Reed Longevity

Cane, being a natural substance, will eventually wear out. Sugars in the saliva will cause the cellulose in the reed fibers to deteriorate. A reed may also wear out from simply vibrating against the mouthpiece. This often happens long before any damage occurs to the reed. There is no way to tell how many days or weeks a certain reed will last. There is a complex calculation to determine the number of hours of vibration time in which the reed will be at optimum performance, but that is beyond the scope of this guide. If your child (or you) have been playing on the same reed for two weeks, a new reed is needed, even if the one on which you or your child have been playing appears undamaged. Playing on a soft, worn out reed is detrimental to the development of good tone and accurate intonation. If your child rotates several reeds rather than playing only one until it is "dead", the reeds will last longer and your child will have the advantage of having several backup reeds in case one should break during a performance.