Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The architecture of the bassoon reed

Barrick Stees has a great series of posts up on the physical mechanics, kinetics, aerodynamics and acoustics of the bassoon reed: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. I've read many of the same sources, and I'm not sure I'd agree with every statement there (eg, the larger cross section of a more rounded wires would, I'd guess, lead to lower flow rates, less vorticity, and lower flow resistance, contrary to the statement in the "wind tunnel" post, but aerodynamic resistance may not be the same as what a reedmaker/user means as "resistance"), but nevertheless, I think we desperately need this kind of thinking to guide new ideas in reeds. More later, I hope.

2 comments:

  1. Nice job! You've improved quite a bit.
    This may be just my opinion, but the entire performance sounds kind of rushed, especially the 3rd movement. Take some time to really sing through the phrases.

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  2. Thanks for listening, and thanks for the comment! You're no doubt right about the rushing, I'll see what I can do about that.

    (And just a note to anyone confused: this is in reference to http://bassoonoperator.blogspot.ca/2012/06/telemann-f-minor-sonata.html, but I don't see how to move comments.)

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