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| Charles Stier > Teaching > Clarinet Reeds > A Good Reed: What Does It Look Like? |
| A model illustration of a good reed is shown below. It includes the tip--the end of the reed; and two "eyes" on either side of the reed below the tip. The heart of a good reed is an oval-shaped area farther down--the heart connects at its top with an inverted hour-glass starting from either side of the tip. In addition, the tip of a good reed often has a number of strong, dark fibers running up through it. |
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A good reed held up to the light usually (but not always) reveals features similar to this model. Turning the reed to the side, one can see the "grade" of the hill leading from the tip to the shoulder--as noted earlier this aspect of the reed is called the vamp. The tip of the reed is the most critical part. A balanced tip will allow reception of air, ease of voicing in large intervals, clarity of sound, purity of intonation--especially in the throat tones and highest (altissimo) register--and ability to articulate. The sides of the reed at the corners of the tip should be thicker than the center of the reed at the tip. Again, below the tip is the other vital area of the reed, the heart, in the shape of an inverted "U." Above the heart the light shows a reverse mirror or inverted hourglass--in the shape of a "U." The key word in describing a good reed is balance, both in overall design and in details. A good reed must have balance between ease of playing or vibration, which is determined by the tip and sides; and resistance, which is determined by the heart area. Balance must also be achieved in terms of the details. Balance in this sense means that the reed should be symmetrical horizontally--the thickness of any part should be equal to its opposite along the center axis. |
 (Figure 6) |
| Finally, balance must be achieved "lengthwise," in the thickness of the tip relative to the thickness farther back on the reed. |
 (Figure 7) |
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How does one achieve balance? As we shall see in more detail below, balance is achieved by identifying and removing undesired wood so that the reed is symmetrical, both in the overall sense and in the details. Remember, however, that the reed must have the right basic sound--the underlying potential--to become a good reed through adjustment. In this sense every good reed is a balanced reed, but not every balanced reed is a good reed. Similarly, every good reed is one that can be made to play better, since it already has the underlying potential. A bad reed (i.e. without the inherent good sound) will always sound bad no matter how well you are able to make it "play". A reed that has the right basic sound will play correctly when adjusted--and remember that adjustment means balance. Any "symptoms" such as fuzziness, inability to articulate, or stuffiness will disappear if you cure the "disease" of imbalance. When balancing a reed you must become familiar with each area and plane. There are no areas that "should not be touched" or "have no effect" or "do not matter". Back to Understanding the Reed or forward to A Digression: Start from Scratch or Buy Commercial Reeds? |
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