 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: jamslam
Date: 2009-01-28 00:54
I know that store bought reeds are just soso when I start to learn to play the oboe I don't want to have to make reeds right away. The one instructor at the music school that I was at seeing about lessons was pushing making reeds I need to have the items so he can show me how to make reeds. This seems like just a way to push sales onto a beginner at the oboe. I would think you would get into playing the oboe at least for several months before working on reed making am I wrong or what? I wont be purchasing an Oboe till March. Or maybe I should sign up for a college beginners music class?
Post Edited (2009-01-28 00:57)
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Author: vboboe
Date: 2009-01-28 02:56
... why not do some more research, is this the only oboe instructor available to you? shop and compare, perhaps you can find one who fits your preferences better, they do exist, hopefully there's someone near you :-)
if i were shopping, i'd want half-hour lessons as a brand-new beginner, can't play more than a few moments to begin with, and it takes many months to grow strong enough to keep playing steadily for half an hour
<<Or maybe I should sign up for a college beginners music class?>>
Do you mean you're also brand new to music, can't read it at all, don't know sharp from flat, that sort of thing? If so, half-hour oboe lessons could consist of some tootling mixed with concentration on rudiment studies, well worth while, ask about that
IMO half hour's much too rushed to properly demonstrate reed-making, even when broken down step by step, not time enough to let novice have good go at it with direct guidance and corrections, an hour's much better time for that
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Author: hautbois
Date: 2009-01-28 12:43
My first oboe lesson, when I was 10, was also my first reed-making lesson. I believe that my teacher (who was on the faculty of Julliard at the time) believed that if I would not become engaged in the reed-making process, then I would not really become engaged with playing the oboe. Of course the reed-making process went in very small steps. I was first instructed in tying-on shaped cane. And my teacher would make reeds from the successes in my tying during my next lesson. Then I participated in the rough scraping, and incrememtally began to make my own reeds. Certainly one does not have to approach learning the oboe in this manner; but it is a reasonable approach.
As I have recently retired (some 50 plus years later), I have been selling off supplies. You might contact some professionals in your area or more advanced students and see if they have excess of some items which they would sell you at reasonable prices.
Elizabeth
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Author: EaubeauHorn
Date: 2009-02-03 15:01
My first teacher made me reeds; a free one every fourth lesson, and if I needed another, $10 for that one (this is recent, not umpty-ump years ago). But in six months I decided I wanted to learn to make my own and made the expenditure for the knifes etc to make reeds from gouged and shaped cane.
I know amateurs who either buy finished reeds (these don't sound so good and vary widely in quality) or who buy "hard" reeds and finish them to suit. But most competent players I've met make their own, either from gouged and shaped, or from tube cane. I recently bought a shaper tip because that seemed to be a fairly easy next step from buying shaped cane.
At my own next lesson we're going to do a tandem reed-making session, where I follow what he does in making a reed. I asked for this because I seem to always end up at the same place with my reeds, in that they are too resistant but when I lower the resistance enough to blow them they are ruined. So I need to see in person where I'm going wrong so I can figure out how to fix it. I've been playing only a year at this point, and the reeds my teacher makes are wonderful, but I just want to develop this essential skill.
MA
Post Edited (2009-02-03 15:02)
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Author: cjwright
Date: 2009-02-03 18:23
I think making reeds is an integral part of oboe playing. There are different opinions on how important the reed is, as opposed to how important everything else is (instrument, person, setup), but it is never too early to start developing knife technique, a skill that takes years to develop.
The reality is its going to take years for you to become self sufficient at reedmaking, probably 4-5 years if you play as an amateur, and even longer if you're just starting to play oboe, and therefore since you don't know what your physical setup should be, you don't know what a good reed should feel like to accomodate your physical setup. As long as you're under guidance of a teacher, I think it can't hurt to start early, as long as you give yourself time and patience without expecting immediate results.
Cooper
CooperWrightReeds.com
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2009-02-04 06:05
Don't start with the reedmaking until you are certain that Oboe is what you want.
Once you have decided that Oboe is for you, do not hesitate even for a single day.
It is far, far easier to become proficient at reedmaking under the tutelage of a good teacher, than trying to teach yourself from books and bulletin-boards later in life.
J.
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Author: GoodWinds ★2017
Date: 2009-02-06 06:37
I agree with jhoyla and Cooper. Get the playing basics down first, especially tone production, then find a really good teacher. Learn to adjust reeds, then move on from there.
I was blessed with a really good teacher, and enjoy making reeds, although I'll never be an expert like some of the other contributors to this space.
GoodWinds
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