Reed Tests
Use the following tests to diagnose any problems with your reed. Your reed should be able to do all these tests before it is ready to be taken out of the practice room.
Response/stability
1. Tongue 5 low C's rapidly without cracking
2. Breath attack (without tongue), high B, C, C#, D, and E. The notes should speak effortlessly, with no embouchure pressure.
3. Soft attack (with tongue) the low notes, D, C#, C, B, and Bb. The notes should speak easily and gently.
Stability
4. Slur up an octave from octave A, Bb, B, and C without changing embouchure or air speed. The upper note will be flat, but not so much that it could not easily be raised up to pitch.
5. Check octave F# and E. Be able to play these notes forte with a wide open mouth and closed lips without them sounding flat. These two notes are two of the first to become unstable, and demonstrate a lot about the stability of a reed.
Dynamics
6. Diminuendo to niente on low G. This is one instance in which you can BITE the reed. As a simple rule, never bite a reed to raise the pitch, only bite a reed to play softly in the low register. Use a tuner to check that you keep the pitch steady.
7. The reed must provide a Dynamic Range of p to f in ALL REGISTERS.
8. You must be able to play a long tone forte for 30 seconds with no diminuendo. If you cannot do this, then you are spending too much air for the amount of tone that is being produced--this is unacceptable. If you want to have much endurance, you must play on reeds that don't waste your air.
Tone
*Never sacrifice the above characteristics for the tone*