Woodwind Players-reed question for you.

[golfgal]

I have a question about the hardness of reeds. The twins play the saxophone and have been using 2 1/2 hardness reeds. Their new school suggests 2 hardness reeds and they have been using those for the past week and boy have they been SQUEEKING! They sound terrible. Is the 2 reed harder or softer and what difference does that make in their playing. Are they beyond needing a 2 reed or is a 2 reed too difficult for them? Their private lesson teacher, a band instructor, suggested 2 1/2 to 3 for them. I have NO idea what any of this means. Should I go back to the other reeds?

 

[amid chaos]

Go with what their private teachers recommends. The band teacher is making an all around recommendation for the sax section, whereas the private teacher is hopefully making the recommendation based on your kids.

 

[jahexom]

I agree, go with 2 1/2 or 3. The higher the number, the harder the reed. Their private instructor knows what is best for them as players. I am a band director and I like the saxes to start on 2 1/2. 2's are too soft IMHO.

Jen

 

[becka]

The lower the number the softer the reed. Typically you will get a better sound quality with a harder (higher) reed. It might be best to try reeds at 2, 2 1/2, 3 and 3 1/2 and see what is working best for them.

 

[golfgal]

Thanks for the help. I am a violin player and all this reed stuff is beyond my scope of knowledge. I had DS try an older reed and it sounded so much better (a 2 1/2). I am going to bring back the 2's and get some 2 1/2's and 3's for them. They just finished 5th grade but they LOVE to play and have taken lessons from a fantastic teacher all year who said they are playing at the 7th grade level. I think the suggestions at the music store were probably for beginner players and he didn't really listen to me when I told them they were more advanced then that (I am sure EVERY parent says that ).