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Hi, my names Stephanie & i'm in the Indian Trails Mustang Beggining Band and I play the clarinet! smile I hate to brag but i'm probably one of the best beggining clarinet players in the entire school! so yay me! smile um..yea smile 4laugh

-^^- I'm a clarinetest! ( and saxaphonest but uh... *cough* anyway. That's not for here. ) I'm a sophmore, soon to be Junior, in the Sumner High School band - which I would seriously fill a book with brags. ^^; and I won't. we're all very very proud members of the band, and if you've heard of us then you know why. Anyway! I've been playing clarinet for... God, 8 years? Yeah, that sounds right.

I think it's funny how in the clarinet section, everyone's so confident. n.n It makes me smile.

I'm also the clarinet section leader in my band, and I'm trying out for drum major. Wish me luck~!

we(as in my band, not me personally, cuz I went to the beach with my GST) (we met quite a few hott guys there biggrin ...but that's not the point)

anyway, we went to the competition and got ajudicated(i guess it means judged or something) in four different areas: Marching Band, Concert Band, Orchastra, and Jazz Band. Mr. Martin said that we were one of the very few junior highs to participate in all areas of competition. I'm not sure of our EXACT scores, but here are our ratings

Marching Band: superior. they said we had a nice traditional color guard.
Concert Band: superior. we didn't listen to the judge's tape yet.
Orchastra: superior.
Jazz Band: superior.

Needless to say, we were the best in all areas out of the 15 or so schools that participated. Actually, I'm shocked that we did so well. Our BD kept lecturing us on the importance of this competition. he was correcting every little thing we did wrong, so I thought we were really bad. but we did good I guess.

seriously, I always say that my band sucks, but... we have an awesome trombone section, and a really sucky clarinet section. Oh yeah, we got some kind of good behavior award eek eek eek eek our band never shuts up, and our BD sortof had to fire people from the band. I know that people have failed band because of behavior issues. If my band gets a good behavior award, I wonder how bad the other bands behaved

