Making Clarinet Reeds

REED MAKING METHOD by Douglas Monroe

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TERMS Arundo Donax-The genus and species of the cane used to make reeds. Back -The -The curved part of the reed with bark still attached.

-The “skin” on the outside of the tube/back of the reed. Bark -The -The section of cane used to make a reed before the cut has been made. Blank -The Bottom-The flat side of the reed. Butt-The opposite end of the reed from the tip. Cut-The portion of the back of the reed where there is no longer bark. Cutting -The process of using a knife to remove cane from the reed in large portions. Heart-The middle section of the reed below the tip where the cane becomes denser and

thicker. Hill-A mistake in the cutting process which results in higher areas rather than a

continuous smooth vamp. One can detect the larger hills by feel. For smaller hills, one needs to hold the reed up to a light to see the shadows created by the elevated surface. -The knife check (figure 1) is the most important measurement to the reed Knife Check -The making process. Turn the knife upside down and place the non-beveled side against the the reed’s reed’s vamp. Hold it up to the light light to see the shape of the vamp between the knife and









Figure 1

Point of Maximum Curvature -The point at which the cut stops descending at a

dramatic rate and becomes straighter all the way to the tip. Rails-The sides of the reed. Scraping -The process of using a knife to remove cane in a scraping motion to take less

cane off of the reed than with a cut. Tip-The thinnest and most sensitive portion of the reed at the end of the cut. Vamp-The entire cut of the reed extending e xtending from the initial cut to the tip. Xylem/Phloem -The parts of the arundo donax that take and store nutrition up and down

the plant. These are shaped like veins and extend the entire length of the reed. These are the portions of the reed that will expand and contract based upon the presence or absence of moisture in the reed. This process of saturation saturation and drying in the xylems xylems and phloems is what causes reeds to warp.









DIAGRAM OF VARIOUS PARTS OF THE REED

Figure 2

INTRODUCTION

As a clarinet student, my biggest frustration was the poor ov erall quality of commercially made reeds. By the time I started playing in the United States Army Field Band in 1989, I could play on only two out of a box of ten. These two reeds would typically last me one or two weeks and rarely satisfied my demands for sound and articulation and would close down on the tip of the mouthpiece with very v ery little embouchure pressure. One of my high school clarinet teachers teac hers made reeds and often said that they lasted longer and played better. better. I decided to take the time to to learn the process for making reeds so that I could take control of reed quality. quality. I read single reed making books by Kalmen









and developing a method for making reeds that that suited my needs. Since 1990, I have not played on a commercially made reed. ADVANTAGES

The primary advantages for making clarinet reeds are that one can create a reed tailored to their own personal tastes for resistance, resistance, sound, and articulation. My method also ensures longer life with a curing process that ma kes the xylems and phloems of the plant structure nearly impervious to moisture. When playing three to four hours daily, daily, my reeds typically last four to six months if I alternate between two. REED KNIVES

Too many knives on the market today are poorly made. One needs a sharp knife made of high-quality steel. It must be able to make smooth, smooth, long cuts in in the cane. One must be able to control it to make the specific cuts desired. desired. I made the best reed knife I’ve ever owned by beveling an edge into an old bastard bastard file. There are a few brands on the the market today that can do the job correctly, correctly, but most cannot. The first time I tried to make reeds in 1981, I had to give up because I could not cut the reed blank smoothly. smoothly. The reason for this was poor knife quality. quality. If a knife does not cut well, it will leave indentations or other imperfections in the surface of the reed, causing cau sing various problems with the sound. CREATING CREATING REED BLANKS FROM TUBES

Clarinetists have two options available if they want to make their own reeds. They can buy reed blanks or they can make their own blanks from tubes. I prefer to make blanks









When selecting the tube, ensure that the wall is between five and six millimeters thick. The inside of the wall (the area closest to the center of the tube) is the softest material on the cane and the outer layer is is the hardest. My experience shows that smaller smaller walls yield overly harsh sounding reeds while thicker walls yield reeds which c ollapse on the mouthpiece more easily and create a dull, unfocused sound. Step One: Split the tube into four crescent shaped sticks. Dried arundo donax, is easy to split with any reed knife. Stand up the tube, place the blade on top of the tube dividing the tube exactly in half (figure 3), and hit the side of the knife that has no blade. Once the knife is into the tube, push the knife all the way down the tube to complete the split (figure 4). Then split each half in the the same fashion (figures 5 and 6).

