Reed Problems:
You need to be aware of the parts of the reed.
· From top to bottom: Tip, Heart, Windows/Channels/Back (terminology varies)
· The spine is in the middle of the windows and possibly the heart. It's not bark, but is thicker and should be visible when the reed is held to the light.
· The rails are bark, very narrow, and on the outside edge or the windows and heart
· The blend is generally the transition from the heart to the tip. This starts as a strong triangle, and is blended to become a more gentle slope in finishing.
Note that the reed has one slightly shorter side (it's important when clipping to clip so this continues to be true). The shorter blade should face the player.
Test reeds by CROWING them AT THE THREAD. This gives information about the reed without influence from the embouchure.
· The crow should have both high and low overtones, and should be pitched between a sharp B and C
· Sometimes a reed fresh out of the water, especially a new reed, will not crow accurately until it's been played for a bit.
· On a new reed, the squishing technique (see table) can dramatically affect the crow. Keep that in mind before trying anything more permanent or drastic.
Reduce the chances of reed problems by using handmade reeds from a trustworthy source.
· Look for a triangle or hump shape to the bottom of the tip. Some reed makers have more definition than others, but you should be able to see a distinct shape when you hold the reed up to the light.
· The tip should be quite thin, especially the top and outsides.
· Look for rails in the heart and especially the windows/channels.
· Look for noticeable windows when the reed is held up to the light.
· The heart should NOT be the thinnest part of the back of the reed.
· Look for a spine in the windows/channels.
· The shape of the very bottom of the scrape can give you a good idea if the reed was scraped or machine made. Look for more of a rounded W shape, not straight horizontal lines.
Serious reed adjusting is best left to oboe specialists.
More detailed adjustment guides can be found in reed making manuals, including Jay Light's. This is not a guide meant for trained oboe specialists.
Be sure the reed is ALL THE WAY IN the reed well/oboe always. Any gap between the bottom of the reed and the bottom of the reed well will cause very inconsistent pitch and tone, in addition to flatness.
· Do NOT pull out oboe reeds to affect pitch. Different notes will be affected by this to VASTLY different degrees, and tuning will become far more difficult.
Have at least three decent reeds in rotation at all times.
· Rotating between them will help them last longer.
· There may be a range of tendencies within these good reeds, and students will want to:
· Be comfortable playing on a range of decent reeds so that they can still function when dealing with weather changes and new reeds
· Know which reeds may be ideal for different situations. Perhaps one reed is more likely to work well on an unusually humid day, or one is safer than others for low note response, or one is easier to play for long, physically tiring rehearsals or performances.
Damage that is likely the end of a reed:
· Cracked
· Through the heart. A small crack in the bark at the bottom of the reed is not usually a big deal (they don't usually go all the way through, and in the rare cases they do, usually can be sealed with some plumber's tape), and damage in the tip that doesn't extend to the heart is a different and less extreme problem
· Smashed
· The tip has been hit on something and is severely damaged. Mild damage may be saved by someone with reedmaking experience, but can be challenging, and is likely to result in a less good result than the original. Much damage under 68 mm from the base of the staple is not going to be salvageable.
· Bad tip damage
· A small corner chip isn't usually much of an issue
· Damaged pieces that fold INTO the opening when playing are a serious problem, but the reed may tolerate the removal of such damaged pieces if they're far enough towards the outside and not too large.
· Damage near the center of the tip is usually more of a problem than damage near the outside edges, though of course a fully intact tip is preferable.
· Damage that is too near the center to too large and extends below about 68 mm from the base of the staple may be the end of a reed.
Reeds age out, even if they aren't broken. Expect to get ideally a few new ones each month.
· When a reed's playing tells you it's aged out, but the reed isn't cracked, smashed, or otherwise damaged beyond repair, I recommend putting the reed in a 'reed retirement' pile at home, NOT throwing it out. Replace it in the 'good reed' rotation
· The 'reed retirement' pile is for reeds that are too old to be in the regular rotation, but aren't really broken.
· On a bad day (reed case lost/exploded, all reeds stepped on, forgot to order new reeds until last good reed broke, etc.) students can go back to the reed retirement pile. If they soak and try all the reeds, often a few will work okay for at least a few days, after they've had that long rest.
Problem |
Cause |
Solutions |
Student is flat and struggles with response, especially on high notes. The reed may crow a low in pitch and overly favor the lower overtones in the crow. Likely very loud.
