Talk:Reed (mouthpiece)

But what exactly IS the difference between a single reed and a double reed? Obviously they sound different, but what is doubled? Are there two layers? Twice as long, or thick? Would pictures or illustrations help? Catherine\^talk 17:28, 16 Nov 2004 (UTC)

In a double reed, there are two flexible bits of material which slap against each other (excuse the complicated technical jargon), whereas in a single reed there is just one flexible bit of material which slaps against something fixed (generally the mouthpiece of the instrument). Sorry, can't be bothered to translate this into something suitable for the article right now - if anybody else wants to do it before me, great. And yes, illustrations would certainly be nice. --Camembert 19:57, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)

This is exactly what I came here for. Someone was explaining to me how they make their own for their oboe, but it's difficult to understand without seeing one close up. It sounds like a wonderfully complex process. We need to see pics from different angles. Pics from the process of someone making one would be great too. Furthermore, from what I understood, oboe reeds are double reeds but this does NOT mean they are two pieces; they are one piece! Are bassoon and others the same? --geekyßroad^{. meow?} 03:55, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

Rewrite

I have removed a lot of tangential material and tried to pare it down to straightforward explanations. The existing images help tremendously in understanding single/double reed differences, etc. I'll try to add links and references - www.saxontheweb.net, David Pino's clarinet book, and I'll see what else is applicable.Special-T 22:26, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Eliminating "how-to" material

I have removed material from this article that was either unsubstantiated or that consisted primarily of instructions about reed care and selection. See Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not. No offense to the (possibly) many authors of that material, but it's not encyclopedia info. - Special-T 15:24, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Double Reeds

There is now nothing like enough information on Double Reeds. Wiki may not be a lot of things but neither is is merely a dictionary! A person looking for information on double reeds will not be greatly informed by what remains of this page. It should not be necessary for a reader to enquire on the discussion page to get the information that should be in the article!

The inclusion of Tromboon in this page is misleading at best and (despite an internal link) possibly classifiable as vandalism, mistaken for humour. I have no time today but if this page isn't fixed in the next few weeks, I'll do it myself! Obiskobilob 10:35, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

Confusing sentences

On the materials paragraph, it says quote "Most reeds are made from cane, but synthetic reeds made from various substances are used by a small number of clarinetists and saxophonists, as well as bagpipers, particularly the Italian Zampognari, who often use synthetic double reeds for the Italian Zampogna. Synthetic reeds are generally more durable than their natural counterparts, do not need to be moistened prior to playing, and can be more consistent in quality. Many players consider them to have poor sound, or use them only in a context where tone quality is less important, such as a marching band." This is confusing, and it could be interpreted as either the synthetic reed having poor sound or the cane reed can have poor sound. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.110.251.252 (talk) 23:47, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

"Cor Anglais"

Re: "...the "Reed 3" part in Bernstein's West Side Story...calls for the player to use piccolo, flute, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor, and baritone saxophones":

I've not looked at the score, but I'd bet a large sum of money it specifies the American English horn, not the British (and inexcusably absurd) cor anglais. If anyone can demonstrate that I'd lose the bet, he (homo, not vir) can change it back. TheScotch (talk) 06:25, 17 September 2010 (UTC)