Resumo:
This thesis focuses on the study of clarinet reeds, specifically, on the responses of reeds originating
from the same tube of Arundo donax and evaluated by different clarinetists. It employed the
definition of reed responses as the satisfaction and ease of use according to the musical performance
expectations of the clarinetist. The guiding question of the study was: Does soprano clarinet reeds
made from the same Arundo donax tube show any indication of homogeneity for different
clarinetists? To address this question, five clarinetists, professionals and undergraduate students,
evaluated handmade reeds from five Arundo donax tubes. From each tube, it was made five reeds,
one from each tube for each clarinetist to evaluate. Three of them made the reeds manually using
saw, knife, sandpaper, Reed Dual and Reed Machine by Robert DiLutis. Thus, each clarinetist
evaluated five reeds, one from each tube. The assessment was conducted through a form containing
five fields with the parameters of tone quality, dynamics, legato, articulated notes, and passages
between registers, tested in different instrument registers and dynamics. The evaluation was both
quantitative and qualitative. For the quantitative assessment, a grading scale with integer values from
1 to 5 was employed: 1 = Does not meet the parameter, 2 = Meets the parameter reasonably, 3 =
Meets the parameter moderately, 4 = Meets the parameter well, and 5 = Fully meets the parameter.
For each parameter, evaluators provided qualitative assessments. Additionally, evaluators provided
an overall judgment on reed quality, both written and by a general value, following the
aforementioned scale. The quantitative analysis revealed that the mean and median of homogeneity
indexes across the five tubes were 74% and 75%, respectively. The qualitative analysis found that the
comments from the evaluating clarinetists were reasonably consistent with the grades they assigned.
Thus, the study concludes that reeds made from the same Arundo donax tube may yield similar
results for different clarinetists with similar profiles. Given the small number of reeds, tubes, and
evaluators in the study, it is not possible to generalize this finding. It is limited to reflecting solely the
context and configuration in which the research was conducted. However, it is hoped that these
findings will stimulate further study to expand upon them.