The reed opening is quite large (average is about a millimeter). |
The reed is too open. Sometimes new reeds can be a bit too open, especially before being broken in, especially for a young student with weak air.
Oversoaking or weather changes can contribute. |
Faster air will help, and raising the back of the tongue - the reason an open reed can be so difficult is because it doesn't narrow and speed the airstream as much as a more closed reed would.
Playing the reed longer in practice can help break it in and reduce this.
If the reed is very open and not easily manageable with faster air and a bit more time, try CAREFULLY squishing it. Be CAREFUL, as doing this wrong will certainly crack the reed.
If you're comfortable with scraping and squishing hasn't proven sufficient (or the back feels too resistant when you try), scrape the back in the windows area, between the bottom of the scrape and the bottom of the heart, on each of the four sides.
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Student is flat. The reed crows below a B, and continues to do so after squishing. The crow may be rattly sounding.
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The reed is too long |
The most correct response to this is clipping, but only do so if you have experience (with a cutting block and a razor blade! No creativity with scissors etc. please)
A more conservative and safer option may be increasing the overlap.
Clipping:
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The reed leaks
You can feel air when you play. The reed may be flat and/or have inconsistent response. |
Test by blowing through it by blowing through it while blocking air from going through the bottom with your finger. Air should not make it through. You should also be able to suck it and get it to make a popping sound. Do be sure the reed is soaked first. |
If the leak is in the bottom third or so of the reed, you can seal it by wrapping a thin layer of plumber's tape around the reed.
If the leak is in the top half, plumber's tape will not work. Sides that are splitting apart due to a sudden weather change might be improved by a one-time extra long soaking, but gaps in the top half of the reed (especially near the heart) due to scraping or shaping errors or sides that aren't sealing because of badly warped cane can't be fixed.
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The reed goes from playing quite well to making no sound very suddenly, usually after tonguing |
Look in the opening. This is often caused by a small piece of the tip that's been bumped on something (teeth, shirt, etc.) folding INSIDE the opening, stopping the vibrations. |
This is often a sign that a reed is on its way out of playing rotation, though it may not be completely dead yet. If the piece is small, reliability may be improved by scraping it fully off so that it can't fold inside, if you trust your reed knife skills and have a sharp reed knife and plaque.
An occasionally effective approach that doesn't require knife skills is to pinch the reed at the bottom of the tip and pull the hands up, in an attempt to get the rogue piece of cane out of the inside of the opening.
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The reed struggles with low note response and louder dynamics, may sound thin
The crow, at the thread, is sharp, especially if it's above C#
The crow, at the thread, has no low octave, only the high one |
The reed is getting old and likely closing down. |
The ideal solution, IF AND ONLY IF you definitely trust your reed knife skills (this is a hard one if you're not experienced! You'll be going from very thin to even thinner, without losing pieces):
If the reed is old - especially if it's a month or more - it may be time to put it in your retirement pile and replace it in the good reed rotation with a newer reed.
Some things you can do without reed scraping skills that may help in the SHORT TERM:
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The reed is stuffy. Tone is usually on the dark or woody side if the student uses enough air, but the reed is clearly extremely difficult and lacks flexibility. |
Too much cane in the blend or spine. Or possibly the heart, but that's last on the list here.
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This fixes all require comfort with detailed reed scraping. Look with light behind the reed for any places where the spine is unusually wide (or thick, but wide is more likely to be your issue unless actual bark is visible). Narrow those (always scraping on one of the four sides). You may need to reduce or even almost remove the spine in the heart in general, but try some of the next option first. Scrape the blend from the heart to the tip, that triangle in the middle, so that it's a more gentle slope in the middle. Test the reed often, as it's very possible to go too far here and end up with a flatter pitch and brighter tone than wanted.
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In a finished reed it's usually the blend or spine with too much, but there's also a chance there's too much cane in the tip, especially the top of the tip. If that looks too thick with the plaque in and you have the expertise, scrape that first.
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If it's a thick tip after all, scrape the tip, especially the top and outside corners. This will require very good knife skills.
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The reed chirps when tongued |
Parts of the tip, hopefully near the top corners, are too thin, and vibrating out of control when tongued. |
Clip specifically the corners of the tip. If the crow's pitch is low enough you can afford to, you can do a very small clip across the whole tip. |
The crow makes a crazy whistly screech/squeak |
Something is very out of balance in the reed, preventing the vibrations from making it evenly through. |
Look for places in the reed out of balance or out of symmetry, and fix that. |