What do you play to test your reed?
A bit of an unusual one this week…
I have this pattern of notes I play every time I first pick up the clarinet. I’ve done the same pattern for so long now, such that even though my sister and I haven’t shared a house for 20 years, she can still sing it. (The poor girl must have heard it hundreds of times!)
I think we all have something like this we do. Something short, but just reassures us that our reed has the right level of humidity and it’s in the right place.
And I’d love to ask this week what your pattern tends to be? I’ll share a recording of mine in the forum and I’d love to encourage you to do the same!
1 reply
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I like to soak new reeds in water for a couple of minutes and then rub them down on a hard, flat surface. I play notes in all three registers, looking especially for responsive articulation and focused sound over the instrument's dynamic range.. I have a long winded regimen for adjusting reeds; maybe that would be a good discussion topic sometime.