Why Hard Reeds Do Not Always Work

You might have been told many times over that you need to use hard reeds.  Because.  No.  Just because.  Don't question me.  I'm the band director.  I know it all.  I went to college for this.  I probably don't play clarinet, and if I don't I DID take a woodwind methods class...I mean, that's some comprehensive stuff right there.

Just kidding.  That's how it is for most band directors because they do not play single reeds.  There are so many other instruments they might have played that it is unlikely you will land a clarinet playing director.  Even if you do, not all of them understand how reeds work.  Hard reeds are great...for some people.  Hard reeds tend to work better on soprano clarinet, but that is not a hard and fast rule either (see what I did there.)

Your only hope of playing the right reeds is to play what you like.  You need to make sure that you are on softer reeds that give you a chance to feel some sort of response.  You can slowly move to keep your pitch up (providing your embouchure is strong...not firm...just strong.)  You must remember that reeds are supposed to help you, and any reed that does not blow freely is likely too hard for you.  There are so many choices that you will not have to worry about finding the right one, but you do need to go searching until you find it.

I play a Gonzalez 2.75 on a Selmer D mouthpiece and Leblanc 430.  That's a BIG setup, and it works for me.  If I gave it to you, it wouldn't work.  If we traded horns, I would not enjoy playing your horn because it doesn't work for me.  It works for you.  You have to be happy with what you re using or you are going to have problems.  You can lie to yourself and say that it will get better, but your setup does not get better until you decide that you are going to make a change.  Just waiting for reeds to be more free blowing won't work...it never does.

The Current Setup (Bass Clarinet, Alto Clarinet, Contra Clarinet...OK, All The Clarinets)

My setup has changed...five thousand times over the past few years AND I starting practicing all the clarinets orchestrally.  So, I have a completely new setup that I use regularly on everything.  This goes from the efer all the way down to the contra and beyond.  The question is, what am I using now?

Eb/C -- They share a Vandoren B44 mouthpiece and size 3 Blue Box reeds
Bb/A -- They share an old Hite M41 (which is now just the M) and 3.5 56 Rue Lepics
Alto -- I use a Yamaha 5C mouthpiece and 2.5 Vandoren V12 Alto Sax reeds
Bass -- I use a Selmer D mouthpiece and 2.75 Gonzalez Bass Clarinet and Tenor Sax reeds
Contra -- I use the original Leblanc mouthpiece that came with the horn and 3 Blue Box reeds.

Eb/C -- I use a Vandoren V16 soprano sax ligature with the No. 2 plate
Bb/A -- I use the Vandoren Leather ligature with the leather plate
Alto -- I use a Rovner EDII (now defunct) Tenor Sax ligature with no plate
Bass -- I use a vintage gold Harrison ligature
Contra -- I use a Rovner Dark ligature

Eb -- 1930 Rampone Milano
C -- Pre World War I unsigned Albert system
Bb -- 1950 Leblanc Symphonie
A -- 1914 Selmer Paris (before they used serial designations)
Alto -- 1965 Leblanc Paris
Bass -- 1997 Leblanc 430S
Contra -- 1969 Leblanc Paperclip BBb

Any questions?  I'm happy to answer.

Keep Your Practice Journal

I never took a practice journal...ever.  I was never asked to keep one by a private teacher, not even in college.  So, it was kind of a foreign concept to me.  However, it didn't bother me.  I just never kept one.

Well, on January 9th, 2013, I was denied a contract release I had been guaranteed previously.  So, I said "Fuck it, screw it, fuck education...I'm done with this shit."  I took the year between January 9th, 2013 and January 12th 2014 to basically practice at school constantly.  I did a TON of practicing.  I learned all the excerpts I was never taught (which is pretty much all of them.)  I taught myself to play Bb clarinet correctly (which was a major hurdle in my life previously.)  I bought an Eb clarinet, a C clarinet, I had already bought an Alto Clarinet and Leblanc Paperclip BBb Contra in the fall of 2012.  So, I have a full collection of clarinets.  And I learned EVERYTHING.

However, I didn't write anything down until June of 2013.  Then I started charting everything.  I started writing down goals.  I charted my tone for each instrument and took all kinds of notes, set goals for learning solo pieces and I learned about 50 pieces in a year and about 100 excerpts.  Basically, I gave myself a Doctorate in performance in a year.  Most of what I got done at the end of the year was directly tied to what I wrote down in my practice journal.

So, what do you write in your practice journal?  Whatever you want.  If I took pictures of mine and posted it here, you wouldn't be able to read it.  It's scribble scratch, but it works for me.  Do your own scribble scratch and see where it takes you.

On a side note:  Don't keep a journal for every instrument you play.  Let them all intermingle.  You never know what you'll learn about one while you're practicing another.

Next up:  My new Bass setup ;) ... sort of.