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Re: High Notes Not Speaking

Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2006-07-11 20:12

How does the reed feel? Is it springy in the center, to the touch of your finger? If so, you might want to try the squeezing down technique that I mentioned on the other thread.

Basically, I'd just let the reed alone for a couple of days -- play it in, and then see where you are say, on Friday. Reeds change.

If things haven't improved by then, a couple of things come to mind. There are reeds that just don't do high notes well -- I hope that's not the case here.

But my teacher taught me a little trick with new reeds. You just take the (wet) reed, and draw it quickly a couple of times (upper scraped part only, from top edge of heart to tip) over a piece of VERY fine sandpaper or a fine emery board (like the big padded nail files that women use -- that's what she uses). Do it on each side. This modifies the slope from the heart to the tip just a wee, and it also thins out the edge of the tip, which is what may be making your high notes balk.

You can also take your reed knife and *carefully* scrape off just a little, little bit from the "ears" of the tip (all four sides -- whatever you do to one, do to all).

In adjusting reeds, less is more. Test the reed each time after you do anything. If it improves the response, then you know you are working in the right direction, and you may want to do it again. But it is all too easy to go too far -- which is why a lot of "storebought" reeds (even the handmade ones, or possibly especially the handmade ones) need just one more pass with the sandpaper or reed knife -- the person who made them was conscious of not going too far.

Let us know if anything works.

Susan

edit: here's a good page with reed adjusting info (and a good site, in general): http://www.public.asu.edu/~schuring/Oboe/Reedguide.html

Post Edited (2006-07-11 20:13)

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