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Forum » High School Saxophone » panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions


by woutanh
(19 posts)
18 years ago

panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

...so i have district auditions on sat. i have a decent chance of getting in ( playing alto on this bit.) and my crazy awesome really- well- broken -in reed is warped. beyond hope. i'm despratly trying to break in the rest of the box (regular vandoren 3's) in order to find one that will be good enough for my CLASSICAL AUDITION. unfortunatly i'm having the issue with the box not being completly filled with awesome bell-sounding reeds. i'm in a panic and any advice about breaking in reeds FAST and WELL would be GREATLY appriciated. thanks SO MUCH and i'll let people know my score and all that later... haha. ~sara ( who is massivly panicing- not over the peices.. but the reeds. irony, huh??)

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  2. by Sax_Shark
    (134 posts)
    18 years ago

    Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

    OK so this is good. I'm looking through the forums and find this girl flipping over the warped reeds but shoot, its almost Christmas and this is from a month ago........my point: ----If anyone reads this later, this is THE simplest way to unwarp your reeds. Take the reed and press it on a flat surface until it is flat again. Most of the time you can use the flat part of your mpc. When I found this out I felt like a moron.....too bad the original post was like a month ago. I hope everything worked out Sara. And how was the musical?

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  3. by rvsaxbabe
    (12 posts)
    18 years ago

    Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

    wow i wish i could give u serious help....umm....well i am also trying for district...i got my music for it yesterday...its hard!!(on alto also)...umm 2 1/2 r easy to break in but not as good sounds....umm sry! i have faith!! lol

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    1. by Sax Mom
      (964 posts)
      18 years ago

      Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

      This is the hard way to learn the lesson that it's always good to rotate reeds, so you have several reeds ready to go in case your best one goes bad... Do you use a reedguard? Sometimes if you soak a warped reed really well, and then put it in the reedguard to dry, it will flatten out. To get a reed working well quickly, make sure you soak it in your mouth longer than you think ought to be necessary. Then play for a while. Take it off, soak it again (even though it might seem gross), and play again. That might help.

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      1. by woutanh
        (19 posts)
        18 years ago

        Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

        thanks guys... yes i have a reed gaurd.. i might try that again..lol.. i soaked it massively and had about 13 VERY heavy books on top of it ( flat side down, don't worry.)..these books included my honors bio book, several dictionaries and anything else that weighed more than 3 pounds each. ...i've given up on that reed.. and i found another semi decent one in my box... the thing is i just really need to find time to sit down and play through the rest of the box. however. ( this is a warning. i'm going to be venting for the next few line so if you really don't want to hear/read about my insanly busy life...i suggest stopping now. this was a public service announcent ....) ok. so i'm in the pit for our muscial( playing bari, tenor and clarinet). we have shows thursday night, friday, saturday and sunday. i also have two huge bio papers due BEFORE THANKSGIVING. all day sat i'm gonne be in a far away place that i have currently forgotten the name of for districts. not to mention the three major tests i have friday. i'm going to be studying for bio by pit light backstage of CALAMITY JANE. i have completly over extended myself and i am barely consious to write this...( amusing note... i'm in my band room's office on the shared music department computer just after a calamity rehersal. so i'm pumped to go home to eat and attack my districts peices and homework. aaaaaaahh. that felt good. ok. now that you all know my life story...i'm going to go and eat some chocolate and have a cup of tea. i'll be back in this office tomorrow morning. ~sara the exhausted alto nut.

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        1. by rvsaxbabe
          (12 posts)
          18 years ago

          Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

          well dont worry...i no what your going through....i am involved in track,3 different bands...3 different choirs, musical is starting soon,and ap european history is starting, i also do acting class and plays....life just gets so hectic sometimes...if u need to talk im here lol

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        2. by woutanh
          (19 posts)
          18 years ago

          Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

          thanks. i'm such a stressful week.. and i'm so tired and my parents are being all " you're too stressed- quit the musical." aah. alright. ( it's like 7 in the morning....and once again i'm in the band office...) i need to go and finish two honors bio labs and a bio reveiw. for last period....ha...ha.... thanks for the support and listening to my ramblings.... ~sara

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        3. by larrythesaxguy
          (8 posts)
          18 years ago

          Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

          Perhaps your life wouln't be so stressful if you didn't feel so obligated to post on forums just for the sake of complaining about not having enough time.....Time management should be a virtue.

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        4. by CountSpatula
          (602 posts)
          18 years ago

          Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

          Well she did post that 10 months ago ;)

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      2. by Er087
        (7 posts)
        18 years ago

        Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

        i just learned a way of helping with warped reeds this school year. soak the warped reeds in warm water until they are completely saturated, then put them in a zip-lock bag and blow up the bag with hot air. the moisture and hot air usually help unwarp the reeds. you can usually do this whenever your reeds get too warped, but don't do it too often or your reeds will probably start getting moldy.

