Reed Squeaks - Why this happens and what to do when it does

Reed Squeaks - Why this happens and what to do when it does

Almost all clarinet and saxophone players have at some point experienced their reed 'squeaking', often it seems in a most embarrassing situation or circumstance. Other reed players will usually offer sympathy - players of different instruments (brass, strings, percussion) just wonder what is going on - as we might well also. Here is my attempt to explain the 'reed squeak' in layman's terms and a few suggestions for what once can do to help.

The squeak of the reed is an uncontrolled harmonic or unintended sounding due to the vibration of the air column being adversely or improperly generated, usually at the mouthpiece / reed end or sometimes within the tube of the instrument.

Checklist:

• If this should happen to you the first place to check is the reed 'seat' on the mouthpiece. One can check this visually using a straight edge ruler or knife, sighting along the flat underside of the reed and looking in the direction of a strong light source. If light 'leaks' or shines through a gap under or around the reed then the cane has warped and must be flattened either by careful scraping using the straight knife blade or rubbing the reed on a sandpaper placed on a flat surface. A reed resurfacer may also be used for this purpose. Once the cane underside appears flat again retest by playing and see if the problem has disappeared. A suction test can be performed to see if the reed will do its job properly again - here is how:

Place the reed on the mouthpiece and tighten the ligature as normal. Lick or wet the palm of the hand. Place the 'back end' of the mouthpiece on your hand and placing your lips around the tip of the mouthpiece aggressively suck backwards removing as much air from inside the mouthpiece as you can. Release the mouthpiece from your lips pulling it out and hopefully the reed will hold in the closed position for 2-3 or more seconds until the vacuum is lost and the reed 'pops' open with a noise. This test takes a bit of practice but once you get the knack it is a very useful indication of a reeds state of readiness to perform.

• Less frequently wear or damage can occur to the facing of the mouthpiece itself and this can be the source of a air leak either between the reed and the 'table' of the facing or on the rails or tip where they come into contact with reed. This type of wear is often difficult to detect but if problems with squeaking or reed response are a regular occurrence then this may well be the explanation. Try some different mouthpieces and / or visit a mouthpiece craftsman with the proper tools to check and measure the mouthpiece.

• It is also possible on both clarinet and saxophone that a hairline or larger leak is affecting the accurate sounding of one or more notes. This can be due to pad seating but is often more subtle sometimes on the clarinet occurring due to an incomplete closure of the finger to the top of a tone hole on the instrument - i.e. the ring positioned to 'high' or the incomplete closure of a pad due to a ring positioned too 'low'. Check especially the left hand 1st and 2nd finger rings and the right hand rings. If your finger(s) bottom out on the tone hole before the ring fully closes the pad a leak will be present. If the pad closes before the ring allows your finger to cover an open hole air can leak out under the finger. Bend the key work in the appropriate direction to overcome the non-alignment. A butter knife or other thin, flat metal plate can be used.

• Common sources of response problems for the saxophone is found in the correspondence connections relating to the left had 2nd finger touch (which must hold down 3 key/pads in total) and also the right hand correspondences to the F# pad. Regulation screws, where present may help to return the correct function of these keys but be prepared to insert a butter knife or other thin, flat metal plate underneath a pad to be able to close a related key arm to overcome the closure problem. If you go too far you may have to reverse the process.

• Poor regulation of the G# key screw can account for poor performance of low C#, B and Bb. I recommend that this be checked each time you play.

• Whenever key work is adjusted there is a chance that the attempted correction will not go well or even be the wrong answer to a problem so having a good repairer available to visit should your best emergency efforts fail is always advisable.

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The tips and comments above are the result of many years of providing help and advice, my personal interest and study, and the teaching that I have done during my career. I have many colleagues and teachers to thank for sharing their thoughts and suggestions on this and other topics. In addition I am indebted to Woodwind & Reed, Cambridge ( www.wwr.co.uk ) where, in the course of helping customers, many of these concepts have been refined and have proven helpful.
 

Thomas Dryer-Beers

Woodwind Instrument Clarinet and Saxophone Mouthpiece Advice - 'Mouthpiece Maniacs'

I refer to this posting series as 'Mouthpiece Maniacs' with some fondness as I have heard this term applied in admiration, frustration, sympathy and dismay to a wide variety of players who share an appreciation of musical performance and a curiosity about their equipment and how the right 'gear' can help their playing. I believe an element of this knowledge is absolutely vital for anyone in the position of advising other players, i.e. teachers, performers, music shop assistants, repairers, etc. In addition I believe that knowing something about the aspects of design, how equipment 'works' and what choices we have as players is both enlightening and empowering when we begin taking responsibility for our own performance. Thomas

Clarinet and Saxophone – why is the mouthpiece so important?

Want to find out why your teacher makes such a fuss about her/his mouthpiece? Tired of working had and getting very little for your efforts? Hear a sound you just can’t get from your own set-up? It is time to examine the basics. 

If you get the right match between your reed and mouthpiece you are at least 70% better off – vibration starts with the mouthpiece and reed set-up and it is by far the biggest single determinant of your success. Your instrument acts like a megaphone to the sound from the mouthpiece – bad mouthpiece fit equals bad tone, good mouthpiece fit equals good tone. The more you have experienced by trying mouthpieces the more important you realise they are to the process of personalising your music making. What others hear from you determines the largest part of what they think of your playing!

