Double Reed Resistance and Adjustment Tips

Double Reed Performance and Adjustment Tips - What To Do and When

This is a big subject. Knowing what to do to make the most of a double reed becomes important to most players after only a few months of learning. Even with the available guidance of a knowledgeable teacher (and this is not always available) there will certainly come a time when a reed one is reliant upon just 'does not play' as it used to and something must be done in order to get through a performance. There are many textbooks and articles that can help with illustrations and advice though the best contact probably remains a successful player with experience of adjusting and if possible the making of their own reeds. This is a quick reference summary from my experience and advice I have given to pupils over many years -



Best practice starts with care in soaking the reed for about 60 seconds in water up to but not over the level of the thread - every time before you play. Bassoon reeds can be placed entirely in the water. Some players always soak their reeds by placing them in their mouth. I feel that this exposes the cane to an unnecessary degree to sugars and acids from saliva - eventually shortening the playing live. Water is cleaner, warm water is best as this relaxes the reed fibres more quickly. Not wetting at all prior to playing is a sure route to disappointment and shorter reed life.

Once wetted the reed blades may require subtle adjustment to achieve a good-looking aperture.

• If the opening is too great the blades may be pressed together with a light touch of the fingers taking care to not press so hard that the cane splits. If the reed is wired (oboe or bassoon) adjusting at the wire by hand or using a small pair of pliers may be required. For bassoon reeds adjusting at the second  (middle wire) 'opposite' to what initially seems logical will often be what is required as the first wire will act as a fulcrum.
• If the opening is too small the blades may require the opposite correction with a gentle squeeze to increase the aperture on the oboe reed and once again the 'opposite' correction for a bassoon reed.

Test the aperture and the readiness of the reed to play by blowing a 'crow' on the reed - accomplished by playing more of the reed in the mouth than usual and blowing a sustained and forceful air stream with a minimum of lip support. This is a simultaneously high and low rackety noise that is an indication of a reasonable 'balance' to the reed. If after practice you cannot obtain a crow then that reed is likely to need further adjustment to get into a proper balance and a reed knife may be called upon to remove cane. Always use a plaque when working to remove cane from a reed. I prefer a 'bellied' plaque, as these tend to provide the reed blades more support during scraping. Always work slowly and carefully with a wetted reed and test frequently.

• If the upper noise is absent in the crow cane may need to be scraped from the tip area using the knife and a plaque. It is often said that the secret to a good reed is a thin tip.

•  If the lower noise is hesitant or resistant in the crow the tip area may need to be 'integrated' into the heart and back profile of the reed. Check against a strong light source to see the location of darkened areas on the reed. Compare the 'look' of the problem reed to the appearance of a good reed and see what areas might need to be scraped.

• If all looks good but the reed is still resistant then try scraping cane from the rear of the cut away profile at the 'back' of the reed vamp. Do this slowly and keep testing, as you do not want to take away the resilience of the reed and leave it incapable of supporting pitch.

•  If the crow is satisfactory but the pitch has gone flat the usual correction on an oboe reed is to carefully 'clip the tip' removing a fraction of a millimetre of cane. To do this you will need a very sharp straight knife and a cutting block. Test the result after clipping and be prepared to rebalance the reed if necessary to ensure the proper relationship between tip, heart and back of the reed. On a bassoon reed this may also be the appropriate correction before cutting the tip try arching the reed at the second wire to see what effect this has upon pitch. Bear in mind you may have to rebalance at the first wire also to maintain a proper aperture opening.

• If the crow is satisfactory but the pitch has gone sharp the cane may be 'clogging up' and might benefit from a light general scraping overall to remove the build up of skin cells, saliva and dirt that may have come over time. If no response is gained from the approach one can take 'pitch' out of a reed by scraping the tip, the heart region and or the back to give the reed back its flexibility. Try this systematically and in very small stages and test frequently. It is very easy to go too far!

A further note - Playing the oboe and the bassoon should require a strong, well-supported air stream. I should not require a great deal of 'biting' at the lips or cause fatigue in your embouchure within a few minutes of blowing. The most attractive double reed sounds are lyrical, exciting and characteristic over the entire range of the instrument without any sense of hesitation or 'dropping out' due to problems with basic tone production. Strive for this always and try to make sure that, as much as possible, you have your reed on your side!

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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

Reed Adjustment - A Survival Guide for the Single Reed Player

Reed Adjustment – a Survival Guide for the Single Reed Player

The single reed that clarinet and saxophone players rely upon is a piece of cane (from bamboo, Arundo Donax, therefore wood) which, when in use, is continually changing state between moist and dry conditions. The reed fibres swell and contract with moisture absorption and evaporation. In addition, the fibres of the cane are tubes that will collect skin cells from lip tissue and handling as well as saliva residue, food particles and dirt. The fibres will also, over time, lose their resilience after being subjected to the many hundreds of thousands of vibrations required in order to produce the tones we all love to make.

 No wonder reeds need care and attention!

To make your reeds last longer and player better try the following: 
Have a planned ‘break-in’ routine with your reeds - 

• Soak your reed for 30 seconds to 1 minute, in warm water if possible, tap / cold water if warm is not possible, or soak in your mouth if no water source is available.

