About the Saxophone Reed

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Alright, a quick digression to talk a little bit more about reeds. They are awfully small, but they really are the most important part of the saxophone. They are the part that makes the sound. First of all, as I eluded too earlier, reeds are very delicate. They can break very easily and even the slightest chip or crack can cause some unpleasant sounds and unpleasant squawking that no one wants to hear. So, a couple of important rules when dealing with the reeds. First of all, never ever, ever, never touch the tip of the reed. That is the part that makes the sound and that is also the part that is the most fragile. You can touch every other part of the reed as much as you want, but do not touch that tip. The only thing that should touch that tip, is your tongue. Secondly, when the reed is on your mouthpiece and you are not using a saxophone, I highly recommend you cap the mouthpiece when not in use so, that you do not accidentally brush into that reed or someone does not walked past it or if the saxophone falls it does not get gash because even the slightest damage can render the reed useless and these are not cheap, folks. Now, reeds do wear out. Different reeds have different shelf lives but depending on how often you play. You may go through a reed a week or a reed every two weeks. I play hours and hours a day; I often go through a reed every day or two. They do wear out. You will know when they wear out because the saxophone would not sound as good, notes would not come out as easy, you will start to squeak, if that happens, try a new reed, see if that makes a difference. Couple of other things about reeds. When you first put on a brand new reed you are going to get that yucky, waxy taste in your mouth and it is going to be a little hard to play right at first. Every new reed needs a little bit of playing time to break it in so of speak. So, just because a new reed does not sound good to you right away, it does not mean it is not a good reed. Give it a chance, play it for a little while, see if that works. Another thing I want to talk about with reeds, there are a gazillion types of reeds out there with a gazillion types of varieties, mostly dealing with strength. Every brand is different. Unfortunately, it is not standardized, but generally speaking, the higher the number of the reed, the stronger it is, the thicker the tip of the reed. Now, you may think well, a stronger reed; that sounds good. I should use a stronger as possible. Well, not necessarily. Keep in mind one of the reasons there are so many different types of reeds is because every saxophone is different, every mouthpiece is different, most importantly, everyone s mouth is slightly different. So, what works for one person on one saxophone with one mouthpiece is not going to work for another person with another saxophone with another mouthpiece. For instance, I use very different reeds on my different saxophones because I have found that what works on one does not necessarily work on another. So, the bottom line is, you have to find the reed that is right for you. If it sounds good to you, if it is easy to play and gives you a tone you are happy with, it is the right reed. I can however, give you some general principles that people talk about with reed strength. As a beginner, you generally want to start with a softer reed, one and a half, two, two and a half at the most. Again, it varies from brand to brand. One brand s two reeds is same is another brand s one and a half, very frustrating but you do want to start with a softer reed because they are generally easier to play. Now, as you start to get more advanced, you may want to experiment with harder reeds because the conventional wisdom is, a harder reed will give you a fuller sound, a bigger tone. The flip side is they are a little harder to play. It takes more air; it takes more breathe control which is why they are not a good choice for beginners. But again, the reed that gives you the best sound is the reed to you. Do not let any one else tell you otherwise. Alright, in a moment we are going to get started with our basic hand position and our basic embouchure, which is the position of your mouth on the saxophone.

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