Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2012-12-08 14:55
It's hard to tell if this is a problem for you with new reeds or with ones you've been playing on for awhile. If it's happening consistently, you may not actually have seasoned, stable reeds in your collection.
Here's one thing you should try with any reed that you've played on for only a limited time (during the "break-in" process). Before you put the reed away in whatever kind of case or holder you're using let it dry **flat side up** first. Play on a new reed 5 or 10 minutes (some players like to limit the first playing to only a minute or two), then lay it down on your desk or a table (anywhere that's exposed to air) flat-side-up. Once it's dry, you can store it nearly anywhere until you use it again. I follow the same process for 2 or 3 more playings before I put the reed to heavier use, but other players have different opinions about this. The whole "break-in" process tends to be pretty idiosyncratic, almost to the point of constituting "personal witchcraft." For me, the only really essential thing is not to let a new reed ever dry with the flat side against anything. It prevents the reed from drying evenly from both surfaces, which is in my opinion the main cause of warping. (In fact, I never dry any reed, new or old, with its flat side against anything - my holders keep the reeds on their edges so both surfaces are exposed to air. I almost never have a reed warp.)
It has always seemed to me that, in addition to any possibility of warping, new reeds also tend to undergo small dimensional changes - Donald Casadonte, if he's reading this thread, may have a comment confirming or disputing this - as they become wet. The more water a new reed has taken on during the playing session, the more these changes seem to occur. For some reeds that don't appear to be warped, the only solution may be to either discard them or learn to adjust them by removing small amounts of cane in the places where the reed may have thickened and become more resistant. But without accurate enough measuring tools to back this up, it is really only part of *my* personal witchcraft and may not help you.
Karl
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The Clarinet BBoard
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