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

Re: Balancing Reeds

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2020-08-09 07:15

Anonymoose wrote:

> Sometimes I manage to balance a reed which at that moment plays
> fine. but a day later the reed plays worse than before I
> adjusted it.

I've inverted your points because this one is easier. You may be working on the reeds too long at one time. As the reed absorbs more water (as you play it) its characteristics will change. You can end up adjusting for effects that are caused more by over-soaking the cane than by imbalance in the structure itself, so when you play on it the next day when it has dried out, it plays differently from the way it played when it was probably waterlogged. Work a little at a time, then go on to a different reed, hopefully one that's a little more aged and less likely to soak up too much.

> I have been unsuccessful with balancing my reeds, either with a
> knife or sandpaper.
> My main issue is I do not know which part of the reed to take
> off.

That's the main issue everyone has to deal with. There are lots of articles to look at both online and in books that tell you which parts of the reed affect which parts of the response and sound. A Google search for "balancing clarinet reeds" or something similar will probably get hits for both text articles and videos. Brad Behn has a number of videos on YouTube that address any number of issues of both reed balancing and mouthpiece adjustment. He's very clear and isn't selling anything. Tom Ridenour also has several videos about reed adjustment on YouTube focusing on the use of his ATG system.

IMO one mistake I made for a long time as a younger player was to try to adjust reeds that were too hard down to a more manageable strength. I've found that I have much more success when I start with reeds that are the right strength to begin with and only need a little adjusting instead of a major redesign.

> When I test the reed for balance using the method of tilting
> the mouthpiece, I can figure out which side is denser, but I do
> not know where exactly to take off cane.

In general, the parts that need to vibrate freely are the areas alongside the heart maybe a third of the way down the length of the vamp. You try to eliminate any "borders" - places where, when you flex it, you can see obvious steps in the resistance, places where the flex stops along a visible line. The sides should flex evenly.

Look up as many video and text explanations as you can find. Players may use different techniques, but I think most of them are trying to accomplish the same things, so pay more attention to what they're doing than to how they're doing it.

Karl

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics