Placement of Single Reeds on Mouthpieces and a Useful Test

Placement of Single Reeds on Mouthpieces and a Useful Test

Over many years customer have regularly asked me how best to place their reeds on their mouthpiece. Since the reed and mouthpiece combine to vibrate the air column this actually quite an important question. 

Following soaking, the reed should be positioned on the mouthpiece with the reed lined up evenly distributed on the flat cutaway that is the mouthpiece ‘table’ with the tip of the reed aligned with the end of the tip rail of the mouthpiece. When examined perpendicularly you should be able to see a hairline of the tip rail over top of the reed tip in standard playing position. Once you are satisfied with the positioning hold the reed with a thumb and carefully place the ligature over top. Lower the ligature until it sits in a position where there is an equal amount of the ‘bark’ of the reed visible on either side of the ligature. Tighten the screw(s) (where present) finger tight but do not over tighten them as this can damage the reed fibres and inhibit vibration.

If you wish to check the success of your placement you can perform a suction test as follows to see if the reed is ready to use:

• Wet the palm of your hand and place the shank end of mouthpiece end on your palm

• Take the tip of the mouthpiece and reed in your mouth, wrap your lips around the mouthpiece and create a vacuum by sucking aggressively and repeatedly to remove air from within the mouthpiece

• When you feel this has been achieved release your lips and the reed should hold shut for a few seconds (you may even hear a ‘hissing’ sound) before it ‘pops’ open with a noise, as the vacuum is lost.

• If you do not get a ‘pop’ first try again – If after repeated attempts your reed does not hold a vacuum it may be miss-aligned, warped or damaged. If it seems to take a very long time to ‘pop’ then if may be fatigued and ready to be changed.

It takes a bit of practice to gain ‘the knack’ of this test but it can be quite useful in confirming that the set-up is likely to work well.

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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