Oboe bell should be down just above knees . Maybe you'll notice some variation, but try to pin point a normal range. A Guide to Oboe Reed Making. oboe reed making does not stop at the reed desk. Some people might see this topic differently than I do, or adjust their reeds differently, so this is just how I handle my reeds. By clipping the reed, the reed became more open. I heard from a pianist that he likes to warm up pretending like he is underwater so that when he warms up, his movement is slower and more deliberate with a lot of 'restraint' in his motion, just like how someone would move if they were underwater. Soft reeds lead to saggy pitch and short lifespan. If you've scraped too much out of one area, you can't add cane back on, but you can try rebalancing the reed and make every other part else thinner by comparison. For example, creating more separation between the tip and the heart and between the heart and windows will tend to open up the reed which might improve the response in the low register. 4:59. Check out the oboe reed measurements page to see how I make my reeds. For an oboe reed to work at it's best (vibrate at its optimum level) it needs the be correctly balanced. FREE Delivery on your first order shipped by Amazon. Some pieces of cane and some reeds will simply come out harder or softer than others. This includes helpful articles, diagrams, and more. The tip should be scraped thin enough to easily start the sound. I may balance the reed this way several more times before I consider the reed finished and stable. All. The two reeds are placed face-to-face and are strapped to the metal pipe with strings. I wasn't sure at first if it was too long, but comparing it to the reeds the other players in my section use, there is a noticeable difference. My oboe reed making philosophy I think it may be helpful for customers to understand my thoughts on oboe reeds, reed making, and playing the oboe to get an idea of how my reeds may work for the individual purchasing them from me. The heart and windows of the reed need to be just thin enough, which is why I sometimes use a dial indicator to quickly measure those areas—this just ensures that my reeds are within a normal range. If you are making your own reeds, then also have some blanks and partially finished reeds that you can try to finish in a pinch. If your reed isn’t working, don’t feel as though you’ve somehow gotten worse at playing the oboe overnight. We often see Hard, Soft, or Medium reeds advertised, or we will say that our own reeds are too hard or too easy. […] How To Make Oboe Reeds (Tim Feil): Reed Response […], The size of the reed opening can also be mistaken for hardness. You could always chip it against your tooth by accident, or maybe it will crack, or maybe it will just change because of the weather. An oboe reed is made from shaving down an actual cane reed. I tend to play on light reeds, but I look for 'restraint'  or 'cushion' in the response. It takes longer to finish the reed, but your results are worth it. The reed may also become less responsive. 27. The reed … 2:00. Reeds can be really open when they are brand new. Share This Course: Affiliation & Supplies. Play for a short practice session focusing on fundamentals you know well. The reed, in turn, is the voice box of the oboe—and the tiniest tweak in a double reed changes an oboe’s sound significantly. Full HD Download available @ http://www.playwithapro.com Watch François Leleux make an oboe reed from scratch. In this video Tess and Suzanne show you how to wrap the oboe reed. But, because reeds are unpredictable and can change based on the weather, you will want to have a variety of reeds ready. Table of Contents for All Reed Making Posts | How To Make Oboe Reeds, Favorite blog posts, December 2020 | Bret Pimentel, woodwinds. Think about your reeds in the same way where you wouldn't want to lightly play and have the dynamic come out as a fortissimo. Only use your air. In this post, I want to go through how I think about response and easiness levels in my reeds. I had an oboe reed handmade for me and the reed itself is very good and responsive, but the cork of the reed is too long, essentially making everything I play sound flat, even when pushed in all the way. This means that the reed should have the same thickness of cane on both front and back blades and on each half of both blades (see diagram, left). It happens! You won’t have as much tension in your wrists, shoulders, arms, or back. The easiest way to scrape is to place the reed on a mandrel for easy handling. Generally clip as little as possible. Will these resolutions last until the end of the year? And of course, if you have any thoughts, feel free to comment or send a message! or at least until February? Learn More about the M Style Reed. To test the response, you can try playing the low, middle, and high Cs and C#s to make sure each note responds similarly. More than one way to make an oboe reed - Duration: 4:59. Details and insight. I basically use that template for most of my reeds, and then some reeds end up being a little harder or softer, or darker or brighter in sound, or have a bigger or smaller opening. On my reeds, I basically scrape what some people call a 'super tip'. If you try working on an over-soaked reed, you will try to fix