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        1. by woutanh
          (19 posts)
          18 years ago

          Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

          Thanks guys. I'm still having issues, but the saxohone gods were smiling on me on the day of auditions...i managed to squeeze in. 38 altos auditioned, and they accepted 6. and woot for me getting into districts. ( i'm only a sophmore and i'm psyched.) anyway... thanks for th support and all. ihave aconcert wednesday and all of my reeds are not working... which is making me wonder if it's not my reeds and possibly something else. i'm hearing air escaping around the mouthpeice, but i'm not sure from where. i'm experimenting with changing my ligature ( i have a regular rovner) and playing with the mouthpeice and trying other horns with my mouthpeice. i'm a little sketched out by this issue..it seems to be getting worse. anyway. ttyl. ~sara

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          1. by Radjammin
            (255 posts)
            18 years ago

            Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

            Well first, do you know the Thumb trick? Just take the reed and place the tip on the back flat part of the mouthpiece and hold it down with your thumb, now flick the thick part of the finger. Should shake like a diving board. Always unwarps a reed faily easy for me. Warping usually happens from uneven drying. To prevent warping, allways keep reeds in a reed case. Like Sax mom said, your playing with fire if you only have 1 good reed for a big concert/audition. I don't like to, but take some time to learn how to maintain reeds. You will get more use out of a box of reeds if you have fine sandpaper and a sheet of plexyglass. With thouse tools you should be able to fix tips, Smothout and seal backs of reeds, and shave meat ouf of the heart of the reed. Last one is the hardest. I usually won't even try as you will end up with too thin of a reed. If your good, the last one is where you will get the most out of your box of reeds.

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            1. by Radjammin
              (255 posts)
              18 years ago

              Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

              Last word: Reedy sounds usually comes from a reed that needs work or is too thick overall. Worst Case senerio is that your horn is leaking, but not usually the case for this problem. Try to seal the reed's back with the back side of sandpaper, ask teacher how to do this. Don't forget the butt end of the reed, if you suck on it and you feel air, it needs to be sealed. If you go threw a whole box and they all are too think, don't waste time fixing reeds, you probably need to go down a size. Keep working on the thicker reed in practice, but don't go into an audition souding reedy. Your better off on a thiner reed that is going to project better, just sound a little thin on the top end.

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            2. by saxs_make_it_happen
              (42 posts)
              18 years ago

              Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

              Another good way for quick reed breaking in is soaking it in warm/hot water for a lil while before you play....jus for a last resort....but heck I'm making a habit of it it really makes the reed responsive

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            3. by woutanh
              (19 posts)
              18 years ago

              Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

              thanks all. as it turned out, i got into districts. Second chair first part. not shabby for a sophmore. and, afterall, it wasnt a warped reed. surprisngly enough, by brand new meyer 5 mouthpeice got all ground up somehow. i'm not entirely sure how this happened, since it has never been allowed to raom freely in my case. so here i am six months later. i got a new selmer c* a few days before disctics concert ( sketchy as i wasn't used to it yet, however it was either that or my band directors yamaha jazz mouthpiece. i opted for the c*) thanks for help, since bari sax reeds tend to warp unless they're as thick as 2x4's. i'll probably not update this again, lol. sara

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            4. by johnsonfromwisconsin
              (767 posts)
              18 years ago

              Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

              and, afterall, it wasnt a warped reed. surprisngly enough, by brand new meyer 5 mouthpeice got all ground up somehow. i'm not entirely sure how this happened, since it has never been allowed to raom freely in my case. Sounds more like sabotage.

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            5. by chiamac
              (586 posts)
              18 years ago

              Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

              "Sounds more like sabotage." the plot thickens...

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            6. by johnsonfromwisconsin
              (767 posts)
              18 years ago

              Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

              yep, think about it: from the brief description, it sounds like damage to the facing. I've had a lot of stuff in case compartments before, and nothing I can think of would cause a mpc to be "ground up".

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            7. by chiamac
              (586 posts)
              18 years ago

              Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

              yeah I know, my vintage link had most of it's life (with me) in the case, and it seems to be just fine. and that's over 40 years old now or something. unless this person has sharp metal scrap in their case?

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            8. by woutanh
              (19 posts)
              18 years ago

              Re: panic setting in-- only good reed warped 4 days before disctricts auditions

              ...i'm back..lol no, i don't have any scrap metal in my case... i even leave my lyer out. anyway. i love my new c*. and i'm going to up grade to a new horn soon ....i'm just playing on my selmer taiwanese made student horn too much and it can't handle it...so i'm going to go pro.... i've heard that the newer selmer-paris horns aren't much to rave over.... which dissapoints me. i'm a selmer girl, and i'm thinking i might have to go over to the dark side and try out some yamahas...lol...no offence to any yamaha fans out there...lol the yamahas have a lot going for them in my case... they're less expensive, built well, and.....less expensive. mark, my lessons teacher guy, told me that the yamaha sound is more geared to classical saxophone anyway... and as much as i love jazz.... i'm a classical saxophonist. so....hope everyone had a great summer.... in response to " sabotage"... hahahahahaha. you made me laugh. i thought that myself and started to lock up my horn more often... and shortly after that... my combo lock dissappeared. so then i carried that alto every where for a few months. anyway. i've gabbed more than necassary thanks for support and stuff... and i hope that saxbabe did well in european history. it sounded....exciting?lol. thanks for the offer. school starts in three days, and man am i gonna be busy. gotta love pep band. it's a wonderful thing. 'sall good. tootles... w(ith) out an H ( not wonton soup, although it is rather tasty.)

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