How to Choose a Reed for a Tenor Saxophone

Video Transcript

"Hi! This is Dave Birkin and on behalf of Expert Village, in this segment I am going to be talking about reeds. Now the best way to choose your reed is to have it be like a little bit too stiff and then break it in to where it is just right and it will last may be week or may be even a month. I usually get reeds that are maybe a way too stiff and then I balance them later, that is a whole skill, you know in balancing the reed with a knife or with sandpaper or with a reed rush that they call and first you want to get the reed moist, and you can, you know, soak it in a glass of water or you can put it in your mouth and when you first play it, it should be a little bit too stiff but then after you play it for a while you want to discover which side is stiffer than the other and they are always going to be out of balance and it is your job to balance them. Some guys like to hold them up to the light and see, you know, how the pattern of the, you know, the wood strands go. You have like the reed… the center the reed here is the heart and you do not want to ever mess with that and then on the sides you want have something that is flexible firm flexible. So you can start to it by feel, but I usually do it playing to figure out which side is different."