• Place on a flat surface and press with your thumb along the vamp of the reed before playing for a maximum of 5 minutes when new. 

• Place that reed safely in a reed storage case and repeat with another new reed.

One should ideally try to have 3-4 reeds on the go at any time so as to avoid getting ‘caught out’ with nothing ready to play. Once a reed has settled the period of use can be extended to an hour or more over several sessions. If a reed is working particularly well you may wish to set it aside and mark it for performance use in the future.

If on the other hand a reed does not seem to be performing as well as you wish then it is time to see if it can be improved …

Sounding dull / playing with a stuffy, resistant feel -

Place the wetted reed on a flat surface and use reedrush (natural sandpaper), a ReedGeek tool or a very sharp, straight knife and gently work at the tip area to remove some of the some cane (always stroke away from the reed tip, never back towards it). If the tip area is evened up and made more flexible this may be all that is required. If the reed is still ‘not right’ check that the underside of the reed is truly flat by sighting along the underside of the reed with a flat ruler or straight edge of the knife looking in the direction of a strong light. If you see daylight leaking through either at the edges or in the middle then the underside of the reed has warped and must be flattened. You can use the tool edge or the straight edge of the knife to accomplish this. Finally, if this is not enough you can experiment with removal of some cane in the ‘heart’ region to reduce resistance. Be careful – you cannot put anything back once it has been removed.

If a reed is almost right but just feels a bit like ‘to much hard work’ try placing reed on the mouthpiece as usual and then press it in towards the facing with your thumb, holding it in a closed position for 10 seconds or so. I refer to this practice as ‘pre-ageing’ a reed and it can often be all a new reed needs to quickly settle in ready for successful use. 

Sounding thin / playing without enough resistance -

 First, test to see if it seems to play better when positioned ‘too high’ on the mouthpiece (i.e. deliberately extending the reed over the end of the mouthpiece tip by 1mm or so). If this seems promising then try to return strength to the reed by clipping it with a reed cutter (Cordier is my  favourite clipper, Vandoren do a fine precision clipper for their own reed range). Work in small stages and try blowing again following each clip. When the resistance feels right the reed may need re-balancing at the tip (see above) as you have effectively returned thicker wood to the tip through the clipping process.

The changing nature of reeds -

Once good reed begins to decline try rejuvenating it by gently placing it on the mouthpiece and with the ligature in place, insert a thin/stiff playing card between reed and mouthpiece facing and gently bend the reed away from the mouthpiece using the card. Re-test. This often does just enough to get through a concert or rehearsal session.

If you are returning to a reed which was once good and now seems to perform differently it is useful to bear in mind that changes of humidity and moisture content will affect cane reeds and what the reed may require is breaking in again or a review given a change of season. Do not throw it away as in a month or two it may be 'just right' once again.

In summary - 

The ability to analyse reed behaviour and to be resourceful with various adjustment options in the face of the inevitable challenges posed by the use of cane reeds is of great benefit to all players. This knowledge increases your confidence, reduces pre-performance stress, and leads to more playing enjoyment and helps to save money!

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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

Dry Weather / Wet Weather Single Reed Performance

The effects of Humidity, Altitude and Seasons Upon Reed Performance

It is in the experience of many players, certainly including my own, that on occasion an excellent reed which I/they enjoyed playing on a day or two previously suddenly seems to no longer work well - for reasons unexplained by any obvious damage or misalignment on the mouthpiece. On such occasions I look to the skies, not in exasperation but to see what the weather is doing - here is why:

Cane reeds are intended to vibrate and play their best in a controlled moisture environment. This is why soaking your reed prior to playing is so important and why many players develop a specific routine to ensure that they obtain the best results.

Assuming the reed has already been well wetted if the climate conditions indoors or out are very dry the moisture (both within the reed and on its surface creating the vacuum seal with the mouthpiece) is likely to be reduced within a very short period of time - possibly even seconds - and this change can effect reed performance dramatically. A reed will often feel much harder to play and perhaps begin to squeak as a result of a warp developing on the underside of the reed.

Conversely a reed that becomes overly wet, due perhaps to very humid conditions indoors or out, will be likely to 'give out' quite quickly becoming too easy to blow and sounding thin and buzzy. It is likely to lose its resilience and effectively 'collapse' into the mouthpiece facing in a very short period of time. High note control and tone quality are both likely to be affected .

Such changes in weather conditions can account for why a reed selected as good or promising one day may feel 'rubbish' the next and why a reed dismissed as poor at one sitting should perhaps be reviewed again when the weather changes.

Altitude can be a factor as well as the conditions at higher altitudes, all other things being equal, will tend towards low humidity and near sea level conditions are usually more humid. Such factors matter a great deal to touring musicians who learn how to plan for these changes and adjust their equipment accordingly but the experience of such changes in reed performance can arise for anyone at any time. Even seasonal changes from the warmer and more humid months of Spring and Summer to the colder temperatures and drier conditions of Autumn and Winter can have some effect.

Bearing all this in mind can seem tricky but may be some consolation and assistance should you experience an unexplained reed crisis. Armed with this knowledge you have be able to increase the number of 'good' reeds you obtain from any box!

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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