Are Harder Reeds Better?

I think every saxophonist and clarinetist at some point has grappled with the question of whether they should be using harder or softer reeds. So, is it just better to use harder reeds?

Harder reeds are not better than softer reeds. It is worth using a harder reed if you wish to be louder, or if you have a thin sound in the upper register. However, this comes with the cost of being harder to play on.

It is important to understand that harder reeds do not make you inherently sound better. You can sound just as good on a softer reed as you do on a harder reed over most of the range of the instrument.

While it is true that harder reeds are more stable in pitch, this can actually be either a good or bad thing. Softer reeds allow you to bend the pitch more, and if you have a good ear then you can perhaps play better in tune than if you had a harder reed.

Benefits of harder reeds

Harder reeds produce a fuller sound in the upper register. They also project better and are more stable in pitch.

These benefits really aren’t all that significant in many circumstances. However, they are worth taking into consideration if you are thinking of switching to a harder reed.

Fuller in high register

The way that you sound through most of the range of your instrument should be reasonably consistent regardless of the reed strength you are using. However, this is not necessarily the case in the upper register.

High notes tend to sound better in general when you use a harder reed. However, this doesn’t mean that you need to use the hardest reed possible in order to get your high notes to really sing; many saxophonists and clarinetists have brilliant-sounding high notes even when they use soft reeds.

Think of harder reeds as being a ‘fix’ to thin-sounding high notes. You absolutely do not need to use harder reeds unless your high notes sound thin and you have no other solution. If you do have the issue of thin high notes, however, you may want to give harder reeds a shot.

More stable intonation (for better or for worse)

Softer reeds make it really easy to bend the pitch. In other words, every small movement of your lower jaw on the reed is likely to have a noticeable effect on the pitch. Harder reeds make it more difficult to bend the pitch. So, changing your embouchure is less likely to have a drastic effect on the pitch.

This can be a good thing, or a bad thing. It is nice to have a more stable intonation (that is, to play on a harder reed) if you don’t have a great ear or sense of pitch. A harder reed will keep you more consistently in tune than a softer reed will.

However, it can also help your intonation if you are more easily able to bend (that is, if you play on a softer reed). If you wish to be constantly adapting to play more in tune, softer reeds will make it easier to do so. 

This often comes down to a matter of personal preference. Classical saxophonists typically need to bend pitch less than jazz saxophonists, so classical saxophonists will often use harder reeds. It is more common for jazz saxophonists to use softer reeds for the sake of greater flexibility.

More projection (for better or for worse)

Harder reeds usually play louder. They have a bigger sound, and make it more difficult to play at softer volumes.

Again, this could be a good thing or a bad thing. If you need a sound that travels over long distances and cuts through, it may be worth using a harder reed. If you need to be able to play at extremely soft volumes, however, it is probably best to stick to softer reeds.

How do you tell if a reed is too soft?

You can tell that a reed is too soft if your tone becomes buzzy, especially in the upper register. The best way to determine this is to listen carefully to your own sound. 

Whether or not a reed is too soft is mostly subjective. Many musicians sound great on softer reeds. If you are playing on a soft reed and you sound great, then there is no reason to switch.

If you sound bad, however (specifically “pinched”, or “buzzy”), then that may be a sign that you would benefit from a harder reed. This should apply mostly in the upper register, and may or may not hold true throughout the range of the instrument.

There is a difference between a reed being too soft and being worn out. Worn out reeds will squeak, sound pinched no matter what, and will generally be more difficult to control at softer volumes. However, this isn’t necessarily an issue of the reed being too soft. 

The “Harder reeds are better” myth

There are some musicians who believe that using a harder reed is inherently better than using a softer reed. It can become a kind of competition – they believe the strength of reed that they use somehow corresponds to how good of a musician they are. 

If this is a myth you’ve heard before, please be assured that how hard of a reed you use has absolutely nothing to do with how skilled of a musician you are.

You should play what you sound good on, without feeling pressured to increase your reed strength. Increase your reed strength based on your own feelings about your sound (especially in the higher register) and the opinions of your teacher, if you have one. 

There are very good reasons to use softer reeds over harder reeds. For instance, a softer reed could be used to balance out a mouthpiece which is more open. Open mouthpieces have more resistance than less-open mouthpieces, so many saxophonists will use a softer reed to mitigate the resistance of their open mouthpiece.

My personal take: making your instrument harder to play does not make you a better musician. Making your instrument easy for you to play in every situation is what makes you a good musician.

Conclusion

The answer to the original question is an emphatic no. There is nothing inherently better about harder reeds. The best reed to use is the one that you are most comfortable on, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.