This choice involves recognizing the underlying tone of a good reed, because even before adjustment every good reed has a natural, underlying strength and beauty of sound. For this reason, when you are testing a new reed ask yourself first how it sounds, not how it plays.

The distinction is difficult at first, but one must learn to hear the difference between the inner tonal quality and the outer playing characteristics of each reed. If the reed doesn't already have the right basic sound throw it out, because it will never gain this sound by adjustment.

The basic underlying sound will differ, depending on whether the player is seeking a warm, dark sound; a lighter, edgier sound or something in between. But every player should develop the sense of whether the reed has the musical and tonal potential he wants.

The best way to do this is to have the experience of actually playing on many very fine reeds--the sound they produce (as well as the way it feels to play them) can serve as a standard against which other reeds can be judged and created.

Obviously, the quickest way for the aspiring professional clarinetist to internalize the qualities of a good reed is to study with the artist whose sound he admires most.

In contrast to the underlying potential sound of the reed are what we might call its outer playing characteristics. Unlike the potential sound of the reed these outer playing characteristics can be improved by adjustment. The outer playing characteristics can be judged by focusing on two important concepts: reception and response.

Reception refers to whether the air comes in freely at the tip of the reed, or whether it seems to be blocked off. To use a mental image, a receptive reed will give the feeling that the air is being drawn from you rather than that you are pushing air into the instrument.

Response refers to the area farther back on the reed; a responsive reed plays well once the air has come in freely. A responsive reed will react instantaneously in all registers and at all dynamics--from very soft to very loud. In addition to reception and response, a good reed will allow you to produce a covered sound--a sound that will hold the beauty and quality of a note without spreading the sound or going out of tune--in all registers at all dynamics.

In addition to these basic properties, adjustment can also improve pitch (intonation), darkness, brilliance, warmth, strength, flexibility, sheen, projection, size, shape and colors of tone. Adjustment can improve the ability to voice intervals, to produce a variety of articulations, and to produce a singing and connected legato.

One aspect of special importance in thinking of a good sound is the difference between short and long vibrations.

To use an analogy, short vibrations refer to the treble part of the sound, as if a stereo were being played with no bass.

Short vibrations are related to reception, or adjustment of the tip of the reed.

Long vibrations give the sound strength and character, as if the bass were added to the treble sound. A reed with no long vibrations does not sound too bright or buzzy, but still has a dull sound. This dull sound can be converted to a warm, dark sound by adjusting the reed farther back to produce long vibrations.

Similarly, a reed with the tip unbalanced will have short vibrations but a certain shrillness in quality. Adjusting the tip will then produce a brilliance that is not shrill.

Be careful not to confuse darkness with dullness. Neither sound is bright or buzzy, but dull has no vibrations while dark has long vibrations.

Finally, do not confuse brilliance with brightness. Both have short vibrations but brilliance has a sheen brought about by balancing the reed; brightness has a shrillness caused by imbalance.

A basic decision in choosing a reed is the balance between between stiffness or resistance and softness or ease of playing. For the novice the greatest temptation in choosing a reed is to prefer the reed that plays very easily. This choice inevitably leads to playing with a reed that is too soft, that lacks resistance. A good reed has a certain amount of fight in it, whereas the reed that plays very easily will sound thin in the back of the concert hall.

In contrast, the stiffer, more resistant reed may seem to have less beauty of tone at close range but will project superbly to the back of the hall.

The professional player learns to spot this difference. A good test to see whether a reed is too soft is to play as loudly as possible on a given note in the middle or upper register. If the tone spreads or chokes the reed is too soft and should be discarded. Remember that it is possible to produce poor or unacceptable sounds from a good reed, but it is almost impossible to produce a beautiful sound from a bad reed.

A common error that can frustrate any clarinetist is the belief that to perform well he must depend on a "certain" reed--perhaps the mythical perfect reed that played so well in the practice room.

Keep in mind that the reed (which is made from a living organism, cane) is itself in a constant state of change; reeds will play differently at different times of the day, at different seasons of the year, in different weather and in different cities.

Reeds will also react to different altitudes, barometric pressures and especially different humidity levels--dryness is also the enemy of a good reed. For these reasons, and if possible, avoid adjusting reeds on days of travel, rain or snow or in any rapidly changing weather.

Keeping all this in mind, one can see that it is foolhardy to depend on a "certain" reed which is playing well at the moment. It is equally vain to search for the perfect reed. Instead, the experienced player keeps enough good reeds that play within the acceptable limits. This supply enables him to handle different playing conditions without resorting to major last- minute changes.

Once you have created a good reed, be flexible. At any moment if a reed plays a little darker, responds in a more lively fashion, or allows you to play with more colors--enjoy that reed for what it can do and go with it the way it wants to go.

A reed cannot be forced to do something it cannot do. Since even the same reed will never play exactly the same way in different circumstances, no two performances will ever be the same--then enjoy the spontaneity of the moment.

Back to A Digression: Start from Scratch or Buy Commercial Reeds? or forward to Adjusting the Reed

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