 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Kyle Jubenville
Date: 1999-06-17 18:47
I just bought a handmade Oboe reed, and I jsut got it and it makes my Oboe sound completely out of tune. I mean it sounds horrible. Can I shave it down a little and it will be in tune, or is there any other tricks, cause the reed it Flat completely pushed in and I find that I am having to kinda bite on the reed to make it in tune. I would appreciate any help that I could get. Thanx, please reply soon
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Author: Mark Yembrick
Date: 1999-07-26 21:46
Dear Kyle,
Most quality hand-made reeds will require some minor adjustment to bring the pitch up to the "working" pitch of your orchestra or chamber. The reed-maker is aware (and now are you) of these slightly different pitch settings.
Some chambers are pitched at A=438 Hz. To use a reed that "crows" at exactly A=440 Hz (the typical US orchestral standard)would have you playing sharp! Suppose you pull the reed out to attempt to lower the overall pitch (not recommended)? This may have the desired effect over perhaps 2/3 of your playing range, however, your 3'rd octave and perhaps part of your 2'nd octave would be out of pitch or even un-playable!
OK, so now how can you make the reed flatter? Well, yer SOL because you would have to add cane to make the reed resonate at a lower pitch.
The best course of action is to start with a slightly flat reed and scrape your way up to the desired pitch.
If you have never done this before, there are several reed-making books that cover the topic of minor pitch adjustments. Also, practice on cheap-o reeds first; it tends to be less flattening on the wallet.
M.Y.
oboist at large
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Author: Al Soskin
Date: 1999-09-16 13:13
It seems to me that the reed measures more than 70 mm. Purchase a mm ruler and see how long the reed is.
Al Soskin
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Author: Chris
Date: 2000-05-07 04:38
the end of the shaft may be too long, or u may need to shave down. My manufactured reed's shaft is about an inch.
Chris
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