Okay, I was just practicing for All-District Band (rehearsals begin tommorow) and then I realized I`d been letting my spare reed soak for an hour! I just tried blowing into it - nothing comes out. Has soaking it somehow increased the hardness? *hyperventalates*

I`d like advice as soon as possible. Thanks.

The more you soak the reed the bigger the opening gets. Also, the pores of the reed get submersed in water, causing there to be more resistance. Gently closet the opening down and be sure to let it dry out completely (leave the reed case open). It should be fine if you let it dry out at the correct opening. If it is still to large of an opening after you have let it completely dry out, then just gently close it AFTER you have soaked it in the next sitting.

You might want to try holding your reeds under warm running water for a few seconds and then putting them back in your reed case.
They soak up nicely and there is no need to carry around that film canister full of water, which invariably gets kicked over during the concert-hopefully not with your back-up the reeds still in it!!
A teacher once said "what good is a back-up reed that has been soaking in water for the whole concert? When you try to play it,you won`t be able to make a sound. So what good is an unusable back-up reed?