I got a reed-making kit for my birthday last year, which included 16 canes. I've used all the cane, only made 2 reeds (broke all the other canes), and neither of them work. Any advice?! Maybe a helpful book? 'Reed-making for complete and utter idiots'?

Stéphie

Is your teacher helping? They might be able to give you some useful pointers. Otherwise, it's just practice, practice, practice... Try copying reeds you've bought that you like. And when you say they 'don't work', can you be more precise?! Can you get a squeak out of them?

Hi stephie...

Evelyn Rothwell did a good but lengthy book on reed making...I will look out for the ISBN number when I am next in my cupboard...

Andrew

I agree it is a good book BUT I also think that there are some things you can't work out from a book. There are many passages in the Rothwell that I spent hours scratching my head over, until my teacher showed me and then it made sense.

(Besides, the Rothwell is out of print I believe, unless you can find a copy second hand or in a library.)

I bought a copy from Howarths a couple of years ago. The first two volumes (about oboe playing) are out of print but I'm fairly sure the reed-making one is still available.

I posted this recently in the thread Oboe Reeds how are yours scraped? so I have it to hand :
The Oboist's Companion by Evelyn Rothwell ( There are 3 volumes ). Volume 3 is deals completely with making and dealing with reeds. Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 322337 6 ( 1977)
http://forums.abrsm.org/index.php?showtopic=33793

Still wondering if anyone has seen
Oboe Reed Styles by David ledet ?




Perhaps it's worth ( time and money) ordering blanks and making adjustments first ?

I don't think so. Buying a blank is much more expensive than buying some staples and cane. You can buy cheap cane to practise on - which I think is a good idea, at least until you have some idea of how to use the knife (either that or use some old reeds). Binding the cane on is not difficult, although it is easier for someone to show you than to follow directions out of a book.

It is also not to hard to scrape them to a playable state it is the final touches that I find hard. First of all you have to identify what you are not satisified with (actually this is fairly easy) and then decide what you need to do to improve it (I can usually do this too). The problem is that invariably when you scrape to improve one thing it also has an effect on something else so once you have solved the initial problem you find yourself with a second, and then a third and so on. For example, the high notes don't speak as well as you would like so you cut a slither of the tip and this then makes the whole reed too hard (or too sharp if you cut too much off). At this stage, I am always worried that I will end up making the reed worse instead of better.

This is not quite the same as adjusting a finished (and already played) reed which has hardened (because of changes in the weather or whatever). When adjusting a played reed you at least know that the proportions are already correct.

Not even a squeak I think I've lost hope! My teacher isn't actually an oboist so she doesn't make reeds, but my old teacher does - he used to make mine for me. Maybe I should contact him and get a crash course on how to make reeds?

A few lessons from your old teacher sounds like the best idea. (Why did you change from a specialist to a non-specialist?)

If you can't even get a squeak then it probably means you haven't scraped enough and/or haven't scraped the tip thin enough.

For goodness' sake go to a specialist oboe teacher! I seem to remember from another thread that you are doing your A-level soon - so you are really at the level where you need a specialist, even disregarding the reed question.

Does any air actually pass through?