Number sign, sharp, or tic-tac-toe?
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Introducing ReedCast™: scientific woodwind reed quality forecasting
I’m pleased to announce a new tool available on this site. Woodwind players know that the way a reed plays is subject to factors like elevation, temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure. There’s never a guarantee that a reed will play the same way today as it did yesterday. While break-in methods or storage systems may help mitigate some of this, being forearmed with as much information as possible is key to consistent reed performance.
I have spent the past few months compiling and studying as much research as I could gather about environmental factors’ effects on woodwind reeds, and developing an algorithm to process this information into reed quality “forecasts.” It’s not perfect, of course, but so far I have found it to do a surprisingly satisfactory job.
So, I built a web application, ReedCast™, around it. It is rough around the edges but pretty simple to use: you select your instrument (oboe/EH, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone) and your location. ReedCast™ uses your location to retrieve elevation and current weather conditions. Then you press the “Go!” button, and ReedCast™ does its thing.
Go try it out! If you are interested, you can also check out the science behind the forecasting algorithm (warning: technical, with math).
Need a panflute? Woodwind doubling gear woes
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That is AWESOME
I remember a computer program several decades ago that would pronounce aloud characters as they were typed; “#” was pronounced “sharp”.
I’ve worked with musical instruments (Synthesizers) as well as computer office equipment. The # was called the “Octothorp”
by Sharp Fax machine service manuals.
Wikipedia says the outside of the USA, if you say “Pound Sign” people think of £ British Pound Sterling.
Great observation Bret! After comparing multiple images, it’s quite clear concerning the differences between the symbols. I do have a few students who call sharp signs, hash tags. This should help them out.
Hm. I had not thought about that Bret. Quite important come to think about it though. Love your blog and thanks again for letting me use your fingering graphics in the 33 video guide for saxophone basic fingerings. I think I’m sending a few new readers over to you as well:)
The URL for my entire website has changed though. I did a re-design and decided to go with another URL.
The guide looks exactly the same but you’ll find it here now: http://saxhub.com/saxophone-fingering-chart/
Merry Christmas!