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Professor Pushes Hard Reeds

9K views 48 replies 33 participants last post by  Jazzaferri 
#1 ·
I searched to no avail...

A friend of mine did her audition and lesson with a professor near here. From what she told me he took her 2 1/2 reed from her, gave her a 3, and told her not to ever play on a 2 1/2 again. I'm sure it was most friendly than that, but you understand the effect. She was doing classical tenor in the lesson. I'm not sure of her setup, but what's the thought process behind this?

She's been working for two weeks on getting up a reed strength, but it's not working out well, she says. She has an audition a week from today, and can't play her 2 1/2s due to squeaks, and the 3s sound atrocious.

Thoughts? Thanks,
Bubba
 
#44 ·
I always tell players that reed strength is an optimization problem. You match the reed to the mpc and one can overshoot in either direction. I played on 3.5's for awhile and recently switched to #3's and am a lot happier. I feel my sound is much more resonant, while still focused and centered. I'm also getting ease of response in the low register that I've really been missing.

That being said, I often find that middle and high school players tend to be playing on reeds that sound really soft and feeble (for that mpc) to my ears. Practice and good air support will definitely improve their sound, but so can changing the reed strength sometimes. I also used to know an alto player that played a rubber otto link 7 with Blue Box vandoren 3.5 or 4. Their sound was always dull, muffled and lacked prjection and ring. Once they dropped down to a #3, they sounded a lot better and fatigued much less.

Most players I know whose sound I admire are 1) at least somewhat picky about their reeds and 2) use a #2.5-#3.5 strength.
 
#45 ·
I think a lot of what teachers say will be contradicted by other teachers. . it doesn't make them right or wrong and i think its mostly ego on the teachers part. if you want that person for a teacher however, you need to do what they want. Otherwise find another teacher.

I always just wonder if some people dont have the lungs for stiffer than 2 or 21/2 if they are middle school students or have asthma. going with a reed harder than they can blow steals the opportunity to learn other things.
 
#46 ·
I think a lot of what teachers say will be contradicted by other teachers. . it doesn't make them right or wrong and i think its mostly ego on the teachers part. if you want that person for a teacher however, you need to do what they want. Otherwise find another teacher.

I always just wonder if some people dont have the lungs for stiffer than 2 or 21/2 if they are middle school students or have asthma. going with a reed harder than they can blow steals the opportunity to learn other things.
That's a good point. I'm trying to do half of my practicing with a half strength harder. It feels like I'm making the most progress when I'm off of the hard reeds. We'll see in the months to come...

-Bubba-
 
#47 ·
I'm primarily a jazz player, so my idea of tone is different than a legit player. That said, I've played lots of legit music, and found that going up a 1/2 size darkens my tone, improves intonation and blends better with the other folks. I find that I have to work harder to get the response and articulation I'm looking for.

I'm of the school that I shouldn't have to work to play music. If I'm fighting my instrument, then I'm not fully enjoying the experience. It's only when the instrument is "out of the way" that I can truly create. For that reason I stick to 2.5 or 3 reeds for all my playing. My mouthpieces are not so extreme (Morgan 5ML on alto and Morgan 8*MLL on tenor) that i need a soft reed, but I find myself being more "at one" with my instrument when I play a softer reed.
 
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