Author: d-oboe
Date: 2004-07-08 15:46
Now since german and french reeds are actually quite similar, would you classify the sound as "reedy" or "bright"? From what you've described however I would guess that your new reeds are french scrape. If you're planning on just playing oboe as a challenging hobby, then by all means use those reeds. But, if you get a teacher, there is a large probability that they will play on the american reeds, and will give you american reeds to play. This might lead to an uneasy "retransition". In any case the problem with most storebought american reeds, is that the tips are way too thick for how the rest of the reed is scraped, therefore making the reed unresponsive; which sounds about right giving the strife you had with them. Since I really don't know your situation, I don't know how difficult it is to get a teacher, or at least some good handmade reeds given to you directly by that teacher. Finally when determining how much you like a reed, take into consideration four basic things:
**Response: how well the reed "answers" to your breath and tongue
**Resistance: how "hard" the reed is. It should be free-blowing, but not too too soft.
**Tone Quality: your reed shouldn't sound too thin and shrill, or too dull and wooden. When you crow the reed it should make some noise with both low and high harmonics.
**Stability: your reed should maintain a controlled pitch in both loud and soft dynamics. You should be able to crescendo on a note without it dropping too much in pitch.
Good luck with reeds and finding a teacher!
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