Best Break-In : Sax//Clarinet Reeds!

Dr. Stephen Page leads viewers through his reed break-in process. Following such a process allows reeds to slowly acclimate to moisture and vibration, which in turn will improve overall longevity, and consistency.
#goodsounds
____________________________
Dr. Stephen C. Page
Associate Professor of Saxophone
The University of Texas at Austin
Butler School of Music
www.stephen-page.com

[@Jazztenor87]

Enjoyed this! 🎷

[@jefft9729]

Thank you. Very informative. Sorry for dumb questions, but how do you assess imbalance in a reed? Is is strictly tactile? Also, can you assess the quality of a reed by examining the uniformity of the pores?

[@comprendoo]

Thank you for video

[@jopeco84]

you soak the reeds o ly in the first day or everytime in the first 7 to 10 days? thanks

[@jopeco84]

you buy reeds that are a bit stronger than you need and then you break them in? or in the already desired strenght? thanks

[@mhm1943]

Thank your Michael Anne. I love marching band 🥳🥳🥳🥳

[@govindvivekjoshi]

Hey Dr. Page, I went through this process for a box of 3.5s, and had 3 great reeds, and 7 which were varying degrees of hard and airy. So over the course of the next few days, how should I treat the harder ones? Does playing through them consistently cause them to soften over time? Moreover, since the ratio of hard to good reeds was pretty high, would I be better off with box of 3s? Thank you for such an informative video!

[@StephenPageSax]

Hi Govind!! Reeds will soften over time, so if they're feeling a little stuffy, you can keep playing them and they will ease in a bit. If they're too hard overall, you can lightly sand the flat side with a piece of sand paper on a piece of glass/flat surface which will also soften it. But in general, if you're finding 3.5s to be generally hard, 3s might be the way to go (or, 3+!).

[@davidsapon8406]

What’s in ur bell and where could I find it

[@lucyyockey]

What kind of pen is that?

[@StephenPageSax]

Sharpie Pen!! My favorite.

[@lucyyockey]

@@StephenPageSax Huh interesting. Thank you!!😁

[@misterbusy]

.....and that's why I've played Fibracell synthetic reeds for the last decade. :)

[@StephenPageSax]

Fair enough! We’ve all got to find the things that work for us! I also keep a few synthetics around, for those days when cane is just not cooperating.

[@misterbusy]

@@StephenPageSax I got so tired of the inconsistency of cane reeds regardless of brand or price. The Fibracell Premier reeds were a revelation. And onstage they are a godsend: just pick up your horn start playing.