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Re: Etched Glass

Author: donald
Date: 2016-05-29 07:44

Hey Chris P, re using a knife to flatten the back of the reed- this is a technique a few USA based players use but I've never met UK/European clarinettists that use it. You use the straight edge of a knife blade (assuming it's a straight edge) to lightly grade the back of the reed- very good for eliminating the bump that sometimes forms at the step in the window, good for flattening the heel of the reed when it is either concave or convex... not so effective at working on the underside of the reed blade when this is necessary.
There are some drawbacks- if you're not careful a sharp blade can dig in to the surface when you don't want it too, or you can hold either the reed or the knife off centre... this requires care and some technique.
Another application of this is that you can use the straight edge of the knife to help SEE if the back is flat- in darker conditions (pit, or room with the curtains closed) you can gently place the straight edge of the blade across sections of the reed, and by looking at the light coming UNDER the blade you get a visual on the flatness of the reed surface.
I sometimes use the same technique on the CONTOURED side of the reed, to get a visual of the shape/symmetry when adjusting. When teaching others how to adjust reeds, this is the only way to give a good 3D visual of the reed contour (looking at the SHADOW cast by the straight edge shows the shape of the reed "hill")
dn

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Etched Glass new

WhitePlainsDave

2016-05-26 18:28