Reeds Tenor reed closing up during gig

[JSL]

It happened during my solo on the last song of the night so had little choice but to carry on.
I always carry spare reeds and would have stepped back and changed the reed at any other time.

Next time it happens, try the 'business card" trick I mentioned.

 

[Pete Effamy]

+1. I already covered that in an earlier post:

Note that I said, "during a break". If you want a quick fix, on the spot, it's much faster to use the business card 'trick' of bending the reed out away from the tip. You can do that in the middle of a tune, if necessary. Then, on the break, grab another reed.

Plus moving the reed higher on the mouthpiece by a mm or two

 

[skeller047]

Expanding on @thomsax's tip, my initial 'reed adjustment' process changed when I first read Emeritus Professor Steven Mauk's article on 'reed placement and adjustment'. I've followed the principles of this article ever since. Mainly by placing the tip of 'thinner/older reeds' slightly further away from the mpc tip. And placing the tip of 'new' or 'thicker' reeds much closer to the tip of the mpc. I still do this today at every rehearsal when 'setting up'. Just to find the 'sweet spot' of positioning any reed on any mpc that enables me to play the widest range of notes (from low B♭ to high F) with the greatest 'ease' and with the 'best' tone. IMHO (as an amateur), selecting and positioning a reed (and ligature) on the mpc is often a compromise between hitting both the 'low notes' and 'high notes' well. And also between being able to play at pp and ff.

I've posted this link to Steven Mauk's article many times on the café. Just because I personally found it so insightful and helpful.

Hey Mike, your link doesn't work. It's got some nonsense about "chrome extension" at the front.

I was able to delete that extraneous stuff and read the article. I'm glad it works for you, but that's way too complicated for me. I take a new reed out of the box, soak it, flatten the back, test it for balance, correct if necessary (most are at least a little unbalanced), and put it in my rotation. I will generally flatten the back the next 3 or 4 times I play it. I may revisit the balance test the 2nd or 3rd time I play it. After that, I just let it be, and live its life happily making music.

I used to use a very similar procedure, that's how I was trained. I consider Prof. Mauk's approach to be the "academically correct" way to deal with reeds, and many folks follow this path. Many other folks follow the path of "take a reed out of the box and play it". My approach is the middle way - simple, quick, and for me, effective. So much so that I end up playing about 90% of the reeds I buy.

If what you are doing works for you, keep doing it. But if you throw out a significant number of the reeds you buy, try the simple approach for a box or two, and see how you get on.

 

[Nick Wyver]

As far as I can remember it’s never happened to me at a gig. I’ve always got spares anyway.

 

[Zasterz]

As a “take it out of the box and play it” person, I kinda wish I could have a “Freaky Friday” type mind-swap with someone very reed-picky just so I could hear what it is they’re hearing. It’s a mysterious and unknown part of sax playing for me, that there are all these players with elaborate reed-preparation and storage routines, working to achieve something which I have no understanding of.

 

[MikeMorrell]

Hey Mike, your link doesn't work. It's got some nonsense about "chrome extension" at the front.

I was able to delete that extraneous stuff and read the article. I'm glad it works for you, but that's way too complicated for me. I take a new reed out of the box, soak it, flatten the back, test it for balance, correct if necessary (most are at least a little unbalanced), and put it in my rotation. I will generally flatten the back the next 3 or 4 times I play it. I may revisit the balance test the 2nd or 3rd time I play it. After that, I just let it be, and live its life happily making music.

I used to use a very similar procedure, that's how I was trained. I consider Prof. Mauk's approach to be the "academically correct" way to deal with reeds, and many folks follow this path. Many other folks follow the path of "take a reed out of the box and play it". My approach is the middle way - simple, quick, and for me, effective. So much so that I end up playing about 90% of the reeds I buy.

If what you are doing works for you, keep doing it. But if you throw outmaulk a significant number of the reeds you buy, try the simple approach for a box or two, and see how you get on.

Hi @skeller047, I'm sorry that my original link didn't (immediately) work for you. I totally agree with your 'reed tips'. And I've been for years one of the "take a reed out of the box and play it" sax players. Partly through playing experience (adjusting to different reeds) and partly from what I (years ago) picked up from Steven Mauk's article. That 'micro-adjustments' to the position of the reed tip w.r.t. the mpc tip could make a difference in 'playing experience'.

I totally agree that Steven Mauk was an 'academic' as were his publications. But I humbly submit that his publications are still worth reading. FWIW I don't think that he became 'Professor of Saxophone' at Ithaca College without a lot of practical experience. His (downloadable) publications including the one on 'reed placement'' can be found at: Documents

Mike

 

[JSL]

I kinda wish I could have a “Freaky Friday” type mind-swap with someone very reed-picky just so I could hear what it is they’re hearing.

Unless the reed is a real dud*, the difference between a great reed and less-than-great or one that needs the back flattened, etc. is more a matter of feel & response. IOW, the difference is not something the audience is likely to hear, but it sure can make a difference to the player. At least that's how I experience it.

*A real dud reed will likely sound rather muffled and dead, maybe even to the listener.