More about reeds

DISCLAIMER: I'm not going to edit this. I know that I've repeated myself and some of it is disjointed, but there you go. Certainly, this is too long, but I don't have the time tonight to make it shorter. Again, you get what you pay for.

Note: Everything I say about the optimum reed strength applies to mouthpieces with a medium tip opening, which is the opening that most people play. Smaller tip openings usually require a stiffer reed, and more-open tips usually work better with a softer reed. For this article, though, I'm considering only medium opening tips.

Some of this I already covered in earlier articles, but repetition can't hurt.

Harder reeds are easier to control! 

Especially in the altissimo register (higher than the C above the staff), harder reeds make it easier to hit the right pitch, especially when you need to play a high note that has to be attacked in tune and sustained, especially if they need to be played softly. Softer reeds are harder to control, especially in the altissimo register. 

With harder reeds, small variations in embouchure don't affect pitch and response up high nearly as much as they do softer reeds. 

So it's actually the opposite of what you probably heard about better players playing harder reeds. Playing softer reeds takes more skill than playing harder reeds!

A few of the best players may play softer reeds because they're so skilled and their technique is so well-developed that they can control them. (Luis Rossi told me that he was playing 2.5 Vandorens V12s!) But it takes considerable experience and practice to control a soft reed, something that only a very few people, even professional-level players, aspire to. It's just too hard to play soft reeds well!

So why do most beginners and intermediate level players play soft reeds? Because they want "free blowing", without having to blow with some pressure or having to develop their chops. They don't think they can blow a harder reed because they don't want to feel any resistance and because they haven't made the effort to develop their embouchures well enough to play them; they say that they can't play very long without getting tired. 

Well, of course they can't! Instead of increasing embouchure muscle tone with a few minutes of practice a day so that they can play an appropriately graded reed that will give them the best tone, the best intonation, and the best response, they stick with soft reeds, with their thin sound, problematic tuning, and precarious response. They take the easy way out and say that the reed is "too hard to blow".

Me? If I'm not playing much, I play a 3.5. But when I've been preparing for a recital, I work my way up to a 4.0 for three reasons: they sound better on my mouthpiece, they're easier to play in tune, and response in the altissimo is easier and more secure. (When I've done solo or small ensemble work and playing challenging repertoire, I need all the help I can get.) I work up to the stiffer reeds to condition my embouchure so that I can take advantage of harder reeds. Blowing force doesn't enter into it.

Again, "harder to blow" doesn't enter into it.

So why are you still playing a 2.0 or 2.5 on your medium-opening mouthpiece? Something stronger is "hard to blow"? Well, if a beginning student is over the age of 13 and they're in good health, I generally start them on 3 1/4 or 3 1/2 strength, and I've started pre-teen players with a reed no softer than 3.0. Guess what! No  whining about "hard to blow"!

A general rule for reed strength is to choose a reed that is as stiff as possible without having the sound quality suffer. (Assuming that you have good breath support, a reed that is too strong for your mouthpiece will dull the sound.) In general, on a mouthpiece with a medium tip opening, a reasonable strength for most players should be around  3 1/2, leaning toward greater strength. 

Hey, you adult players! "Hard to blow" doesn't cut it as an excuse to play soft reeds!

Unless you're a jazz player, there's no valid excuse for playing soft reeds if you care at all about your sound, your tuning, and getting the best response. That's my assessment in a nutshell.

Assuming that you have proper breath support, as you up your reed strength your sound will be better and not sound weak or thin, your tuning will be better in both the throat and altissimo registers, and you'll be able to hit higher notes easier. Back off on the strength only when your sound becomes "spread" or "tubby".

I hereby end the most poorly written article I've put out so far.

10-4, good buddies.

B.