The best reed for beginner clarinet is a size 2 or 2.5 reed. Most beginners start with Rico, Rico Royal, or Vandoren Brand Clarinet Reeds. Your teacher will most likely recommend one of these brands to start with. The size number indicates the thickness of the reed.

What reed should a beginner use clarinet?

The higher the number, the harder or more resistant the reed. Beginners, especially young people, will usually start with a #2 or #2.5, and will typically aim towards a #3 or #3.5 as they begin to play high C and above.

What strength of reed should I use?

Most teachers recommend that a first-year musician use a 2 or 2.5 (soft or medium soft) reed. Anything stiffer may make it difficult to produce a sound while anything more flexible may produce a weak sound. ... Your teacher should let you know when it is time to switch to a different strength reed.

How do I know my reed size?

Reed thickness is most often expressed as a number. The normal range for reeds is 2 to 5: the lower the number, the thinner the reed, and the higher the number, the thicker the reed. The thickness of the reed will affect the tone and how easy or difficult the instrument is to play.

Are all clarinet reeds the same size?

Reeds vary in strength in half measures – a bit like shoe sizes! – so they start at 1 ½, 2, 2 ½ , 3, 3 ½, etc. The number refers to how thick the reed is. ... A thicker reed is more difficult to play but thicker reeds do offer a much better tone production and thus improve the sound of an instrument.

Everything About Reeds! - Clarinet Basics Ep. 1

What strength should a beginner reed be?

For beginners it is generally recommended to start with a 2. If a beginner would start with a 1 or 1 1/2 reed, there may be some difficulty with playing very many notes because the reed is too weak to support the playing. Please keep in mind, the strengths could be different from brand to brand.

What kind of reed does a clarinet have?

Clarinets (and saxophones) are instruments that use a single reed unlike the double reed of the oboe and bassoon (comparison).

Are 2.5 reeds good?

A reed's strength is most often shown as a number. Beginner reeds are typically of a lower strength, such as sizes 1.5 and 2 (soft and medium soft). ... Thinner reeds (between 2 and 2.5) are good for beginners since it vibrates more easily and it has a brighter tone; preferred among Jazz players!

What strength clarinet reed do I need?

Most reed manufacturers sell reeds in strengths from 1 to 5, often in half-steps. A 1 would be the softest, and a 5 would be the hardest. Some brands use "soft", "medium", and "hard" instead. For a beginner, a 2, or 2 /12 would be the best starting point.

Why do I sound airy on my clarinet?

There are many reasons for having a fuzzy or airy tone on the clarinet, but it's generally possible to isolate the cause. The most common problems that cause a fuzzy sound are due to the mouthpiece or the reed, incorrect embouchure or air support, low tongue position or a leak or crack in the clarinet.

How do you pick a reed for a clarinet?

One way to decide on a cut is to “match” it with the type of mouthpiece your clarinet has. If your clarinet has a darker-sounding mouthpiece, French file cuts are typically preferred. Alternatively, regular-cut reeds are ideal for brighter sounding mouthpieces.

What number clarinet reed should I use?

The best reed for beginner clarinet is a size 2 or 2.5 reed. Most beginners start with Rico, Rico Royal, or Vandoren Brand Clarinet Reeds. Your teacher will most likely recommend one of these brands to start with. The size number indicates the thickness of the reed.

How do you tell if a reed is too soft?

If you're playing on a 3, then move down to 2.5. When the reed is too soft, you'll get a buzzy sound right out of the box. People compare this to playing on paper.

Is a clarinet a double reed instrument?

The clarinet uses a single reed made of one piece of wood, while the oboe and bassoon use a double reed made of two pieces joined together. Just as with the stringed instruments, the smaller woodwinds play higher pitches while the longer and larger instruments play the lower notes.

Do soprano sax reeds work on clarinet?

Playing with some other folks (playing with an AWESOME classical alto sax player where I work) shows that the soprano sax reed tunes excellently. I highly recommend that you try a soprano sax legere signature on your clarinet. Much like other legere reeds, placement on the mouthpiece is paramount.

Are plastic reeds good?

Plastic reeds are excellent in that they can produce a sound which rivals that of good cane reeds while being more consistent and playing right out of the box. However, even the best plastic reeds will be surpassed by the best cane reeds in both quality of sound and responsiveness.

How do you tell if a clarinet reed is too hard?

A reed that is too soft will sound excessively bright. The tone center will also be very unfocused. A reed that is too hard will sound airy and muffled. In some cases, certain notes won't be able to speak.

When should I move up a reed size?

Recap: when to move up a reed size

If it takes too little embouchure effort to make a sound and the tone is edgy and bright, try a harder strength reed. If it takes too much embouchure effort and the tone is fuzzy and dull, try a softer strength reed.

How can you tell if a reed is good?

You will notice that the reed stays stuck on the mouthpiece. Count how many seconds the reed sticks to the mouthpiece. The longer the better, which means that there is a very good seal. If it's very short – only up to 2 seconds – there may be areas of the reed that need adjusting to make a better seal.

How many reeds does a clarinet have?

Oboes and bassoons use double reeds and clarinets and saxophones use single reeds. Some instruments from countries such as India and Thailand use quadruple reeds and these instruments usually have two reeds at the top and two at the bottom. Ancient Asian instruments can also use reeds and these are known as free reeds.

How do you break in a clarinet reed?

We suggest that you break the reeds in by first soaking them for about 2-4 minutes in lukewarm to warm water, and making sure that the whole vamp, and not just the tip alone, gets wet (a reed that is too dry or only wet at the very tip might tend to squeak).

How long does a Reed last for a clarinet?

For those just starting out, reeds can last up to six months. Once you play and practice more frequently, this “cycle” can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks. Once you become more comfortable with the clarinet, you'll have a general idea of when you should be replacing your reeds.