1. A burning desire... we are talking a fierce WANT to do this
2. The necessary tools and equipment
Last night I was running a sectional at one of the high schools in Henderson that I have been to quite a few times, with some of high school oboe girls (Hi R and T!) and we talked a little about the beginnings of reedmaking which got me thinking about this blog.
Before you jump into reed MAKING, I think it is a pretty good idea to get some tips and basic techniques of reed ADJUSTING under your belt. Reedmaking includes many aspects of how a reed is assembled and how to create something that works, so if I can teach students to first understand what we want out of a reed and how to get there... it helps.
You need way fewer tools to do reed adjustments, and several of them you probably already have!
1. A knife- probably the most expensive and "out there" piece of equipment you will have to seek out
2. A plaque- it is a little sliver of metal to act as a stabilizer and allows us to see through the reed to work on each individual side, like reeds you can never have too many! Try to pick up a few of these little things!
3. A tuner- we want the reed to eventually crow a "C" (fingers crossed!) and the tuner will help keep us in check
4. A mandrel- it isn't totally necessary now, but once you begin to tie your own reeds it is a must. The reed fits on the end and it gives us a sort of handle to hold onto to stabilize ourselves while working.
5. Razor blades- can be found in the paint section of your local hardware store too! For clipping the tip of the reed
6. Super fine grit sand paper for lightly sanding the sides of the reed as well as the tip. This comes in handy for sticky pads too!
7. A cutting block- the better to NOT ruin your Mom's furniture with!
Caitlin's Simple Oboe Reed Adjustments
If your reed is unresponsive...
Scrape a tiny bit off of the tip, this is where the response comes from- thinning the tip slightly will immediately boost the reed's response.
Be careful, every time we take cane off of the reed this lowers the pitch. Have your trusty cutting block and razor blade ready to clip a tiny TINY bit off of the tip. We are talking like a hair at a time!
If your reed is resistant and a little stuffy...
The heart of your reed might be a little bit too thick. Scrape a couple of long, smooth scrapes over each section of the heart. Be careful to avoid the spine in the middle! You should treat them as quadrants, 4 all together and two on each side of the reed.
If your reed is flat...
Try clipping the tip. Beware, this will also decrease the reed's response.
If your reed is sharp...
Try scraping a tiny bit off of the windows. Also the tip if the reed is a little unresponsive as well. If your reed is very sharp, it could also be due to a tiny opening.
Check out this diagram for help along the way!
The image at the bottom just has a little broken link icon. :(
ReplyDeleteI'm so with you, Caitlin. I never push reed making either. I know one teacher nearby who has student begin even when they've played for less than a year ... and some are very young, too. I'm just not into that.
ReplyDeleteBut then I absolutely despise making reeds!
haha thanks, Patty! The girls I was working with said that they had heard both sides, people telling them to avoid reedmaking all together, others telling them that they should learn asap. Very interesting! :)
ReplyDelete(I hate making reeds too, the only way that I can really convince myself to do it is out of sheer necessity and with pretty threads and pina colada scented surf wax)
I agree with both points! they really have to want to make their own...
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of teaching how to adjust them first! I've been playing a long time and still go looking for advice on what to do if my reed is... that's how i found your post :-)
I don't actually teach, but have a HS student playing alongside me at church and community band who REALLY wants to start making his own reeds. I started him off by learning to tie on using soda straws cut to shape and length so he can get the balancing act of holding-measuring-wrapping-tying... it was just an idea to keep him from wasting the 10 pieces of cane he got as a starter, but worked out beautifully!
i also told him to keep all his old/worn out reeds with the intent to practice scraping - just to get used to the knife, how sharp it should be, etc. so far so good.... any other suggestions?
thanks!
PJ