 The Fingering Forum
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Author: oboe d'amore
Date: 2005-06-08 21:21
i just started playing the oboe about six months ago. i buy emerald brand medium reeds from my local music store. sometimes after playing on a reed for a couple of weeks i will notice that the opening the ttip of the reed becomes thin and i can no longer play low notes like c to bflat. i was wondering if maybe i was pressing to hard with my mouth or if i was just buying crapy reeds or if all oboist went through this problem
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Author: ...
Date: 2005-06-08 21:58
i play bassoon. i used to have this problem too. i think you might be pressing too hard. unless the reed is absolute CRAP, it shouldn't be thinning
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Author: Theboy_2
Date: 2005-06-08 22:53
having played bassoon for a while, and clarinet and sax much longer, the reeds do thin. reeds are made of wood, vibrate very quickly, and subject to being in liquid. any wood will begin thinning. this happens to oboists, bassoonists, and every other reed player. when reeds come to this, and you notice your tone is not sounding great, and the reed seems to be looking see-through at the tip, get a new reed. one tip i was given when i started bassoon, was to blow in the reed down by the twine, have a firm embouchure, and blow. if the reed is dying, it wont make much of a noise, but if its still good, it will make a more pleasant noise. a reed has a half-life of about 3 weeks. this is also subject to change depending on how much you practise and play on the reed, it could be much longer or shorter. hope this helps.
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Author: Musical Lottie
Date: 2005-06-09 20:57
If you very carefully press gently but firmly on the sides of the reed near the twine, it should start to open up. Do they have wire on them?
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Author: hautbois
Date: 2005-06-11 05:01
you mean the opening right?
firstly, a bad embouchure might cause you to press the reed and therefore cause the opening to close up, american scrapes which most times does not use the wiring (and store boughts! erks!) have the tendency to close up relatively easy if you dont handle them well. Relax man!
But of all things, be sure you are not relying on the BIG opening to play your low notes! thats a no no! Plus, anything above middle g or a will sound awful with a big opening. Ask someone who is proficient to be sure if there is something wrong with the opening, usually it is not too big, and talk about a few weeks! any reed after daily playing would end up dead by then, plus you are still a new player. Be patient and keep up the hard work yeah!
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