (Alexander Superial, LaVoz) sounded (tone quality) better, some pretty nice in fact, and felt closer to the right resistance level, but were still running flat and/or erratic in pitch through the range of the instrument. AND, I found some of the physical tension go away, because biting/struggling produced less pitch control - they were less "wild" but just as flat/erratic... pitch-wise I was maybe worse off! The tension is now mental, as I can't control the pitch problems...
3. The next two reeds made me sad since I just paid $50 for them!
Legere Quebec, # 3.25 (I bought this for a brighter, higher-baffle piece): Feels too resistant, dark/dull tone quality, especially in clarion, and, despite feeling harder than all the other reeds I played, is pretty consistently flat throughout the range of the horn. Less erratic, but flat (like 10 cents on avg). I'll use it for the other mouthpiece, on which it works pretty well.
Legere Signature, # 2.75 (I got this thinking it would suit this mpc well): Feels too soft, unless I put it way out to the edge of the tip rail. Then resistance feels OK, tone color is reduced some :-( and it, too plays flat throughout the range. Tone quality is very consistent throughout the range. On the whole not bad except for the pitch issue, and I will exchange it for a #3 - we'll see...
NOTE: Both of these Legere reeds feel different (mainly the resistance) to me each time I play them. Go figure... I was thinking my baby clarinet chops, but...
4. Finally, I put on the best of the Vandoren V12s (# 2 1/2) that I've been breaking in/balancing... Revelation: Here we have a cane reed, which usually brings inconsistency, day-to-day variability, unpredictability, etc. But man does this thing sing! And it's felt that way every time I play it lately! And although it is less resistant than the Quebec and about the same as the Signature, its pitch is spot-on! No struggle, no biting... it even stays on pitch easily as I go from pp to ff, and from low E to high altissimo! I feel myself relaxing physically & mentally as I play it.
Question: How can a more-resistant (harder) reed (Legere) have flatness issues? Is it something about the Legere material? Maybe it's not an issue and just an idiosyncracy that requires a shorter barrel?
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2012-10-13 22:41
> Maybe this is one of the big disadvantages of using Legere and other
> synthetic reeds. They offer no surprise factor and and although users
> may benefit from consistency, they may also become slow on their
> feet to adjust to the reality of the moment. Cane users have to make
> due with reeds that are so underpar at times that they become masters
> of flexibility in their playing.
Which is one reason I think that beginners should start with cane reeds. Nothing against a sure-fire reed in the box for those inevitable Bad Reed Days, but generally I find it's better to learn to survive in unpredictable situations.
--
Ben
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2012-10-13 23:42
With regard to the inconsistencies that you found with the Legeres, I've found that they need to be very careful positioned to achieve consistent results. Unless they are carefully centered on the table they can be resistant and a bit erratic, but when properly positioned they play extremely well.
Tony F.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2012-10-14 14:08
Cool experiment. I feel the same way (harder reed can mask problems with your playing). I also think that the softer reeds give you more choices of what to do with the sound. Easier to bend, scoop, waiver. Loose nonbiting embouchure for a more "flutelike" sound, clamp on it to make it harsh on purpose, etc.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2012-10-14 17:03
Interesting to read Karl's anectode of needing a softer reed in the concert hall than in a practice room - since I find the exact opposite. In a dry hall you get less feedback from echoes and the tone that can sound good in a small practice room comes over as thin and lacking in body in the larger context. It used to puzzle me how good reeds that I'd been practicing on always went bad when I went to rehearsals - but now I've learned to expect it and know that the reeds that feel just a touch hard in practice will be the ones that work in concert.
I accept that there is a separate issue of whether what you hear as a player is the same as what the audience hears, and it's possible that sticking with the softer reed will let them hear what you hear in the practice room. And a professional attitude should be that the audience matters more than you do. Except that if it sounds bad to you, how can you relax and make music well? Therefore I think you have to make a priority of a setup that sounds acceptable to you - and for me, that means a (slightly) harder reed in a big hall.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2012-10-14 23:50
It depends, I guess, on where you're starting on the hardness continuum. A reed that "comes over as thin and lacking in body" sounds to me like it's just plain too soft to be useful anywhere.
For me it's not only about the tone itself, but also about needing greater flexibility in an ensemble context. Hopefully, I won't need to play in halls that are really dry-sounding too often, and I think that even in a dry hall the distance and space around the players gives tone a certain finish that doesn't happen in a small practice room.
But thin and lacking in body is certainly not an advantage anywhere.
Karl
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Author: Tom Puwalski
Date: 2012-10-15 10:48
William, whomever your clarinet professor is or was, was absolutely dead on. Too many times I find that in the pursuit of "dark" many people end up with "dull" and "fuzzy".
I have found this to be a truism in clarinet playing. If you're playing the clarinet with your mouth, (biting) you will have a hard time finding a reed that's hard enough, if you're playing with your air it's amazing how soft a reed you can play on.
Tom Puwalski
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