Structural observations and biomechanical measurements of clarinet reeds made from <i>Arundo donax</i>

Abstract

Plant anatomy was examined for two clarinet reeds made out of Arundo donax by different means of microscopy: light microscopy, low-energy secondary electron scanning electron microscopy (SEM), backscattered electron SEM, and helium ion microscopy (HiM). The local indentation hardness H_IT and Young's modulus E_IT of different tissues on their cross sections were measured. A vascular bundle (Vb) (H_IT = 60-100 MPa, E_IT = 1,500-2,000 MPa) that includes soft tissues of phloem and xylem and a vascular bundle sheath (Bs) (H_IT = 300-500 MPa, E_IT = ∼7,000 MPa) form a pipe of the strong string along the longitudinal direction of the cane. This Vb/Bs string is connected transversally with a net of thin cell-walls of parenchyma cells (Pa) (H_IT = 70-200 MPa, E_IT = 2,000-3,000 MPa) that also range along the longitudinal direction of the cane. It was turned out that the acoustic quality of a reed is mainly ascribed to the shape and configuration of Vb and the size of Pa. A reed where Vb bundles with continuous Bs rings are homogeneously distributed with higher proportion among a softer network of small Pa cells enables musical performance.