The Fingering Forum
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Author: sÖmeone
Date: 2002-12-27 13:44
can someone tell me the effects of thinning too much on a double reed and vice versa? thnx!
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Author: TorusTubarius
Date: 2002-12-27 14:57
A reed that is scraped too thin will first of all have almost no resistance, which contrary to popular belief is a <i>bad</i> thing on the oboe. You need some resistance on the reed so you can have something to push against as you're trying to build up your "internal resistance" to your air which I have expounded upon many times on this forum. A reed that is too thin often produces a somewhat shallow tone, lacking all the nice harmonics and depth of tone necessary to give the oboe a singing quality in its sound. More so perhaps than the limitations a thin reed will place on the quality of your tone are the limitations a thin reed will place on your dynamic range. Plus, reeds that are really thin tend to wear out faster than reeds "with some meat on them".
A reed that is too thick will of course have a lot of resistance and therefore compromise response and how under control and refined your playing is. It will have a harsh and dry sounding tone, and you will find it extremely difficult to play softly. You'll also hear a lot more air in your sound as you're trying to play on a harder reed simply because it takes so much more air pressure to get the thing to vibrate. The good thing about reeds that are too thick is that that is a problem easily fixed; a reed that is too thin however is almost a lost cause.
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Author: TorusTubarius
Date: 2002-12-27 15:00
I forgot to mention, a thin reed will also tend to close up whereas a reed that is too thick tends to be too open at the end.
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Author: D-Oboe
Date: 2002-12-27 17:52
I also find that thin reeds don't "crow" very well, meaning that they don't produce the necessary harmonics. When I play up in the Eb-G 6's I find that the reed will actually produce the note but an octave, or sometimes a fifth lower than what is intended. Or muffled crappy sound, take your pick.
D-Oboe
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