Woodwind Clinic

CJarinet Reeds and Mouthpiecesby Christopher Sumner

Whenever I conduct a clinicwith a high school clarinetsection, the band director

usually asks if I can work on theirsound quality, especially in the highregister. Problems in tone quality oftenreflect equipment deficiencies. Thereed alone drastically affects the soundproduced by a woodwind player. Agood reed maintained properly willimprove the overall tone and helpplayers with difficult altissimo notes.Other factors include posture, embou-chure, the type of instrument, and thesize and quality of mouthpiece. Thecomments here pertain primarily tothe clarinet, but most apply to othersingle reed instruments as well.Choosing a Reed

The thickness and density of reedsvary from one commercial brand toanother. The less costly reeds tend tobe thinner and less dense than expen-sive ones. This is why reeds of thesame size will vary in hardness fromone manufacturer to another, but evenreeds from the same box will have dif-ferent degrees of stiffness. Reed stiff-ness depends on the density of thecane used to make the reeds: thedenser the cane, the better the reed.To gauge the density of a reed, hold itup to a light and examine the closenessof the fibers. Check the evenness offibers; if one side of the tip of the reedis denser than the other, it will be dif-ficult to play.

For high school students, soft reedsare often the cause of poor sound qual-ity, especially in the altissimo register.

A high school clarinet section shouldplay a size 3 or within a half size of this.The tradition of starting beginners ona l'/2 does not always guarantee thebest results. A 2 reed is often a goodchoice for beginners because it givesthem a sense of resistance from thestart and precludes the kazoo soundtypical of beginning woodwind players.

Getting StartedRecently a flute player who teaches

middle school band told a story abouta clarinet student who could not get asound out of the instrument. Afterlooking over the instrument to checkfor mechanical problems, the teacherasked if the reed had been soakedbefore playing. The answer was, ofcourse, no. Reeds have to be thor-oughly soaked; several seconds in themouth is insufficient. Woodwind play-ers should put the reed in their mouthto soak as they assemble the instru-ment. An alternative is a canister or a

plastic film container filled with water.The water contains fewer impuritiesthan saliva and does not break the reeddown as much. The entire back of thereed should be wet to create an airtightseal between the face of the mouth-piece and the backside of the reedwhich prevents squeaking. Ripples atthe tip of the reed are a good indica-tion that it has not been soakedenough. New reeds often need to besoaked longer than older ones.

A new reed should be sealed aftersoaking but before playing. This simpleprocess will help to preserve the life ofthe reed. Place a wet reed on a flat sur-face or on a finger and rub from theheel of the reed to the tip with thethumb using a medium amount ofpressure. Rub each side of the reedabout ten times. This process breaksoff tiny fibers on the surface of the reedand closes up exposed fibers. Sealing areed increases its longevity because thereed does not become easily water-logged.Mouthpieces and Ligatures

Mouthpieces and ligatures affectsound production on reed instrumentsso much that a good reed on one set-up(reed, mouthpiece, and ligature com-bination) could turn out to be a badreed on another set-up. Althoughmouthpieces are made of many differ-ent materials including wood, metal,plastic, hard rubber, and crystal, mostaccomplished reed players agree thathard rubber and crystal mouthpiecesare best. Mouthpieces should be eval-uated in terms of intonation, tone

Heel

Reeds and MouthpiecesTipJ Facing/Table/Lay

Rails Tip/Opening

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quality, response, and resistance.Although it is useful to check pitcheson an electronic tuner, I recommendplaying several scales without a tunerto test the intonation of the instru-ment. Check whether the mouthpieceproduces a clear, resonant, and well-focused sound. Test how quickly andeasily the sound responds by playing apassage with several articulations anddynamics, as in the following examples.

Shostakovich Symphony #1

Schubert Symphony in C Major

The resistance of a mouthpiece dic-tates how much air will flow freelythrough the mouthpiece. Mouthpieceswith less resistance work well forbeginners. Most mouthpiece brandshave a numeric or alphabetic label forthe tip opening, which in turn indi-cates the resistance of a mouthpiece.Because most brands use different sys-tems, it is difficult to compare mouth-pieces, although many companies offera chart to explain the rating system.