Figure 3

Figure 4











Step Two: Two: Saw these four long tube sections into seventy millimeter segments segments with a thin coping saw. saw. A typical typical tube yields eight of these segments, depending on the length of the tube. At this stage, the segments segments are two millimeters millimeters longer than I like my reeds. I design the extra length into them so that I have some extra material with which to work in case I make a mistake at the tip of the reed later later in the process. The bottom of these segments form a crescent shape (figure 7).

Figure 7

Step Three: To get the bottom flat, one must remove the spike shaped hills. hills. This can be done with a knife, but is time consuming and physically painful. After spending many









Figure 8

Figure 9

When this is done, the segment is fairly flat. To get it completely flat, I sand it on 320grit silicon carbide sandpaper. sandpaper. My past experiences with other types of sandpaper yielded yielded uneven work and created burns on the reeds. Once the reed is flat and between 3 and 3.5 millimeters thick, I sand it briefly; first on 400- and then on 6 00-grit sandpaper to get the bottom smoother and less grainy. grainy. Step Four: To turn this cane segment into a reed blank, I sand both edges to create rails. At this point, the segment is roughly the same length across on the tip and butt ends. A proper reed blank should measure thirteen thirteen millimeters across the butt and fifteen millimeters across the tip. To attain these measurements, I sand the segment on 220-grit sandpaper by holding the segment on o n its edge one third of the way from the butt









By holding it in this position, I remove more cane from the butt end of the reed than from the tip end. If this method takes too much off either side of the segment, I simply simply adjust the pressure point while sanding. If too much material comes off of the the butt end, I move my hand position so that it is closer to the tip. If too much material comes off of the tip end, I move my hand position so that it is closer to the butt. When this process is done, the reed blank is finished. COMMERCIAL REED BLANKS

From 1991-1999, I used only commercially made reed blanks because I had one hundred blanks that were very high quality. quality. When I select blanks I look for three quality indicators. If I have to ask the vendor to select them, I make sure they use the same same indicators. First, the rails must be even. By holding the reed up and looking at the butt, one can clearly see if the rails are the same height. Check the sides also to see see that the rails maintain equal height from from butt to tip. Next, look at the bottom to ensure that the lines (xylems and phloems) phloems) run straight up and down. If the lines angle at all, this blank will never make a balanced reed. Finally, Finally, check the color on the bottom. Optimally, Optimally, it should be an even, buttery, light-blonde light-blonde color. Generally, Generally, the further I’ve gotten away









Figure 11 (blotchy discolored reed on left; even buttery colored reed on right) CURING THE REED BLANK

Curing the reed blank is the most important part of my process. These steps ensure long life from the reed. The goal in preparing the blank is to make it as impervious as possible to moisture and warping. The primary reason reeds “die” “die” so quickly is that that they absorb moisture in the xylems and phloems. I seal the xylems and phloems in a process by which I saturate and dry them alternately and then polish the back. Step One: Alternately soak (saturate (saturate the reed with water and/or saliva) and completely dry the blank with the bottom facing up so it dries evenly. evenly. Soak and dry the blank for several days. The object is to allow the the blank to warp as much as possible, causing the









water and saliva. I use water because it is not as dense as saliva and will get into every xylem and phloem. I use saliva because I want the blank to be accustomed to the chemicals in saliva. Step Two: Two: After several days of soaking and drying, sand the bottom of the blank with 320-grit sandpaper. sandpaper. Hold the bottom up to light. If there are any dull spots, the surface is not even; there is still still warp in the blank. One must sand more until it appears smooth and shiny when one holds it up to light. Step Three: Sand the bottom with 400-grit sandpaper. As long as step two was done properly, properly, there should not be any warp in the bottom of the reed. If there are still dull spots, go back to step two. Step Four: Sand the bottom with 600-grit sandpaper. sandpaper. Hold the bottom of the blank up to light. The entire bottom should be smooth and shiny like a sheet of glass with no dull spots. Step Five: Turn the 600-grit 600-grit sandpaper over so its non-abrasive side faces up. Wet the bottom of the blank with saliva or water very quickly; just enough to moisten and not saturate the xylems and phloems. Polish the bottom on the non-abrasive side of the











With commercial reeds, one can polish the bottom with the non-abrasive side of sandpaper with some positive results (a slightly longer lasting reed), but one cannot sand the bottom. It has already been cut and to sand the bottom would severely damage the tip. CUTTING THE REED

