Choose the Right Saxophone Reed Strength

What reed strength means

A saxophone reed is a thin piece of cane that is held on the mouthpiece and vibrates as you blow through the instrument. The strength label on a reed package is the maker's way of saying how stiff that reed is. Most makers use a numbered scale, with a low number naming a more flexible reed and a high number naming a stiffer one. Some packages also print words such as soft, medium or hard instead of a number.

Strength labels are not a shared standard. Two makers can use the same number and mean different stiffness, because each maker sets its own scale. Read a strength as the maker's label, not as a universal size, and expect that you will compare two strengths before you settle on one.

• A lower number names a softer, more flexible reed.
• A higher number names a stiffer reed.
• Each maker owns its own scale.

How the register and the mouthpiece pair with strength

The saxophone family includes four common registers: soprano, alto, tenor and baritone. They are built at different sizes, and their mouthpieces are different sizes too. The soprano is the smallest common saxophone, the alto is a common first choice, the tenor is larger, and the baritone is the largest. A player's reed strength tends to move with the mouthpiece size: a larger mouthpiece commonly pairs with a stronger reed than a smaller one.

This pairing is a starting point, not a rule. A player who uses a soft reed on an alto may move to a medium reed on a tenor, and a baritone player often uses a medium or hard reed. Your own setup and experience decide the final choice. For the register decision itself, see how to choose alto or tenor and the soprano guide.

Mouthpiece tip opening and reed strength

The tip opening of a mouthpiece is the gap between the reed and the tip of the mouthpiece. A wide opening gives the reed a larger gap to work with; a narrow opening gives it a smaller gap. As a general pairing in words: a wide tip opening commonly pairs with a stronger reed, and a narrow tip opening commonly pairs with a softer reed, because the gap and the reed stiffness balance each other.

If you change your mouthpiece, the tip opening word on the mouthpiece package gives you the direction: move the reed strength up for a wider opening and down for a narrower one. More on how mouthpieces and the rest of the instrument relate: mouthpiece vs instrument upgrade and alto vs tenor mouthpiece tip opening.

Player experience and reed strength

For a first instrument, a soft reed is a typical starting point because a flexible reed bends more easily than a stiff one under the same airflow. This is a general statement about how reeds behave, not a promise about learning speed. As you gain playing time, you may move to a stiffer reed; many players choose a stronger reed over time.

The same player can use different strengths on different registers in the same week, and a strength that works well on one mouthpiece may not on another. Keep two strengths around and let the physical feel of the reed, how much it resists when you blow, guide your choice.

Reed size and reed strength are two different words

A reed package usually names two things: the size, meaning the register it fits, and the strength. For example, a package may carry the word alto as the size and a strength label next to it. The size word tells you which mouthpiece the reed was made for, from a soprano to a baritone.

When you read a listing, do not read the size word as a strength word. "Alto" says which mouthpiece it fits; the number or the soft, medium or hard word says how stiff it is. Both words matter when you order a reed, and a size that fits one register will not fit another.

Reading reed strength words on a listing

On a saxophone listing, a reed may appear as part of a saxophone kit or as a separate item. A kit that lists a reed usually names a mouthpiece and a reed together, but the strength of that reed is not always stated. When a strength is stated, read it as the maker's label for that separate reed, not as a feature of the saxophone body.

When no strength is stated, plan to buy a separate reed strength that matches your register and mouthpiece, and keep one strength above and one below your first choice to compare. For a first saxophone, the student saxophone guide and the alto saxophone guide give you the kit options to start from.

What to pick for your situation

Questions

What does a reed strength number mean?

It is the maker's label for how stiff the reed is. A low number names a soft, flexible reed; a high number names a stiff one. Each maker sets its own scale.

Should a beginner use a soft reed?

A soft reed is a common starting point for a first instrument because it is more flexible. The right strength still depends on your mouthpiece and how much playing time you have.

Does the saxophone type change the reed strength?

Mostly through the mouthpiece size. Soprano, alto, tenor and baritone mouthpieces come in different sizes, and a larger mouthpiece commonly pairs with a stronger reed.

Can I use the same reed on alto and tenor?

No. Reeds are made for a specific register, and an alto reed does not fit a tenor mouthpiece. Each register needs its own reed size.

What if a kit listing states no reed strength?

Read that as a missing detail, and plan to buy a separate reed strength that matches your register and mouthpiece, with an extra strength to compare.

Do synthetic reeds use the same strength scale?

Some makers offer synthetic reeds alongside cane reeds, and they use a similar numbered strength label, but each maker's numbers are their own scale.