Ok hi everyone, I need some advice,I am in 7th grade in the advanced band class at my school, I have been using size 3 reeds for about a month. My question is should I move up to a 3 1/2 or should I stay with a 3 for another week or two, or longer. Please answer me!! Thank you nice people!
~!*Alisha*!~


Edited by Forum Admin at 03:12 on Friday, April 18, 2003
Reason: Title Clarified]

Well Alisha, strength 3 really takes me back- I play on strength 4 1/2 now, and it really doesnt matter what strength you play on as long as you`re comfortable, you have a good embouchure and you have a good tone quality on it......
What brand reed do you play on? Vandorens tend to run stiffer than Ricos. In any case, I do not believe a month is enough time for you to move up from a reed strength. That is just my opinion, but you have to feel like the reed strength is too soft for you to play on it anymore and that you will have a fairly smooth transition to the next strength- which usually takes a while, because your embouchure has to tighten sufficiently. My Aim is insanitygonebad if you need anymore help.

*Just to give you a reference- I`ve been playing for 4 years and i started on strength 3, and when you take into concideration that i am only playing on 4 1/2 now, you can see how long it can take to move to a harder reed. I dont think i will be doing to much more moving though, as i can get up to a high C# ( six lines above the staff) and there is only lipping up from there, and some proffesionals invent their own fingerings for fun, but those notes are not needed in actuality, and are therefore not really recognized.

i have been playin for 4 years and started on strengh 1 and am now on strenghth 2 is this bad? also the clarinet does go higher than c# in the highest register officially and without lipping. i can get up to high g

HI! I do not think it is exactly bad for you to be playin` on a 2 but it depends on how comfortable your mouth is. Try a 2 1/2 and c if u like that if u don`t, stick to the 2. talk to ya later!

umm fluty- i`m talking about the c# six lines above the staff!
u cannot get to a g above that without lipping or inventing your own fingerings- not to mention on a strength 2 reed!
Please check your sources................

Look
I cant get up to that so called recognized G
The highest i can lip up to is a high F- maybe you are talking about another instrument or something cause I know my stuff about clarinet..........
Look- on a strength 2 reed and with 4 years experience- you really give me a good laugh trying to tell me you can get up to high G.
That would mean Clarinet has four complete octaves- when every advanced clarinetist like myself knows that the Clarinet only has three and a half octaves- more than any other woodwind, so please realize you are out of your league......
I started on a strength 3 four years ago, and I was rated 6th in Miami for my age group okay, and i had less time on the clarinet than any of the other clarinets that are even in my league , so please do not try to make ME feel stupid- it will only backfire........
P.S. Why are we turning this post into a fight?
Alisha only wanted advice- not this......

3`s am on them and i been on then for years i tried 4`s didnt work.... anyways vandoren is a great brand !

PLEASE DONT TRY TO CHANGE REEDS FASTER ...
its the dumbest thing u can do ... trust me kids i been playing 9 years just work youre self"up" to it .. a million reeds later i would say that ! am talking from my years as a player ... 4 years of marching band and 9 years of concert band ... trust me

it`s up to u if u go to 3 1/2 size reed. Im still on 2 because i cant play thicker. just get one 3 1/2 size reed and if u cant play on it yet then stay with 3

Thanks 4 the advice! I think I will listen and won`t take it up for a while! Thanx~!!!
~!*Alisha*!~

The average professional size is 3 1/4. so it is advised not to go above 31/2.I personally prefer 3 and 3.5 Zonda or Vandoren Traditional with a Vandoren B45 lyre mouthpiece so you can try it. People who develop the wrong embrochure generally need to use thicker reeds everytime. So you know yourself.

Gabbie-I was having a problem with my 4 Vandoren Classic Reeds because I was wayyyyyy flat on them. SOOO I decided to go up to a 4 1/2 Classic Vandoren Reed. But I couldn`t EVEN get a sound out on it...SOOO then I went to a 4 Professional Vandoren (Grey box) Reed and WOOOOOOWWWWWWW....wayy better. So, if a your reed makes you sound too flat and you`re on the "Blue Box" vandoren reeds, go to the same strength reed in the "Grey Box" vandorens...talk to ya later! -Amber

Just letting u kno- the "grey box" vandorens are called V12`s.

umm i myself use a size four and i have been playing for 6 years and my teacher has told me thicker reads give you a better tone on the high notes most people when they learn to play they start on a 2 or a three and if you need to reach up a high c# 6 lines abouve the staff you need to have a thicker reed than a 2 or a 3.

also mitchel laurie reeds have a better consistency than venduren reeds, though an intermediate should have a vanduren mouth piece ohter than a plastic beginner one.