The Mystery of Reeds.

Saxophonists and Clarinetists don’t agree on much, but one thing they can agree on is how hard it is to find a good reed. Reeds are something that remain a mystery to many players because there are many misconceptions about what effect the strength of a reed has on sound, volume, and response. In this article I hope to clarify things a bit.

The most important thing…

Look for a reed that plays easily in all registers and over the entire dynamic range. A reed that is too soft will be thin sounding and easy to over-blow, making the higher notes play flat. A reed that is too hard will not respond well in the low register, will lack focus in the sound, and is simply a lot of hard work to play.

What strength to choose?

Well, that all depends on what mouthpiece you have. Mouthpieces with open facings require a softer reed than those with close facings. To make matters more confusing, not all brands grade their reeds in the same way. A #2½ in one brand could as strong as, or stronger than a #3 in another brand.

Try more than one reed in each strength because not every reed in a box is going to be good. This will also give you a feel of how consistent the various brands are. Try a reed for fifteen minutes and then switch to another. This will prevent the reed from getting waterlogged, and will ease the break-in process. If a reed does not work well at first save it for another practice session. It might play better in a few days or a week.

It is a good idea to have four reeds that play really well. Every time you practice use a different reed. In the event that something happens to one of your reeds, you have three more are ready to go.