Don't blame the reed!

"I'm sorry, that wasn't very good, I just have a bad reed today."

This statement just makes me want to throw a reed knife at someone, possibly in the hope they will use it. There are so many things about this that aggravate me.

Part of it might lay at the fault of educators (and the time we can spend with a student). I totally get that. Perhaps we need to focus less on educating the student to play the oboe/clarinet/bassoon/saxophone, and more on teaching them to BE an oboist/clarinettist/etc. Learning to play one of these instruments doesn't just mean teaching notes on a page, fingers on keys and forming a correct embouchure. Acquiring and maintaining your equipment is a huge part of it.

When a student claims to play badly because of their reed, they are actually saying:

• I don't know how (or can't be bothered) to look after my reeds
• I haven't developed the skills to play around a 'bad' reed

I feel, as a musician, if I blame the reed, I am actually blaming myself. It is my fault that I haven't got my reeds in suitable playing condition, or that I haven't catered for the change in climate. Part of my job as a reed player is the reeds themselves. It as important as playing the instrument; you can't have one without the other.

Don't point your finger at the reed - it will probably only point one back at you.

A student's guide to looking after reeds:
1. If a student tells me they have a 'bad reed', the first thing I will ask them is to try the other ones they have. If I had a dollar for every time the answer was 'I don't have any others', I would be able to teach pro bono.

ALWAYS have a supply of reeds with you in your case wherever it goes (and, additionally, extras at home). For clarinet and saxophone players, whose reeds often come in boxes of 10, at least one reed guard full of reeds, plus a couple of brand new ones, would be considered a minimum. For oboe and bassoon players, three reeds in your case would be the minimum. And those reeds should all be playable - four chipped reeds in a case is not a supply. These reeds should be of varying ages (you don't want them to all die at once) and for a variety of situations (i.e. have one slightly softer reed, one slightly harder reed, just in case of weather changes that might affect the cane).

2. Keep them in a case. A properly designed reed case, not the plastic holders they came in.

For single reed players, reed guards are a good, cheap method of keeping reeds flat and protected. Double reed players should use a closed case with ribbon style holders that is well-ventilated.

3. Know your reeds.
If you are a single reed player, use a ball-point pen to number your reeds, in a place where your mouth won't touch but not on the bark. After awhile, you will remember which numbered reeds are better than others (good for concerts) and rotate them more easily.
If you are a double reed player, you might have reeds with different coloured thread, which makes each one easy to identify. If not, you can mark them the same way as a single reed, or you might even paint a dot of different coloured nail polish on the thread of each reed.

4. Know how to adjust them.

These babies didn't make the cut...

This applies mostly to double reed players, but it is possible to adjust single reeds, if you are that way
inclined.

There are some great resources available in the web regarding adjusting bassoon reeds. For adjusting oboe reeds, there is some information on this blog. (you need to make sure you are adjusting for the correct type of oboe reed - short scrape, used mostly here in Australia; or long scrape, used mostly in the US). Double reeds are expensive, and there is no reason why a reed which doesn't suit you all that well should be binned.

Preparing for playing with a bad reed
If all of the above fails you, and you get stuck on stage with a reed that feels like you are trying to blow a brick wall down, it helps to be prepared. Many athletes, particularly those involved in airborne activities such as gymnasts, learn how to fall. This isn't to promote falling, this is to prevent injury in the case that they DO fall. We are preparing ourselves in the same way.

While it is important to practice making a beautiful sound, playing with good technique, etc, these things are much easier to achieve on our favourite reed. Have one practice session a week or so where you play on the worst reed in your case. Aim to make it sound as though you are playing on your favourite reed.

Learn techniques that you can perform on stage that might help the reed. In the case of single reeds, you can adjust the 'hardness' of a reed by changing its position on the mouthpiece. A reed placed higher on the mouthpiece will feel harder, and vice versa. These changes, naturally, need to be pretty small - a large deviation away from where the reed should normally sit on a mouthpiece and you will compromise all aspects of your playing.

Double reeds often have wire - you can sometimes manipulate the wire with your fingers enough to affect the feel of the reed. A more closed opening will make the reed feel softer, and vice versa. Use your fingers to manipulate the cane itself - be gentle and only touch the scraped parts of the cane.

Learning the lesson...
Not long after I had begun making my own oboe reeds, I had been practising in a university practice room. Once I started making my own 'playable' reeds, I refused to play on anything else. I turned up to my lesson, opened my reed case, and my three best reeds were missing. I had left them in the practice room. I looked high and low for them, with no luck. The only reeds left in my case were varying degrees of playable (read: not really). My lesson finished at 10am. Our oboe class was at 11am, and we would get randomly selected to present the orchestral excerpt of the week in this class.

I hightailed it to the reed lab and managed to make a surprisingly playable reed in about 35 mins, from tie to final scrape (note: I do not recommend this!) Lo and behold, I was chosen from the hat to present the orchestral excerpt that week, on my brand new, not played-in reed. Somehow I made it through, and did a much better job than I expected. But it was extremely stressful and the reed (probably as a result of being performed on straight after being made) never played properly again after that.

Lesson learned! I now try to retire my favourite, broken-in and stable reeds before they are dead, and move them to the end of my case. In their place, I put newer reeds. I know that if in a dire situation, those newer reeds don't hold up for me, I will always have my trusty backups. It also has the apparent benefit of making them last longer!

P.S. Flute players, don't think you have got off scot free - your lips are like your reed - look after them! The weather is cooling off, lips will start chapping and tone will start going out the window. Prevention is better than cure!