Author: vboboe
Date: 2008-06-07 01:20
oH woe, bummed by hard reed
a bit unclear from this thread so far - this too-hard reed of yours is U-scrape or American scrape?
you've got two options -- put it away and try it again on another day several weeks from now & get another reed soft enough to play now, OR fix the hard one so it plays for you
don't know if you live in a really hard water area there, the kind of water that leaves tons of scum in the sink, if you do, experiment with wetting up your reeds only in bottled drinking water from another part of the world instead, calcium salts dried into a reed will really harden it up
If you decide to fix it, diagnose it first to find out exactly what you've got
For example, the answers to these questions should help you determine what you need to adjust
Where exactly on this reed can you sustain a steady tone easily?
'Nibble' the reed up and down its length until you find the spot where it sustains an easy tone for you
What part of the reed gives you that steady tone?
tip, middle/heart, lower back?
Use a tuner, what pitch is that steady tone?
Can't get a steady tone? Is the reed moist enough yet?
Even moist enough, still can't get an easy sustained tone?
How long is this reed?
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