The Oboe BBoard

The Oboe BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Re: over-soaking reeds?

Author: RobinDesHautbois
Date: 2010-05-29 12:58

OUF.....
Forgive me for being direct, but the picture of a finished reed is completely meaningless. Actually almost all books and web-pages on the subject make that mistake. Most importantly, my reeds are made for loud-mouths with a strong and generous wind-flow. Other body types might need very different reeds.

From your notes I can't tell how long you've been playing. I'll respond as if you're a professional, but if you're not, you must realise that oboe playing requires both excellent reeds that let you play freely, but your practice on bad reeds over many years will also do a lot of good. You really need both extremes.

Making a reed is a responsive process. No two reeds of mine look the same, sometimes the scrape is very short and sometimes it is very long. I've made excellent reeds with very hard cane but even with spongy cane. One thing I did notice (must experiment more) is that thinner cane (0.57-0.59mm) requires less scraping and gives better sound, easier playing and more stable tuning. Read-up on gouging cane. Narrow reeds usually make the high register easier but some wide reeds (oboe d'amore size) have worked well too.

Things I NEVER do:
1. tie the thread past the staple.
=> I've found that using reed wire is almost as bad
2. overlap the blades (side to side)
Both these prevent the reed from doing its job: beating in the wind.

To help prevent side to side overlap, I take the folded shaped cane and flatten the inside sligthly by gently scraping it with a dull knife. This is an old trick that you'll find in some old oboe method books.

I start scraping the heart (sides) and tip while the reed has not yet been chopped. What I do is very simple, but hard to explain in a letter! My process is tip to back rather than to aim for a particular model. When the reed plays well, I stop, no matter what it looks like.

I start with a standard short scrape on a long reed (75mm on a 47mm staple - but this often changes) but no V and a sharp step tip. When it plays well, I make the V for the tip with a swooshing knife movement which turns the step into a blend between the heart and tip.

If it is too hard even when I scrape the heart half thickness, then I make a W behind by removing the bark only. This usually softens and darkens the sound.
=> an old superstition seems to hold true in Montreal and Ottawa: 70-71mm total length seems to give reeds that are easier for stability and high register. Its probably more a matter of cane length in proportion to the reed width.

If that leaves the reed still too open, then I remove the spine and thin the rails. Following the standard laws of physics, I make sure that the reed is always going thinner towards the front. Open reeds can be gently pinched and close over 15 minutes of playing: the result is a darker sound and usually better dynamics (pianissimo as well as fortissimo).

The only point I dislike is that a stepwise and straight "blend" (limit between heart to tip) makes staccato easier whereas a gradual V gives a darker tone.

Some of my reeds look like those pictures and the pictures explain the general principles. But my reeds are almost all different.

Good luck!

Robin Tropper
M.A.Sc., B.Mus., B.Ed.
http://RobinDesHautbois.blogspot.ca/music

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics

Author

Date

over-soaking reeds? new

Jaysne

2010-04-17 18:58