Reed All About It

The bane of every saxophonist, such as myself, is a small, tan piece of wood—  the reed. According to esteemed saxophone pedagogue Larry Teal, “the principle task of the reed is its function as an air valve, which opens and closes on the mouthpiece at various speeds, [thus creating a tone].”¹ Reeds are a technology I take for granted every day. My daily view of a reed begins with opening a blue, vacuum-sealed package, wetting the reed in my mouth, slapping it on my mouthpiece, and jumping right in to my practice session. Yet, reeds, in addition to being finicky at all the wrong times, possess a much more complex back story, and carry relatively unmentioned environmental implications.

The modern reed came about with the standardization of the clarinet in the late 17^th century, ² but the plant itself has been used for much longer. The reed species Arundo donax “has played an important role in the culture of the western world through its influence on the development of music, which can be traced back 5000 years.”³ The first musical use of Arundo donax was for making flutes, and only later was it used a reed. Nowadays, it is this species, grown in the Var region of France, that reed manufactures harvest, cut, and sell to customers.⁵

As simple as a reed may seem, the manufacturing process of cane is surprisingly complex, and the transformation to its use for musical instruments is a lengthy journey. As this video from the Rico reed company shows, the reed-making process takes many months to several years from planting the cane to harvesting and finishing the final product.

When I open a reed, I am actually opening up to two years worth of production time. The harvested plants must spend varying lengths of time drying naturally in the sun, depending on the manufacturer. The finished product is also a result of precise manufacturing tools and close inspection for reed imperfections. Yet, even the best reed will last no longer than a month of heavy use.

I have rarely heard anyone talk about the environmental impact of this technology, but, being a natural resource, reeds production does indeed carry environmental implications. Upon close inspection of the history and process of reed making, I found that there are significant environmental drawbacks, as there too often are with even the simplest of technologies. The first concern involves the plant itself; Arundo donax is considered in many regions, including the United States, an invasive species. Due to its musical and nonmusical uses alike, people have taken the plant out of its native region in the Mediterranean and cultivated it across the globe. Its ability to survive in many different conditions makes it a serious threat to indigenous plant species.⁴

Another negative environmental impact of this technology is its wasteful production. In a magazine published by one of the largest reed manufacturers, Vandoren, the company describes the complete process of making a reed. According to the company, up to 90% of cultivate plant material is discarded before it even enter the reed-making process, as high-quality reeds require very specific physical features of the original cane. Plants that are deemed usable also create significant waste products; out of the six-meter long stalk, only 20-30% is made into reeds.⁵

Due to more precise cutting and measuring equipment, reeds have become increasingly consistent over the last several decades. Some of the most dramatic developments have been in synthetic reeds, which have the same shape and function as traditional reeds, but are made from plastics.

Now, more than ever, synthetic reeds are reaching the ability to offer as great tone quality as cane reeds. Perhaps continuing to pursue the development of quality synthetic reeds will offer a better alternative to the wasteful use of cane.

The small piece of wood I use every single day is both a modern and ancient technology. Reeds have been used for thousands of years, but the last several decades have seen bounding progress in reed making and innovation. Yet, the complexity of the reed and its back story never fail to slip my mind, even though my ability to play the saxophone depends on a high quality piece of cane. This shows that the seemingly simple technology we use every day can have an immense, unseen history as well as a global impact.

1. Teal, Larry. The Art of Saxophone Playing. U.S.: Summy-Birchard, 2000. p. 21
2. Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Reed instrument.” Encyclopædia Britannica. July 20, 1998. Accessed September 18, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/art/reed-instrument.
3. Rojas-Sandoval, Julissa, and Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez. “Arundo donax (giant reed).” Invasive Species Compendium. Accessed September 18, 2017. http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/1940.
4. Perdue, Robert E., Jr. “Arundo donax-Source of Musical Reeds and Industrial Cellulose .” Economic Botany 12, no. 4 (December 1958): 368-404. Accessed September 18, 2017. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4287997.
5. Van Doren, Bernard. “SELECTION OF THE REED : FROM THE PLANT TO THE INSTRUMENT.” Edited by Jean-Marie Paul. Vandoren Magazine, 4-7.

Media:

https://www.reidys.com/images/products.large/vandoren_tenor_reed.jpg

 

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