With so many makes and models itis difficult to recommend specificmouthpieces. One suggestion that canbe made without reservation is not touse the stock mouthpiece that comeswith the instrument, which tends to beof mediocre quality. The sound qualityof a section may improve if all playersuse the same type of mouthpiece.

Ligatures are less critical than thechoice of mouthpiece but also affectthe sound quality. With ligatures thegoal is for a minimal amount of mater-ial to touch the reed because a reed thatvibrates more produces a better sound.

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Reed PlacementIt may seem a simple task to place

reed on a mouthpiece, but poor reiplacement is the root of many totproblems. Students often fail to centthe reed from side to side or place ttreed too high or low on the moutlpiece. The tip of the reed should tcentered side by side on the rails •the mouthpiece with the heel cer.tered on the cut facing of the mouttpiece. The tip of the reed should haligned with the tip of the mouthpiecibut the top edge of the mouthpiecshould be visible.

C O L . L E G E -

Exceptions can be made to thismethod if the reed is too soft or toohard. It the reed is too soft, the tip ofthe reed can be raised slightly higherthan the tip of the mouthpiece tomake the reed play a little harder. Toresolve the opposite problem, bringthe tip of the reed down just below thetip of the mouthpiece. Bear in mindthat these adjustments only minimallyalter how the reed plays. To avoidcracking or splitting reeds, place theligature on the mouthpiece first, thenslip the heel of the reed onto the faceof the mouthpiece under the ligature.

Excess saliva inevitably collects onthe back of the reed after some time,

Christopher Sumner is director of bands atDunellen High School in Dunellen, NewJersey. In addition to conducting numer-ous woodwind clinics, he has taughtcourses at Rutgers University and SetonHall University. He received a master'sdegree from Mannes College of Musicand a doctorate degree from RutgersUniversity. Sumner performs regularly asa clarinetist, saxophonist, and conductor.

60 THB1NSTRUMENTALIST/APRIL1999

causing a fuzzy tone. The easiest solu-tion is to suck in air with the mouth-piece in the mouth, but some studentshave a fear of their own saliva. Theother option is to take the reed off themouthpiece and wipe off the back ofthe reed, but this is obviously muchmore time-consuming. Also, the morethe reed is handled, the greater the riskof splitting or chipping.Storage

The reed should never be left on themouthpiece after playing but should bedried and placed on a flat surface toprevent warping, A warped reed can-not create an airtight seal between thereed and the face of the mouthpiece.The back of the reed should be wipedoff and placed in a case or guard tokeep the reed flat and protected. Somereeds come in suitable cases, but oftenit is necessary to buy cases or guardsseparately. Most reed manufacturerssell inexpensive cases and guards, thebest of which have a glass plate to keepthe reed flat.

Reed cases also help players to orga-nize their reeds. Most professionalsevolve a system of marking reeds toindicate softness, overall condition,and other qualities. Some players usenumbers and others letters, such as S(soft), H (hard), St (stuffy), G (good).Any system that describes the reedseffectively is acceptable.Advanced Adjustments

Advanced reed players should learnto make some basic reed adjustmentswith the following simple tools: a reedknife, very fine sandpaper, and a reedtrimmer (optional). No two reeds willbe the same, even from the same box.As a test, play one side of the reed byrotating the mouthpiece slightly sothat the bottom lip pinches off onecomer of the reed and leaves the othercorner open; repeat the process closingoff the other corner. If one side isharder to play than the other, makeadjustments by carefully scraping offsome of the wood with a knife. Scrapeonly the thicker corner and just a littlebit at a time; the reed will be too soft iftoo much is removed.

Excessively thick and overly softreeds also require adjustments. If thereed is too thick and difficult to play,place the back of it on a piece of veryfine sandpaper and sand lightly. Placetwo or three fingers gently on the reedand slide the reed on the sandpaperseveral times with the grain. Again, becareful not to take too much off. If areed is too soft, clip off a small portionof the tip with a reed trimmer. The

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more a reed is clipped, however,less vibrant the reed becomes, fmany students use a reed trimmeremove chips in a reed, and whileis somewhat effective, they shouldognize that each clip makes the relittle harder and less vibrant.

Although most high school wwind players will not obsess over ithe way professionals do, most of tadjustments can be performed easi.students. These slight changesimprove the sound quality of reections immensely.

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