How do You know when to upgrade to a stronger clarinet reed such as 3 to 4?

Answer:

Answer

After practicing on the clarinet, when you push air through your instrument, especially in the extreme range and on a new reed, your instrument may squeak, but not because of bad technique (your tones are clear and precise otherwise). When this happens you should get a harder reed, and if you can't get harder reeds (your already on a 4) then you could think about a larger mouth piece (they come in 7 sizes and 1-3 is for beginners, 4-5 for intermediate and 6 and 7 for professionals.


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When you decide that you want/need a harder reed, I would highly recommend that, instead of jumping straight from a 3 to a 4, you go for the middle and get 3 1/2 reeds instead. 4's are immensely stronger than 3's and the likelihood of a person being able to make that jump is slim to none.
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First answer by Lord Arador. Last edit by Ned narb. Contributor trust: 1 [recommend contributor recommended]. Question popularity: 20 [recommend question].