SEAsax
Senior Member
- Messages
- 62
- Locality
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
I went thru a week of difficult, frustrating practice, not being able to consistently play crisp notes because of a bent reed. I'm a newb, so I didn't know what to look for. Even if I'd changed the reed on my own I wouldn't know what was working and why.
Turns out I had a bent reed. Now I can see it, but I didn't at first. A new reed is not always a good reed. My teacher told me he keeps about 1 out of 10 in a new box.
Playing a good reed was a revelation. All part of the learning process and blowing my alto went from frustrating back to fun instantly.
I would like to know what works for people. I've been spending time scouring sites, videos, and PDFs. But since I'm at work and hanging out here is much more fun than work, I was hoping to get a thread started where you experienced folk could pass on some wisdom and knowledge.
What brands, what materials, why?
How to spot a bad reed?
How to play a bad reed when you have to?
How to repair a damaged reed to make it playable?
How to craft your own reeds?
If the topic is way to broad, and it may be, please feel free to delete the thread or break it up. I won't mind.
Turns out I had a bent reed. Now I can see it, but I didn't at first. A new reed is not always a good reed. My teacher told me he keeps about 1 out of 10 in a new box.
Playing a good reed was a revelation. All part of the learning process and blowing my alto went from frustrating back to fun instantly.
I would like to know what works for people. I've been spending time scouring sites, videos, and PDFs. But since I'm at work and hanging out here is much more fun than work, I was hoping to get a thread started where you experienced folk could pass on some wisdom and knowledge.
What brands, what materials, why?
How to spot a bad reed?
How to play a bad reed when you have to?
How to repair a damaged reed to make it playable?
How to craft your own reeds?
If the topic is way to broad, and it may be, please feel free to delete the thread or break it up. I won't mind.