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I begun playing the clarinet when I was 11 years old, back in 1984, after a heap of months of pestering my parents. Although I wasn’t specially good when I started, I loved the look and feel of the instrument and I persevered, and I ultimately ended up as a music student at Leeds University with the clarinet as my basi instrument. I didn’t find the notes that hard when I was a kid; I could give rise to a tune without too galore tears, but my tunes just didn’t sound very nice until I’d got to in regards to grade 6. A lot of young players experience the same problem, and the problem is in truth twofold- 1) devising a beauteous sound takes a large total of practice, and 2) devising a genuinely beauteous sound depends on your reed. What a Reed is All About If you don’t play a reed instrument you may well be marveling what I’m talking about, so I’ll explain a little bit here. (For the already initiated, feel free to skip this bit!) A clarinet is fundamentally a tube which is approximately 2 feet long; in fact it’s the same length as a flute or an oboe. The flute has a little hole which you blow across. This makes the air inside the tube begin vibrating, (like if you blow all over the top of a bottle and listen a note). The oboe and the clarinet, however, use reeds. These are little bits of cane, (or now and then plastic), which are attached to the top of the instrument. The cane goes in your mouth and you make it vibrate with your lips and jaw; this sets the column of air vibrating, and hey presto a note sounds. (It’s very hard to describe how you in truth do this because it all happens inside your closed mouth!) You can’t play the clarinet (or the oboe or bassoon) unless you have a reed attached to the top, and these necessary bits of kit have, unfortunately, rather a short life span. How long a reed lasts depends on a large total of things, like how oftentimes you play, what brand you’re using, and even what the weather’s like. (It’s a natural material so it’s affected by the humidity of the atmosphere). The Reed you genuinely Need So now you recognise you need a reed, off you pop down to your local music shop, or find one online. The primary question they’ll ask you is what kind of reed do you need? Narrowing it down to just “a clarinet reed” won’t get you very far. You have to specify the strength of your reed. And choose a brand. And choose one of a range of reeds within that brand. And how some do you need to buy? So how may a little bit of cane be so diverse and complicated? How may you perchance choose?! Let’s take a look at the basi dilemma: Strength. Reeds are categorised by their thickness, and given a grading from 1 to 5, including half grades. Basically speaking, the thicker the reed, the more difficult it is to manufacture a note, but the nicer the note will sound. So, if you are a beginner, (and accordingly in possession of comparatively weak jaw muscles equated to a veteran), you will have to choose a low number, known as a “soft” reed. Around 1.5 would be good, but go for a 1 if the 1.5 is too difficult to blow on. As you get better, you’ll gradually be capable to progress to thicker reeds (known as “hard”). To get a decent sound, you need to be playing on a minimum 3.5, and most pros will be playing on 4.5 to 5s. Personally, I play on a 3.5. OK, let’s move on to brand and product: In the UK there are principally 2 companies battling it out in the clarinet reed field, and they are Vandoren and Rico. I’ll undertake to make a comparison amid them, since your basic purchasing decision will be amidst these two brands. Here’s what Vandoren say in regards to their usual B flat clarinet reeds: “The most widely played reeds in the professional world.” And here’s what Rico assert with regards to their most similar product: “The world’s most popular reed.” One thing you may be capable to deduce from this is that Vandoren reeds are better and also more expensive. They formulate a better tone for professionals, who are more picky in regards to these things than amateurs. However, there are a good deal of more amateurs piping away in their bedrooms on a Sunday afternoon than there are professionals, and they tend to choose Rico, so they can’t be all bad. Here’s how the prices compare from 2 reputable online firms, for a box of 10, (the normal number you get in a box). From http://www.myatt.co.uk Rico Reeds cost £8.50 and Vandoren cost £11.00 From http://www.dawkes.co.uk Rico cost £6.25 and Vandoren cost £10.25 Rico are well in front in the tasty price league, so why is it that all these masters are choosing Vandoren? It actually boils down to the sound that comes out when you blow, which to the professional is the only major issue. For us mere mortals though, there are another couple of points to consider- how some of these 10 newly purchased reeds actually work properly, and how long will one last before I have to modify it? I’ve played on both these brands of reeds over the 20 and a bit years I’ve been playing this instrument, and I believe that Rico are more consistent in the strength grades they put in the box, and they last for the same length of time as Vandoren’s, but whereas a box of Vandoren once in a while develops a genuinely stunning finelooking reed, a box of Rico never does. When you buy a box of reeds, it is rather normal to find that numerous of them just won’t work. This is rather annoying, (especially if you’re paying more than a pound a piece), but it’s a fact of life. The cane is rigorously tested by both companies, and left to mature for a substantial time, but not one thing may stop the cane from getting somewhat modified once it’s been packaged up in it is box. My personal intermediate from Vandoren is 50% usable reeds per box, while Rico commonly gives