Okay, I've been hearing a lot of reed shaving around here, mainly from Clarinetist. And I wonder, how do you shave your reeds, and why do you do it?

And would it be done differently when used with a bigger reed? Since Bb Clarinets reeds are rather small When compare to a Tenor or Alto Sax.

Normally the reason people shave their reeds is because:
1)they've bought the cane and need to make the reed or
2)they need to adjust the reed for response, resistance, tone quality, and stability.
for how to do it, you can just google it!
as for size of the reed, not really depending on the instrument, but i use it for oboe and english horn and it's pretty much the same.
hope i helped!:lol:

NOTE: Everything that I have stated here is based on pure experimentation, and personal reading. Everything stated here is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate. ALL APPLIES TO SINGLE REEDS.

With all instructions, make sure that you are facing the reed the way you would put it on the mouthpiece.


Okay, I've been hearing a lot of reed shaving around here, mainly from Clarinetist. And I wonder, how do you shave your reeds, and why do you do it?

And would it be done differently when used with a bigger reed? Since Bb Clarinets reeds are rather small When compare to a Tenor or Alto Sax.

They should be adjusted much the same, or at least I think so.

What I can suggest for you is to buy... 30 reeds (around there; it's how many reeds I've been through), but you don't have to buy them all at once. Get a flat surface (I have a wooden board), a reed knife of some sort (I have a butter knife that no one uses anymore, but reed knifes are better :heh: ), and sandpaper (or something that can do the same to wood (sandpaper is best); I didn't want to buy so much for the rest of the time I play clarinet, so I got an iron block from my dad). I also recommend getting a Cordier Reed Clipper. There are models made for Bb Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, and most saxophones (not bass saxophone, though).

When one buys a new reed, it (about 95% of the time) is VERY hard to blow through, with one exception that I have found: (Bb Clarinet) Premium Cut Mitchell Lurie Reeds, but it may be because of the fact that these are very soft reeds. By "very hard to blow through", when one first receives a reed, there is a very high chance for the reed to make squeaking noises when played; and when first playing it, it's usually very... stuffy, and has lots of resistance; one could say.

How would one go with doing it? Here's how I do it:

1. I get a reed, preferably an aged one ("aged" = at least a month, and has been played at least once a day), or one that is relatively soft (can be new; however, Rico does not = soft).
2. I play it. I go through full ranged scales at 120 bpm (eighth notes), and if any notes do not respond the way I want them to, I take note of those notes that do not work well. If response is an issue, I also take note of those.
3. This is where experimentation is needed:
If the highest altissimo does not respond as you want it to, shave a bit of wood off the tip of the reed. But, if the tip of the reed seems very light (tips are always lighter than the other parts of the reed), clip the tip off with the reed clipper (when clipping, make sure that everything is in place when clipping. Clip as little as possible.) But, a warning: DO NOT attempt to do this unless you hit the altissimo every day, or something like that.
If the low altissimo does not respond as well, shave some wood off between the tip and the middlemost part of the reed, but more toward the tip.
If the middle notes do not respond as well, shave a bit below where one would shave for the low altissimo. AVOID SHAVING THE MIDDLEMOST PART A LOT. THE MIDDLE IS THE SOURCE OF THE REED'S RESPONSE. A thin middle part will cause the reed, at times, to not respond.
VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH STORE-BOUGHT REEDS: The lowest register responds better than the higher notes, but it has a lot of resistance. Get your sandpaper. You'll notice some bark on the bottom of the reed (NOT the side of the reed, but the lowest part of the reed; look at it like how you would place it on a mouthpiece). Sand this part off. Do not even bother to sand any of this bottom part that you miss; it's not going to help. At most times, I can only get the middle part of the bark..
AFTER USING THE KNIFE TO REMOVE WOOD, sand those parts for a few seconds. Do not oversand...Avoid making the reed so thin that you cannot play it. It also wouldn't hurt to experiment with different mouthpieces; I have 4...

>.< Very long post...

Plus, you can buy reed trimmers either online, or I would assume from most places that sell reeds. I've never actually tried adjusting my reeds, because well, quite frankly, knowing me I'd go through a LOT before I managed to start doing it effectively, and I don't have a lot of spare money to waste on experiementing XD Plus, for my purposes, ready-made reeds work just fine without adjustment, even if they take a little breaking in sometimes.

EDIT: Argh... you posted at the same time as I was, clarinetist!

Word of warning: if you're a beginning player, do not shave your reeds, you'll just probably end up messing up your reeds and your embouchure trying to compromise for it. It is best if you know your embouchure well before you do anything mentioned above.

And to summarize Clarinetist's long post in a shorter way: 'Break in' your reed, so in another words, use it until you feel comfortable with it. Once you feel that your reed is broken in, then you can start adjusting minor details to your taste. However, warning: once you do something to it, you can't revert it. So be absolutely careful on what you want. As mentioned above, don't shave the heart of the reed too much (the middle part of the reed). If you do, make sure it's even with the other parts of the reed, or the vibration would be... bad. It'd be gurggly, out of tune... You name it.

As for oboe reeds shaving: buy an oboe reed kit. Do not even attempt shaving oboe reeds with butter knife or anything silly. Then, ask your private teacher for a lesson or two. Everything you do on an oboe reed counts. Oboe reeds are sensitive, fragile, and temperamental beings.

As for oboe reeds shaving: buy an oboe reed kit. Do not even attempt shaving oboe reeds with butter knife or anything silly. Then, ask your private teacher for a lesson or two. Everything you do on an oboe reed counts. Oboe reeds are sensitive, fragile, and temperamental beings.
TELL ME ABOUT IT!!!
i've been through quite a number of reeds. and ONLY the sharpest knifes will work. i remember once i was shaving one with a really sharp knife and i was going along shaving, shaving and then i look up for about 2 seconds while i'm shaving and i cut off like the entire top part along with a bit of my finger......hehe.....i'm a lot more careful know.....

Oboe and Cor anglais reeds are really up to the person's embouchure and their preference, therefore, it's impossible to have an universal answer saying 'this way of shaving the reed is perfect'. You just have to experiment and see what you like.

This is sooo not what I expected this topic would be about.

eh?:huh:

I think we won't ask XD