Video | How to finish scraping an oboe reed (1/5)

In this video, I go through the finishing touches on a reed and explain where to scrape and why. This video will be part of a series where I demonstrate various reed adjustments and how to perfect your reeds. Each video will be a little different from the rest because each reed will require different diagnoses, so stay tuned for the other videos. In this video, I show a process for scraping the tip that will help lead to a more refined tip, which helps with tone quality and control. If you want to download a PDF of my reed measurements, check out this post here.

The best advice is probably at the end: smoothing out the top of the tip is very important to a smooth tone quality. Our ears pick up very quickly on the response and attack of each note we play, and the initial attack is our very first impression of tone quality. Improving your note attacks will instantly improve your tone quality, and your reeds should help you with that!

I tried to get a camera angle as close as I could so that you can see the process more clearly. Usually, I finish reeds much quicker (and I do think speed is important in reed making), so keep that in mind with your own reed making. This video is a follow up to this one: Reed Making Video

If you are looking for more reed making instructions, check out the oboe reed measurement post where you can download a reed making PDF that has scraping instructions and oboe reed measurements.