How do you tell if your reed is strong, weak, stuffy, or free-blowing?
To tell if your reed is strong or weak, using your normal embouchure and air, test the following indicators:
| Indicator | Strong | Weak |
| High register | easy, sharp | unstable |
| Low register | difficult, sharp | easy |
| Slurring down | difficult | easy |
| Slurring up | easy | difficult |
| Embouchure manipulation – low register | too much | very little |
| Embouchure manipulation – high register | very little | too much |
To tell if your reed is stuffy or free-blowing, using your normal embouchure and air, how is the resistance when you play the reed?
- A stuffy reed has less than ideal air capacity and flow. It feels a bit like blowing through a coffee straw. It feels small, tight, or resistant.
- A free-blowing reed has more than the ideal air capacity and flow. It feels like blowing through a milkshake straw. It feels big, loose, and easy.
The material in this learning module comes from The Banana of Life: Peeling Away the Mysteries of Reed Making for the Bassoon by Rian Craypo and has been edited for clarity by Jessi Vandagriff. Please do not share or distribute this information to those not using the decision-based learning model. Used with permission.