When I first began making reeds, I worked the cuts in seven distinct stages. As I have become more experienced, the stages have tended to flow flow together. together. I find the stages very useful for evaluating my work on a reed and for teaching my method to students. Removing the “Bark”: Hold the blank against the clarinet mouthpiece so that the tip of the blank is even with the uppermost curve of the mouthpiece tip. Then move the blank up very slightly. slightly. Mark the spot in the bark at the point which is even with the lowermost









away with the reed knife. If necessary, necessary, use 320-grit sandpaper. sandpaper. From this point on in the process, I use a plexiglass plaque (1.5 x 8 centimeters) to do my tip and thin-area work. It is very easy at this point to break the thin, fragile fragile areas of the reed. I lay the reed on top of the plaque so that I have a hard surface to brace the reed against while I remove cane. Check this cut by doing a “knife “knife check”, a method of measurement I value over any other. other. Simply place the non-beveled side side of the knife against the vamp and check the contact between the vamp and the knife (figure (figure 1). At this stage, there should be no light shining through on the knife check, only a straight line of contact.

Figure 13









vamp to the tip. Use 320- and 400-grit 400-grit sandpaper to smooth the vamp. This will take some time since one must take cane ca ne from the point of maximum curvature all the way to the tip. Finish by smoothing with 600-grit sandpaper. When I began making making reeds, I experimented with this point of maximum curvature. I placed this point at all possible places between the beginning of the vamp to halfway to the tip. No reed ever worked to my satisfaction unless I placed it approximately one third of the way from the beginning of the vamp to the tip. Interestingly, Interestingly, most all commercial reeds I’ve looked at have their point of maximum curvature at this same point. Test this stage with another knife check. Figure 1 shows a well crafted point of maximum max imum curvature through the light between the knife and vamp.









Figure 16 As the reed gets closer to its final shape, smooth the vamp with 400- or 600-grit sandpaper, making sure the vamp is smooth from the beginning of the cut to the tip. A common mistake is to leave too much cane in the tip and heart areas. Stage Six-Thinning the Tip: Scrape and use sandpaper (using the the appropriate grit for the amount to remove; use a heavier grit to take more cane and a lighter grit to take less









Figure 17 This process allows for shaping the tip to the exact shape of the mouthpiece. I’ve never had good success with reed clippers; they tend to create a more harsh sound for the reed.

Perhaps this is due to the incredible shock of the cut to the the thinnest portion of the

reed. This process of cutting, scraping, and sanding stops when the reed makes a very hard sound on the “throat “throat G”. Put the reed away at this point. If the reed is too soft, soft, go back











Always remember, remember, though, that the different sections of the reed work together. together. The vamp must be one continuous smooth cut. I am intensely conservative in how slowly I perfect the reed. If I perfect it too fast, I tend to get too much moisture in the xylems and phloems, causing the reed to die quicker. I take several days to get it to sound the way I want. Take a little off the reed with 400or 600-grit sandpaper, play it without wetting it (again it (again minimizing moisture in the xylems and phloems) , , and put it away. away. The next time, take a little more off in the appropriate









greatest extent possible. In breaking in my reeds, I play them for less less than a minute the first few days. days. After these first few days, I’ll gradually increase the time. Usually, Usually, it takes a week or so until I’m ready to play the reed full time. (I will also often make minor adjustments to the the vamp with sandpaper during the breaking in procedure.) When I break in a reed this way, way, it will last for months. The longest I’ve played a reed has been two years. I discard them when the sound starts starts to become brittle brittle and I cannot articulate easily at fast tempi any longer.









of cane from the rest of the reed to get it to sound right. This kind of correction only works for me if I’ve made a moderate to minor mistake. 5. The reed should be completely smooth with no “hills” or “valleys” in the cut. These cause fuzziness in various registers of the clarinet. 6. I’ve had the most success when I’ve made the majority of smooth cuts with the the knife rather than relying relying on sandpaper to smooth the reed. One must use sandpaper, sandpaper, but limiting its use to a degree will help avoid avo id friction burns to the cane.









duplicate of the reed, it would die faster or finish too soft. A possible possible explanation for my relative lack of success is is the difference difference in cane density from blank to to blank. I believe the Reedual is an excellent tool, but I’ve had greater success doing the work by hand. The greatest advantage to the Reedual is the speed with which one can make their reed. Not including the curing or breaking in processes, it takes less than five minutes to make a reed this way. way. By hand, the same process takes takes me thirty minutes. TRACKING MEASUREMENTS









APPENDIX MY CANE VENDORS

BLANKS Edmund Nielsen Woodwinds 61 East Park Blvd. Villa Park, IL 60181 (630) 833-5676 [email protected] RDG Woodwinds Woodwinds (Robert Gilbert)

Making Clarinet Reeds

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