You can help your high notes, even up register response, improve tuning, aid projection or mellow your sound and most importantly enjoy your practice and performance more - all benefitting from a change in the mouthpiece. 

 

Important features explained –

 

Tip Opening 

This is the measure from the plane of the table (the flat surface upon which the reed is positionee and secured with the ligature) to the maximum opening of the curvature measured at the tip of the mouthpiece. A narrow tip opening makes for very easy playing with softer reeds. With harder reeds both response and focus are improved and pitch is very stable. A wider tip opening is not very comfortable to play with reeds which are too hard - softer mid-strength and softer reeds are the order of the day. A wide tip introduces more flexibility and freedom but requires more care from the player to control the result!

 

Facing Length 

This is the measure from the end of the tip rail to the point at which the curvature begins as it leaves the horizontal plane of the facing. A longer facing allows for more freedom of vibration and flex for the reed making soft reeds feel even softer and harder reeds feel comfortable. A shorter facing requires a ‘softer’ reed as a hard reed will not be able to work without lip fatigue, and the shorter facing adds a ‘snap’ or ‘bite’ to the sound as it emphasis the tip vibration of the reed.

 

Tip Rail 

 At the very end of the mouthpiece where the reed tip ‘seats’. This area must be clean and undamaged or the vacuum necessary for the creation of the sound will be inefficient or impossible to obtain. A narrow tip enhances higher harmonic partials in the sound as the reed vibration is less muffled. A wider tip helps to ‘cut-out’ some of the higher partials and brings about a darker ‘warmer’ sound.

 

Side Rails 

The reed seals all along the length of the side rails in the process of vibrating. These rails need to be parallel and undamaged or performance will suffer.

 

Table

This is the point where your ligature holds the reed. It is meant to be either flat (preferred) or slightly scalloped (a minority choice) where an airtight fit, which contributes to successful vibration of the reed, is obtained. If this area is damaged or poorly finished your reeds are likely to play with more difficulty and suffer warp more quickly.

 

Baffle

The baffle is the area just behind the tip rail and it has a very important role in the production of the sound. It is useful to understand the terminology when discussing this area. A ‘high’ baffle is one that restricts the vibrating air column; effectively squeezing it once the air has passed the opening of the reed. It excites the air, disturbing the flow and this adds a bright, 'edgy quality' to the sound – this is what is usually associated with a ‘jazz’ mouthpiece. A ‘low’ baffle does the opposite – it allows for the expansion of the vibrating air column in this critical area and emphasises the lower partials of the sound – creating the qualities associated with ‘classical’ orchestral, wind band or solo playing.

 

Throat 

This is the transition area where the opening beyond the baffle is focused into the straighter bore of the mouthpiece. Here you will see many variations of shape (round, square, tapered, blunt) but each intended by the manufacturer to complement the other areas of the internal flow of air in the mouthpiece.

 

Chamber – Saxophone  

 This is the region found after the baffle and before the throat of the mouthpiece. Most mouthpieces now utilize a fairy standard medium chamber. This is so common that unless specified otherwise you can assume that this is what is in use. A small chamber, when available, adds a further compression to the flow of the vibrating air column boosting the feeling of projection by emphasising ‘edgier’ higher partials in the sound. Conversely a large chamber, when available, ‘rounds out’ the sound by not restricting the airflow and creating a warmer sound. This style of mouthpiece was very popular in the early days of the saxophone and is sometimes referred to as an ‘old boxcar’ style alluding to the large space inside.

 

Bore – Clarinet

 The bore is the area after the throat that begins the internal dimension of the clarinet taper leading into the barrel. Bore sizes have largely been standardised with the popularity of the nominal ‘French’ bore clarinet being now dominant but some types of instruments with unusual, usually larger bores themselves, must be matched with an appropriate larger bore mouthpiece to obtain proper tuning.

Material –

Most student mouthpieces (and even some supplied with much more expensive instruments) are made from modern plastics to keep down costs. Plastic resonates easily and, if well designed and crafted, works well to encourage early playing. Ebonite or rod rubber is the preferred material for most professional range mouthpieces. The inherent vibrational qualities of ebonite are superior and mouthpieces can be crafted by cutting, not moulding as in the case of plastic, allowing for greater finish quality and consistency. Some ‘jazz’ mouthpieces exploit an ebonite/plastic highbred material that adds a ‘brightness’ and liveliness to the feel of the mouthpiece with its distinctive vibration characteristics. Various metals (brass, stainless steel, and alloys) are used in some saxophone mouthpieces largely for manufacture reasons when wishing to create high-baffle ‘jazz’ mouthpieces. The vibrational qualities of metals are different to those of ebonite and plastic both for the player and the audience but I believe are not inherently darker or brighter – that depends much more upon the design.

My advice is try to not go 'mad' chasing the perfect mouthpiece - they all exist for a reason and players are all different. What you prefer will be likely to change not only as our playing needs change but also as time passes and we tend to look for different aspects of performance from the mouthpiece. It is not unusual to own and use several different mouthpieces and enjoy them all for what they do to enhance your playing.


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The tips and comments above are the result of many years of providing help and advice, my personal interest and study, and the teaching that I have done during my career. I have many colleagues and teachers to thank for sharing their thoughts and suggestions on this and other topics. In addition I am indebted to Woodwind & Reed, Cambridge ( www.wwr.co.uk ) where, in the course of helping customers, many of these concepts have been refined and have proven helpful.

Thomas Dryer-Beers