 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: Craig Matovich
Date: 2007-03-02 03:08
Something to think about here with oboe reeds V. other reeds single or double.
Oboe reeds come from a rather small diameter tube cane, so small in fact if considered statistically in relation to the total crop of cane... its a runt... and way off to the left of the curve.. in essence a genetic defect.
And from that we expect beautiful music! And we desire reliable consistent beautiful music.
Honestly, in my past doing military band music and music theatre pit orchestra gigs, I could open a box of clarinet or sax reeds and play them well. ( This while the single reed players lamented none were useful...)
It made the other single reed players a bit crazy... but I'd say give me your worst unusable new reeds and I'll play them today. And then I'd do it.
True story... I'd figured out I just had to adjust the placement of reed forward or back on the mouthpiece (effect is akin to how we trim the tip on oboe reeds.... there is a milimeter or two extra flat space on the tip of the mouthpice to play with) and otherwise I adjusted the ligature tightness a bit which is like scraping off a bit of cane... a few minutes later and I had a decent sound and comfortable playing setup.
Compared to oboe this was very simple, but also very predictable...
Their cane comes from well within the normal curve, not 2 standard deviations to the left like with oboe cane.
So, consider the differences in oboes, their state of adjustment, various shaper tips, gougers and the players. Then factor in our dependance on genetically inferrior materials and you will probably realize the wierd field of demands the commercial reed makers need address.
Then allow for geographical and environmental differences, altitude, barometric pressures, relative humidity... and it is totally insane.
Best advice is take the painful and eventually rewarding steps learning to make your own reeds.
Second best advice, until you are self sufficient, find a reliable player/teacher local to you to avoid some of the variables that confound reeds and at least learn how to do tweaks and adjustments.
Buy Weber and Light reed manuals, get a good knife and really learn how to sharpen it. And have at it. There is much comfort in finally getting to the stage you understand the reeds and can adjust on demand as situations change around you.
Post Edited (2007-03-02 03:11)
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ohsuzan |
2007-03-01 17:18 |
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Dutchy |
2007-03-01 21:12 |
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Re: Buying Decent Reeds new |
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Craig Matovich |
2007-03-02 03:08 |
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ElVizconde |
2007-03-02 04:12 |
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The Clarinet Pages
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