My band went to regional festival yesterday, unanimous superiors yet again n_n I'm still suspended, but I wish I could have seen it... Anyways, I'm still the foremost expert on reed maintenace and usage of all of Gaia, so I'll try to answer your questions there... As Miyoko said, you should rotate reeds, but to a different extent that she was meaning. First, buy a new box of reeds at a comfortable or upgraded level (tell me your mouthpiece and I can tell you what size reeds work best with it, like B 45s can only handle a max of a size 4, since it's too open faced, anything thicker won't resonate properly and will cause LOTS of squeaks, worse control, and difficulty in soft passages) and a 4, 8, or 10 reed case. I have one of each. The Vandoren plastic 4 reed cases are idela for students, since it's compact, normally easy to open, and can be cleaned easy enough. If you ever decide to go 'pro' or just get more serious about playing, investing in a nice 6-10 reed case will be very beneficial. I will always reccomend getting one with a flat glass base to lay the reeds on, since it will prevent warping, and any dirt will be easy to spot and remove. I have two such cases, one with a wooden frame and hook lock, the other a higher quality plastic one with a switch mechanism. THe wood one I have is a Wiseman, and can hold 6 clarinet reeds OR 4 alto sax reeds. Never put the two together, since the foam/velvet cushion will put pressure only on the larger reed, making any smaller ones jumble around inside. This case cost me a good $50, but I would only reccomend it for doublers like me. Its main two flaws are the hook latch, which often swings open because the screw isn't tight enough, and the fact it's made of wood means it's susceptible to climate and humidity changes. Wood tends to 'bow' over time, making arches that distort the original form. The other case I procured can seat as many as 8-10 clarinet reeds, and is much skinnier. THe cushioning is less malleable, so it holds the reeds firmly in place. I love the mechanism, which is a small metal button than you bush and lift up to open. Both of these glass cases can be used for the next step: breaking in the reeds. Once you have your box, remove every reed from their little 'shells' and pop them in your mouth for 3-5 seconds each, then place them flat on a piece of glass, preferrably one without sharp edges and one not too thin (if it drops, it shouldnt shatter). This will provide a flat, smooth surface for your reeds to mold to, and just laying them out will help you decide how to rate your reeds. I'm lucky to have a decent income family, so I always buy Vandoren reeds, whether they be normal, V-12 clarinet specialties, V-16 sax specialty, ZZ jazz, or my current fave, the 56. All Vandoren reeds are cut fairly consistantly, with no razor sharp edges or splinters. THe next thing you need to do is find out whether each reed is balanced or not. There are three things to look at: the arc of the end of the reed, the U shape of the cut, and the most difficult is the thickness of the heart and facing. If a reed is angled towards one side when you look at the arc, theres nothing you can really do to change that. It means the angle they cut the reed from the cane was off, and theres no way to balance this (trash or save later for testing out resurfacing and cutting techniques). If the U shape of the cut of the reed (towards the middle, where the slant starts) is off, you CAN possibly fix this. If you have practice with a reed knife or other very finely sharp blade, then just cut the reed DELICATELY to venter the U. I won't go into instructions for that, just because the reed still may be playable wihtout alteration. Finally, you must find out if the heart and tubules are centered. Before doing this, lay out the reeds you've already checked in an order of best to worst (or most work needed) on the glass and pick up the one you liked the best. Don't forget to inspect the color (green reeds were cut prematurely, and the tubules will be larger and will expire faster) and check for other common flaws. Spots don't always mean a bad reed, but some of them can mean that particular area of cane is damaged. A light brown reed (new reeds are typically yellow or light light brown) means the reed has been purposefully aged. These are a little tougher to work on, but they last quite a bit longer and will be much hardier than your others. Once you've set them in order, pic your first one and soak it for 30-45 seconds in your mouth, then put it on your clarinet. I advise not just practicing what you normally do, since the pieces you play in band or such will cause the reed to expand unevenly. Instead, start off with long tones starting on low E, and going chromatically to at least two C's above that. DO NOT SPEND MORE THAN 5 MINUTES PLAYING ONE NEW REED. If you do, you will exhaust the tubules (ever noticed how you can suck on a new reed and you can make little bubbles? That's because cane is structured by long narrow shafts that carry water and nutrients to the top of the stalk) and they will shape randomly. The purpose of breaking in a reed is to flatten the tubules evenly, so that the reed will vibrate such. Imagine the process of making a top of the line samurai sword. Instead of just heating up one bulk of ore and tempering it as was done in the middle ages, three different metals are soft welded together, then the artisan will hand fold sheets of harder metal on top, creating an extremely strong, resiliant blade. Or if you try baking cookies at twice the temperature to save time, you'll just burn the outside and the middle will be uncooked. Reeds must be carefully broken in so that if it did have any falws, they won't be exaggerated. After playing on the reed, remove it from the clarinet (suck up any spit off of it if neccasary) and hold it up to a fairly bright light (Sun can work well if you don't look at it, lol) and look at the face. You should be able to see light parts and darker, thicker parts. Hopefully, the light parts will be at the sides and the tip, with the thick heart in the middle. If it isn't, you will have to resurface the reed using 500-600 fine grade sand paper or a resurfacing kit (my Vandoren one probably cost about $70). If you can't tell exatcly which side needs sanding, put the reed back on the clarinet and play. While holding out a long note, turn your entire slowly to the left or right, so all of the air will be goin on one side of the mouthpiece or the other. THe one with the most resistance will be needing work. DO NOT SHAVE EVERYTHING, just the part needing work. You should almost NEVER need to sand the heart, bt make the sides even in thickness. THe tip should rarely ever need sanding, and if your not sure, leave it. THe tip is VERY fragile, and just sanding a little could fracture it. Also, always move the sand paper downward, from the U to the tip, making sure not to reach the tip. going the other way can re open damaged tubules and make you sound 'airy'. The advantage of sanding as opposed to cutting is that the tubules will be closed, then flattened, instead of permanently opening the tubules. If you ever cut, follow it with a quick sanding. Now that your reeds have been worked on a little, put them back, and wait until the next day to inspect, then try em out again. Don't go crazy early on, because most reeds will change shape or tendency later on, so keep an eye out. For the next 5 days,, play on each reed for 10 minutes the next day, then 15, 20, 30, then try practicing your literature. This when you should decide which reeds work best and for what (jazz, mozart, bach, marching, etc.) and what to bring with you to school or where you perform/play. Having at least for of such worked on reeds will be great if disater strikes, or a friend is irresponsible (lending/borrowing reeds can be safe and not 'icky'. If you get sick, always rinse the reeds you've used in listerine before using them again, and scrap off dirt/food afte ryou practice and rinse with lukewarm water. I've almost always had long nails, and its fine to use thme to scrap off such, but remember that it's the same as sanding the reed. If you lend it to a friend, they shouldn't even be able to tell what you had for breakfast, but keep some rnew reeds for pansies) then you'll have back ups. REmember that a reed will become softer with age, and within 2 weeks of playing it will reach its peak. Once a reed looks white and chalky at the tip, that means the tubules have completely closed, and it has lost most of its integrity. Playing on such a reed will feel smooth to your tongue, but the reed will seem 'flat', like playing a plastic rico reed, lol. Fibracell reeds don't have the same problems as those though, so having one for each instrument is very handy. You shouldn't try to play on each reed more than once in a day, so you can't get away with having 'one favorite' reed, because when it dies, you won't notice, and then you'll be screwed. You should also rotate the whole set of reeds about once a month at least, so playing on those 4, then swapping out the other 1 or 2 you salvaged, will be good for every box. Thus, you should always be buying new reeds monthly, and slowly increase the size until your at LEAST on a 3 or 3 1/2, which is good on any mouthpiece. I use strength 5's, because my mouthpiece will only handle a minimum of 4's, lol. Well, I hope I answered your basic reed questions, but feel free to ask any more if you are still confuzed. Nice try, though, Miyoko, you're starting to get it n_n

How affordable (price wise) and you say new clarinet, so do you have one already? If so, what is it? The Buffet E-11 is a good choice, but it retails at about $700. Also, does it matter if it's plastic or wood? Are you goign to march with it? What grade are you in?

Woah guys! I found a Yamaha clarinet at the pawn shop, used, good condition, and only $180!! PLUS my dad is friends with the owners so we're going to get it for only 100! I'm so excited! ^.^ We're going to take it to the city and get it all fixed up and I'm so happy! -glee-

what were your audition pieces?