problems that aren’t really there. Ideally, this should work as you go down to an F#, E, D, C, low B, and low Bb. Push the reed all the way into the oboe, until the reed will not go any farther. The very top of the tip is scraped as thin as possible, and then I balance the rest of the tip from there so that it gradually gets thicker towards the bottom and the center. Sometimes people refer to reeds as being too easy or too light. Ok, yes, you need to have a few very good reeds for a concert or audition. Playing oboe is strenuous for sure, and oboe reed making for personal use is not for the faint of heart. That will waste time and make your reeds worse the next day. Lessons. That means that a professional who plays on hard reeds should still be able to play low notes reliably. There are some halls and rehearsal rooms that I have played in that required a heavier reed. My favourite staples all have thin metal, but the also have different conical properties, so I was never able to compare different walls alone. £6.59 £ 6. Scrape the reed several times on each side from one corner to the other. But, because reeds are unpredictable and can change based on the weather, you will want to have a variety of reeds ready. Just try to sound your best with what you got and try to find ways to improve. Language. It was once said that "it takes a barrel of failed reeds to get good at it". But, it can be a good thing to have a few reeds that are a little bit different! Tone (does it make a nice sound) 5. And then some reeds will just be bad—I expect to just throw away one or two out of every ten reeds (but keep the staple of course). Scrape the tip in an upward motion (toward the folded tip). Clipping the tip brings the pitch up, but makes the reed less responsive. The oboe has an extremely narrow conical bore. If your knife isn’t as sharp as possible, take the time to sharpen it before scraping your reeds. Bring the reed to your mouth - not your mouthto the reed . When clipping with either a knife or razor blade, hold the reed in one hand, and the knife in the other. Yes, I've made good reeds with my Mack+ shaper tip at 70.5 or 68.5 mm, but it's rare. Check out this post with my reed making measurements here. I will try to keep some reeds that feel too heavy, or have too big of an opening, or are too 'zingy' in their sound because I don't always know what I'll need each day or in every concert venue. Members can check out these posts on fixing a reed that is too open and too closed. It is important to use as many adjectives as we can to describe our reeds (and our playing too) to help zero in on the precise problem. Pieces by Stravinsky might call for a more aggressive attack. Work the reed in this manner until you feel your reed is scraped to your needs. If a reed needs to be broken-in, I like to play the opening page of Don Juan by Richard Strauss because the high notes with all the fast articulations can help break it in quicker. Ok, yes, you need to have a few very good reeds for a concert or audition. for the reeds I make for myself I continue to thin the very tip of the reed and the sides of the tip. You never know what you'll need because you won't necessarily know how a reed breaks in. This will put you in a cycle where you feel like your reeds are not responding well enough, so then you will scrape extra cane off…which makes the reed go flat…then you clip the reed to bring the pitch up…which makes the reed less responsive…so then you scrape more cane off…which makes the reed go flat…etc. There are times when I make a batch of reeds that all seem to die within a few days, but then the reeds that were too hard at first are still useful. Learning to make oboe reeds is a very big endeavor to undertake and has always been extremely difficult and time consuming to learn. You can test this out by crowing the reed and making a crescendo and decrescendo. Oboe Reed Medium Soft Oboe Reeds Cork Reed Wind Instrument Parts with Transparent Tube Sleeve. Leaking (air escaping) Resistance (too hard or soft) 2. Even better, try to have a bunch of reeds at various stages of completion. The hardness or heaviness of a reed is very often mistaken for response. Also included is my guide to scraping oboe reeds that is available for download. Hold the top joint securely while you insert the reed, being careful not to grip the keys. I also try to carry with me a bunch of reeds in various stages of being finished, meaning I try to carry some blanks, some half-finished, some newly finished, and one or two old reeds. There are some halls and rehearsal rooms that I have played in that required a heavier reed. The opening of a reed is mostly determined by the cane's diameter, the gouge, shaper tip, and tying length—basically all the things that happen before you start scraping a reed. I try not to let myself mess up any more than three reeds at a time. While you are crowing, you should also try to feel if the reed is vibrating into the heart and windows. Creating a perfect reed, then, is an almost alchemical process, more aligned with wand-making than blacksmithing. 