REEDS AND BASIC REED ADJUSTING

I. Material Clarinet (and other woodwind) reeds are made from a variety of cane, grown in
areas of France and South/Central America. After harvesting, the cane is dried and shipped
to factories that process the cane into reeds (machines do the work). Each reed is cut to
specific dimensions (for Bb Clarinet, Saxophone, etc.), and then the strength of the tip is
measured by another machine, which sorts the reeds. As a result, the box of reeds purchased
at a music store generally contains a variance in the quality and strength of individual reeds.
Additionally, humidity and weather conditions can alter the playing qualities of reeds. As a
result, insist that your clarinet players maintain FOUR WORKING REEDS AT ALL TIMES.
Four is convenient many reed cases are designed to hold four reeds. Make sure parents
understand the commitment of purchasing reeds in a timely manner.
II. Care of Reeds Encourage your students to be especially careful with reeds theyre
expensive. The tip is extremely fragile and even the slightest ship can often render a reed
unplayable. Reeds vibrate best when they are wet, but not water-logged. Make sure the
student wipes any excess moisture off the back of the reed when they are finished playing
and sets the reed on the music stand UPSIDE DOWN to dry for a few minutes while putting
away the instrument. Reeds need to be placed in an appropriate reed case these are
inexpensive.
III. Breaking-In Most new reeds will feel a little too stiff and have a harsher sound than a reed
that has been played on for a few days. There are many ways to break in reeds: keep it
simple for your students. On the first day, play no longer than 5 minutes on the new reed.
The second day, play 10 minutes, the third, 15 minutes, etc. After this short break-in, the
reed should have settled somewhat. Dont play on a new reed for a concert or playing test.
Also, encourage your students to rotate among their reeds. If they played on reed today,
make sure that they dont play the same reed all week long. Rotating among several reeds
will extend their playing life.
IV. Adjustment/Strength The numbers assigned to reeds approximate their stiffness; 1 is
usually the least resistant, 5 the most. Beware: These numbers are NOT consistent between
different brands. A general rule is to start a beginner on a 2.5, and after a few weeks of
playing, when the clarion register is introduced, gradually switch to a 3. When the student
begins playing more extensively in the upper clarion/altissimo range, a 3.5 is appropriate.
Often a reed can be slightly adjusted on the mouthpiece up, down, or to either side to find the
sweet spot, or best placement of the reed for maximum vibration. This is because reeds are
made of imperfect, natural materials one side may be harder than the other.
V. Aural Clues for Reed Adjustment:
a. Too Soft:
i. Bright, edgy sound
ii. High notes not responding, weak or very flat
iii. Squeaks or chirps in the low register
iv. Solution:
1. Move reed slightly higher on the mouthpiece
2. Clip the tip with a reed clipper
3. Throw away

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 b. Too Hard
i. Hard to blow
ii. Uncontrolled sound
iii. Fuzzy, dark sound
iv. Lack of a rich, full tone
v. overall unresponsive (slow articulation)
vi. Solution:
1. Move reed slightly lower on the mouthpiece
2. Adjust the reed to find the sweet spot
3. Take a small strip of #320 sandpaper or reed rush and stroke the
vamp (cut portion) slightly
VI. Adjusting:
a. Materials
i. 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper
ii. 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper
iii. 1 by 6 piece of glass
iv. Reed Clipper (Cordier)
v. Reed knife (optional)
b. How to adjust:
i. Use small amount of sandpaper and index finger only.
ii. Balance (left and right, see figure below)
iii. Too thin clip a small amount CHECK AFTER EACH CLIP!
iv. Too think thin center, sides, and back of reed very seldom tip
CHECK FREQUENTLY!
c. If too much adjusting is needed either way, the reed strength may be wrong.
d. Buy good commercial reeds. You get what you pay for.