Mr. Galindo's School Page

chromatic fingerings

As a clarinetist, it is your responsiblity to play with the best tone possible. Things that will immediately improve your tone include your reeds, ligature, and mouthpiece.

Basic Reed Care

Three things happen to reeds that will have an adverse effect on your tone:

1. Reeds break 2. Reeds warp 3. Reeds get old

The reed cases below are designed to protect your reeds when they are not in use. They do a better job of keeping your reeds from getting chipped than the single plastic case in which most reeds come.

After playing on a new reed a couple of times, it often becomes warped: the cane of which the reed is made may look wavy at the thin end or the butt end of the reed may develop a hump. These irregularities in the reed effect the way which the reed vibrates on the mouthpiece and causes negative effects to your tone. The clear and dark blue reed cases below are designed to prevent warpage, which is caused by moisture. The clear reed case contains charcoal, which absorbs moisture while the reed is stored. The dark blue reed case provides the amount of ventilation needed to prevent warpage. Both also prevent mold from growing on your reeds.

All three of these reed cases allow you to store more than one reed. Because all reeds respond differently, it is important to buy them by the box (usually 10 per box) and select the reeds which make you sound best. If a reed makes your tone sound too airy or you have to bite down too hard, then it is probably to thick. If the reed closes up and doesn't let any air through the mouthpiece, then it is probably too thin. Throw these reeds away. They will only cause you frustration. Find two to four reeds that work well for you and use one of the reed cases below to rotate your reeds daily. Playing on a different reed each day will make them last longer. After about three to four weeks of playing a reed loses is resilience and begins to sound dull. Once this happens, throw it away and start a new one.

reed holder
These quality reed cases may be found at the following link:

http://www.wwbw.com/Search.list?N=61&Ntt=reed+case

What Kind of Reeds Should I Use?

There are many different brands of reeds: Rico, Vandoren, La Voz...