59 £8.13 £8.13. That might depend on the composer, the hall, or our colleagues with the exact type of action or attack we are looking for on each note. Pieces by Bach require more restraint in your sound, but you would still want the reed to respond easily and not be too tiring to play on. This kind of response is mostly from how the tip is scraped and how the reed is balanced. See more ideas about Oboe, Oboe reeds, Oboe reed. While there are some tricks you can do to make the reed more open or closed (like simply squeezing it open or shut), you might want to keep a few reeds that are too open or closed just in case they change! Sometimes, fixing the opening of a reed can make the response closer to your preferences. Some reeds will only ever be OK, so use those to practice on. Try adjusting the opening of the reed to make it easier (or harder) to play and to change the pitch of the peep crow. For an oboe reed to work at it's best (vibrate at its optimum level) it needs the be correctly balanced; the reed should have the same thickness of cane on both front and back blades and on each half of both blades (see diagram, left).. Black PU Leather Oboe Reeds Case Box for 3pcs Reeds Hold 9x4.5x2cm. Duration. After clipping your reed you might need to re-finish the tip and make it thinner. Place your reed into the top of the oboe, holding the base of the top joint. Your reeds will also over-soak if you are working on them too long. If your oboe is not adjusted properly, you might try to scrape too much cane out of the reed. An oboe reed should have a ‘C’ peep crow, and a bassoon reed should have an ‘E’ peep crow — use your tuner. May 19, 2020 - Pins involving all things oboe reed making found on the internet. For me, I make my reeds to be as responsive as possible while still maintaining some restraint to the tone. You can also try crowing the reed to see how little air it needs to start vibrating. (Scales, long tones) Let the reed dry outside of the case for about 15-20min. Also, the heart and windows should be balanced so that they are not so thick that the reed doesn't vibrate, and of course, not too thin that the reed is flat and too 'loose' in how it responds. 6% coupon applied at checkout Save 6% with voucher (limited sizes/colours) Get it Sunday, Dec 6. Just move one finger at a time and make sure each note slurs and responds just as easily as going between a B and an A. Time will tell. Make your reed quickly and efficiently. In other words, before you decide to clip the tip, make sure that the reed is overly responsive. Reeds are listed here in order of most free-blowing to most resistant: M – Very free-blowing, long tip, larger aperture in general, responds well to a firm embouchure. Keep the reed in the case for storage; Soak the reed again and play for longer practice sessions or rehearsals. There are many different ideas out there as far as how an oboist should make reeds. Try not to scrape on a reed for more than 20 minutes at a time. This is just the visualization I like to use for the terms 'restraint' and 'cushion'. It the edge gets feathered, clip it a bit. Make better reeds. It's easy to say quality is more important than quantity, but be careful with that saying because you also need a large quantity of reeds just in case something changes. With my reeds, I get this kind of response mostly from how the tip is scraped and how the reed is balanced. I continue to thin directly behind the heart and balance to that adjustment by clipping the tip and again thinning the sides of the tip. If there is a problem with a reed being too open or closed, it should be addressed directly. The size of the reed opening can also be mistaken for hardness. 5.0 out of 5 stars 1. Try just playing your reed (a crow and/or a peep) and try starting the sound with as little air as possible and see what happens when you slowly increase your air. There are claims that thin metal helps make the reed more responsive. Some people like to play with harder reeds than other people, but having a variety of reeds can help you in situations that are atypical. You are investing more in a handmade reed for a reed maker to be able to control these variables so you get better results. to see how I make my reeds. PierreRoyOboe 14,183 views. For me, response means that if I try to play a low C, middle C, and high C, all notes in all registers should play on command. Often reed makers have the thumb of the hand holding the reed resting on the knife to have more control right where the knife is scraping. There are many benefits to a sharp reed knife including…. This course goes step by step teaching you how to make reeds. I want you to have a reed that is responsive, but still gives you something to blow against. Using the information above, you can adjust the reed to fit you. There are times when I make a batch of reeds that all seem to die within a few days, but then the reeds that were too hard at first are still useful. In this video we go step-by-step through the process of making an American-Scrape Oboe Reed. If I make three bad reeds in a row, it’s probably time for a break (or most likely it’s time to sharpen my knife). Flexibility (sound and dynamics) 3. An easy test is to play the middle B (with just your first finger), then slur down to an A, then G, and see if each note responds just as easily as the previous note. Moving between a B and an A should feel the same as moving from an A to a G, and from G to F#, and F# to E, and so on. 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