What do you think the price of a clarinet reed was in the 18th century? You might be surprised to learn that the price of clarinet reeds has remain virtually the same since the 1700s! Longtime readers know I love learning about clarinet history, and I’ve recently been fascinated by clarinet reed history. While rereading Rendall’s The Clarinet, I came upon a passage that sparked my curiosity: “In the 18th century, if many players preferred to make their own, commercial reeds nevertheless were obtainable…Churchwardens’ accounts, too, show constant purchases of reeds for church bands at prices of three-pence and fourpence apiece for the clarinet and of one shilling for the…