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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000088.txt from 2004/01

From: "Lacy, Edwin" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [DR-L] Oboe Cane Hardness chart?
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 12:39:42 -0500

<<<I know cane changes with the weather, however in my experience in
reed making over the past several years, certain brands of cane tend to
have certain hardness/softness qualities. I'm wondering if anyone has
done any extended research on this or if anyone has a list of
comparisons of cane hardness/softness by brand of cane.>>>

In my opinion, this is an unanswerable question. There is only one
"brand" of cane. That is the natural substance, Arundo Donax. It grows
in various places, and is harvested by various people. It may be
subjected to different conditions with regard to treatment before being
sold, aging, etc.

There is variation from stalk to stalk, not only in hardness, but in
other qualities as well. Within every crop and every batch of harvested
cane, there is hard cane and soft cane, and fortunately for us, also
cane of medium hardness. Many people have speculated about the optimum
growing conditions, climate, mineral content of the soil, etc. However,
to my knowledge, no one who has studied this problem ever been able to
state with certainty that a certain combination of conditions will
produce cane that will result in good reeds.

I have related previously that my former bassoon teacher, Leonard
Sharrow, kept extremely detailed records of his cane and reeds over a
period of more than 50 years. He noted for each reed the source of the
cane, when he obtained it, when it grew and was harvested (if he could
get this information), when he made the reed, what shaper and other
tools he used in making it, when and where he first used the reed,
subsequent experience of re-working and adjusting the reed, his
subjective reactions to the qualities of the cane and reed, and more.
He told me several years ago that as a result of those 50 years of
effort, he had been able to reach absolutely no conclusions whatever
about how to select a piece of cane from which to make a reed.

Given the extreme variability among players, qualities of cane, reed
making techniques, and conditions under which reeds are played, and the
fact that we are dealing with an organic and therefore unpredictable
substance, I doubt that it will ever be possible to make such a blanket
judgment as to what kind of reed will be produced by a piece of cane
from any given source.

Sorry - I also wish I knew the answer to this question. However, at
least in the case of cane for the bassoon reed, it is possible to make
some judgments about hardness and other qualities of the cane before
beginning the reed making process. (See the current issue of the
"Double Reed," and also my earlier article which is referenced there.)
As I reported previously, I have tried unsuccessfully to conduct similar
experiments on oboe cane. Perhaps I or someone eventually will be able
to figure out a way to do this.

Ed Lacy
University of Evansville