January 7, 2020
A good reed is hard to find. Many clarinet and saxophone players spend the better part of their time searching through a box of reeds trying to find the best ones. If you’ve played through a box of reeds and have separated the good from the bad, you may be wondering if there’s anything you […]
April 19, 2018
Vandoren is one of the most respected companies in woodwind accessory manufacturing. The French company makes saxophone mouthpieces and clarinet mouthpieces, saxophone reeds and clarinet reeds, and ligatures and caps that are used by beginners and professional players around the world. Vandoren was founded in 1905 by Eugène Van Doren who was a clarinetist for the Paris Opera. The company moved to 56 […]
March 27, 2017
Whether you’re buying a new box of reeds for your saxophone or clarinet, you’re faced with the same dilemma. Should you buy cane reeds or synthetic reeds? You may have heard good things about both. While most musicians use basic cane reeds, synthetic reeds are becoming a popular alternative. Synthetic reeds can have a longer shelf-life and offer greater consistency. After all, synthetic mouthpieces exist, so why wouldn’t synthetic reeds? From sound quality to durability, we’ll cover […]
August 20, 2016
So, you’ve learned how to assemble a reed properly, clean your saxophone perfectly, and can even play through a few of your favorite songs without making any mistakes. You’re probably feeling pretty accomplished, right? But, do you know when it’s time to replace saxophone reeds? Can you tell when a reed is dying? First and […]
July 30, 2016
The saxophone is a versatile and expressive instrument and, with proper training and lots of practice, can be relatively easy to play. Many musicians agree that, although it’s not always the easiest to handle, the saxophone is one of the most vocal sounding instruments in all of music. If you’re new to the instrument, or […]
July 22, 2016
Dr. Eric Lau is Associate Professor of Saxophone at the University of New Mexico and is the baritone saxophonist with the Iridium Quartet. For more information, go to EricLauSaxophone.com. A typical scene: It is the day of festival and one of your middle-school saxophonists has just chipped his or her one good reed and […]
April 20, 2016
When you play the saxophone, you should expect to have some trouble with your reeds. Finding a reed that produces a great sound is one hurdle but, even if you find the perfect set of reeds, you’ll still have to adjust them so you can achieve the sound you want. There are numerous ways to […]
January 2, 2016
As you’ve been browsing the web for a new saxophone for your child, you’ve likely seen a lot of talk about finding the right saxophone reed- that’s because the reed is one of the most important parts of a saxophone. Not only can experimenting with different saxophone reeds drastically change the sound of the instrument, […]
