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Reed Making is Performance, not Preparation

Author: mschmidt
Date: 2015-04-25 21:05

I don't know if this will be helpful to anyone here, but it's a realization that has grown on me in my adult years. Because my job requires a lot of me, and because oboe is not part of that job, I don't practice or make reeds as regularly as I should. But when I have limited time, I opt for practice over reed making--I have to keep my embouchure in shape, my fingers in shape, my tongue in shape. And my reeds don't wear out all that fast when I'm not playing that much.

But if I neglect reedmaking, I forget all the subtle things that make it work. A feel for when the knife needs sharpening. Recognizing what's wrong and what needs to be fixed. All sorts of little things. And reed making then becomes frustrating, and I waste a lot of cane. I need to keep my reed making skills as practiced as my performance skills. Because the act of making a reed is a performance of its own. Everything has to go just right.

Mike

Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore

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