Author: Dutchy
Date: 2007-03-07 20:28
Elkwoman, the reed is supposed to be open on the sides; it's not supposed to be connected to itself. The reed is made by folding a piece of shaped (flattened) cane in half, tying the rounded, non-playing ends of it to the staple (the brass tube thingie) with thread, and then you slit the fold at the tip, slice right through it with a razor blade, so it makes the two blades of the reed.
What isn't normal would be if there were visible light between the two blades. You want the blades to be touching each other, and a properly made reed will be so.
But don't worry if the reed blades seem separate; yeah, the split at the top of the reed is supposed to go down a half-inch. Actually, it's not a split--what you're holding is actually the two halves of a formerly intact piece of cane, that has been folded over and then sliced open at the flat playing end.
|
|