Author: d-oboe
Date: 2005-07-07 00:03
I think the most annoying rookie mistake that I see is too much definition, too soon. The students try to make the reed *look* finished, without any regards to whether it vibrates or not. Most beginners are afraid to really scrape at blank reeds, in fear that it might leave them with a dead reed.
To help alleviate this, in the beginning, I have my students scrape only half-way down the reed, and then once they have think they have got it right, they show me, and then we scrape the back down. This forces them to make the heart and tip vibrate well before using the back to adjust. Usually we manage to get a satisfactory reed, because the back wasn't scraped away too soon.
As well, rookies tend to loathe scraping their tips down. In a long scrape reed, gouged at the usual 0.6, the only way to achieve balance and stability is to have the tip very thin. A thin tip allows the rest of the reed to be scraped down thin enough, and it allows the back (especially the top of the back) to be scraped fairly thin. The important thing for the youngins to remember is that it isn't a thin tip that makes a squealy chirpy reed, but it's an *unbalanced* tip that makes a chirpy reed. In other words, if there is too much definitio between tip and heart, there will be chirp.
And lastly: blend. What is the blend, and where is it located on the reed?
The most important blend is the one between tip and heart. If this isn't correct, the reed won't work. Where is it? It is *above* the heart. So, if the heart starts at 67, the blend will normally have an upside-down "U" shape starting around 68. Many students, when thinking they are thinning the tip for better response, are actually thinning the blend, which essentially ruins the reed.
The other blend is the heart-back blend. This one isn't as crucial, but there shouldn't be any catches, or bumps. It should be smooth. There can be a great amount of definition between the two, but it should be smooth. Like a steep hill, but not a cliff.
D
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