me 7 or 8 that are playable. So, in effect, they work out even for less than you’d bargained for. I think that Rico’s testing engineering science is perhaps superior to Vandoren’s, to give rise to these results. They are more effective at eliminating inferior cane earlier in the process, before it actually gets in the box. In my mind there is no doubt that Vandoren Reeds sound better, but the big divergence in price is not justified by the little divergence in sound. Going back to my earlier point when it comes to the quality of my early attempts at the clarinet, I must point out that playing on the rectify strength of reed, (and one that isn’t too old), will assure an satisfactory sound from anyone. So how to find the rectify strength? Read on! How Strong is your Jaw? Rico Reeds come in intensities 1-5 (not all brands do). If you’re a finish beginner, buy a 1, a 1.5 and a 2. (You may buy reeds singly, both online and in shops. Some shops let you undertake the reed out before you buy it just in case it’s a duffer (see above), but not all of them.) Try the 2 first. If you give rise to a sound rather effortlessly and without pain, congratulations! You’ve found the right strength. If you find it takes lots of breath to get a note and you may listen air escaping from the side of your mouth as you blow, the reed is too hard. Try the 1.5, and repeat the process. Remember that with clarinet reeds, the only way is up! When you have been playing on your 1.5 for a good deal of time, undertake the 2 from time to time. Don’t play for too long, as your jaw will tire without apparent effort and you may bite into your bottom lip. If this happens, your mouth will be too sore to play until it’s healed, and you’ll have to begin with a softer reed again. Gradually increase your playing time, until you may play on the 2 with no problems. Then move on to the 2.5, and repeat the process. If you stick with a softer reed once your jaw muscles have become stronger, your sound will deteriorate. Playing on a soft reed gives rise to a buzzy kind of tone and may sound flat. Higher notes on the instrument are more difficult to reach with a softer reed, which is another reason why you need to climb that reed ladder! Sometimes reeds are a little bit too hard or a little bit too soft, without being totally unlikely to play on. You don’t have to chuck them away in cases like this, you may “doctor” them more or less to make them more playable: if the reed is too soft, trim a VERY narrow (hair’s breadth) strip from the tip of the reed with a sharp knife. Or push another reed amongst it and the mouthpiece of the instrument, pushing it away from the rectangular hole in the mouthpiece slightly. If the reed is too hard, you may sand it a little. Use a piece of 220-grain sandpaper. Rub just a little, then test the reed- a tiny rub may manufacture a huge divergence (which is why they don’t always get it right in the factory- it’s a precision art!) Breaking in Reeds All new reeds need to be “broken in”. They won’t fabricate a consistent sound until they’ve been employed a few times. Rico reeds are quicker to break in than Vandoren. You need to wet the reed (in your mouth or with water- I prefer my mouth, but Rico advise water, as a heap of people have very acidic saliva apparently, eeww), then play on it for just a few minutes each day, until the sound becomes consistent. It’s good to have a few reeds “breaking” as you never recognise when you’ll need a new one. Replacing Reeds It’s easy to tell when your reed needs replacing- after serving you well for a week or 3 (depends how much you play), one day it’ll just sound rubbish, altogether dissimilar to the last time you used it. Every time it goes in your mouth the reed is getting attacked by respective germs and other organisms, and your saliva begins the routine of breaking down organic matter ready for your tummy, so it’s no wonder that they don’t last forever! Another evident sign that you need a new reed is when you without intention slice it in half while attaching it to the instrument, a tragically mutual event. (It’s held onto your plastic mouthpiece by metal band called a ligature. This has rather sharp sides and if you’re not careful it’ll cut right through in one go. Don’t worry though, I’ve never heard of any person cutting their finger on one!) Arundo Donax This is the technical name for the reed plant which Rico and Vandoren use to make their reeds. It grows in India and the Mediterranean, and may get as high as 6 metres tall. If you live in the right climate you may grow it in your garden, but I wouldn’t suggest attempting to grow and make reeds yourself from scratch, though numerous fanatics do….. Other Types of Reed For the frequent clarinet, you will be buying Bm clarinet reeds. It’s improbable that you would buy the wrong reed size, as this is what 99% of humans play on, but just for the record, there are likewise Em and bass clarinet reeds. Em reeds are for a littler instrument, and bass clarinet reeds for a beast of an instrument, so neither will fit. The A clarinet takes the Bm reed, as it is only very fractionally more spectacular than the Bm instrument. (Orchestral players need two instruments, an “A” and a “Bm”; see see [http://www.mymusictheory.com/lessons-html/8-transposinginstruments/8-transpint.html] for more on transposing instruments). Final Verdict The Rico clarinet reed is a great choice for the novice player. They are reasonably priced, somewhat consistent within the box, and formulate a nice sound. They are easy to get hold of and magnificent value for money, peculiarly if you often slice them in half! If you want to get severe on the instrument, you will have to in all probability move on to more highpriced reeds from Vandoren. |
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