These online oboe reed lessons and masterclasses will help you learn to improve your reed making. You will also learn how to adjust your oboe reeds.
We musicians discuss technique a lot in private lessons. Whether it is keeping your fingers close to the keys, or fine-tuning your embouchure, classical musicians constantly think about their technique. But what about when we are making reeds? The one reed-making technique mistake that I often see is too much tension in a reed maker’s (more…)
The tables of contents will help you navigate all the reed making lesson on How To Make Oboe Reeds.
Oboe Reed Stories —Transcribed from an interview on October 10, 2019 Libby Van Cleve: The first story I want to share goes all the way back to my days studying with Allan Vogel at Cal Arts way back in the ’80s. It was during the oboe seminar, and we all sat in a circle, and you’d (more…)
First off, is this gouging machine pronounced ‘Innoledy’ or ‘Innoledy’? I was told it was pronounced ‘Innoledy’. Hope that helps! This post and video will give you instructions on gouging cane with an Innoledy gouging machine. There are many different parts, and I’ve seen people assemble it differently. Just reading the directions can be daunting (more…)
In this video I make a reed in 5 minutes. Now, should you make all your reeds in 5 minutes too? No, but learning to make a quick reed can be a helpful skill. This video is merely just a demonstration of scraping an oboe reed. If you are looking for more reed making instructions, (more…)
Here are 5 reed making resolutions for 2021. Will these resolutions last until the end of the year? or at least until February? Time will tell. 5. Always keep your reed knife as sharp as possible! If your knife isn’t as sharp as possible, take the time to sharpen it before scraping your reeds. There (more…)
Warning: this post got away from me and I wrote more than I intended, so if you just want to download the PDF with the oboe reed measurements and my reed scraping guide, just scroll to the bottom. OK, some reed makers like to use some measurements as guidelines, and others really, really don’t. First, (more…)
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 (more…)
This oboe reed making lesson will show you up close how to scrape an oboe reed. You will see how to scrape the different sections of an oboe reed and how to adjust an oboe reed.
In terms of reed response, we often see Hard, Soft, or Medium reeds advertised, or we will say that our own reeds are too hard or too easy. In this post, I want to go through how I think about response and easiness levels in my reeds. Some people might see this topic differently than (more…)
In this video, I go through the finishing touches on a reed and explain where to scrape and why. This video is the second 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 (more…)
In this video, I go through the finishing touches on a reed and explain where to scrape and why. This video is the second 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 (more…)
Finishing five oboe reeds These videos turned into a five part series where I took out five roughly-scraped reeds from my case and demonstrated how to finish scraping each oboe reed. You can see my Day 1 scraping process here, and premium members can see a more detailed version of that here, but these five videos each (more…)
This is the fourth reed in a group of five where I demonstrate how to put the finishing touches on a reed to make it usable. This reed was different than the previous three in that there is a critical error with it! As you’ll see, the windows were scraped too high on the reed (more…)
This is the last reed in the group about scraping an oboe reed! It was probably the easiest one to finish. This reed had dried out a little bit because it was sitting out while I finished the other four, and that affected the crow and response when I was testing it, but overall it (more…)
Below you will see my measurements for an English horn reed. These measurements are approximate and might be longer or shorter by about a millimeter or so, but I think these measurements are a good starting point. Usually, I tie my reeds at about 59mm in total length, then scrape enough cane off to make (more…)
An oboe lesson about oboe reeds, gouger blades, shaper tips, scraping, and more!
A reed making interview about making reeds for playing on tour and at high altitudes and for performing chamber music.
This reed making lesson entitled, ‘The Joy of Scraping’ was written by Courtney Miller; Oboe Professor, University of Iowa.
This post is all about clipping an oboe reed. Even though clipping a reed is a relatively simple topic (and many of you already know how to), you’ll see some more details and other options in the video below. So, I hope you will read through this even if you are already a seasoned reed (more…)
If you do not have reed making tools available to you to fix reeds, check out these hints for making your oboe reeds work for you.
More information about the reed making lessons that this site has to offer and what is included in the reed making subscription!
This is a new arrangement of a piece by Faure for English horn and piano. You can download it for free, and be sure to check out the rest of the website for online reed making lessons.
Learning to make oboe reeds is a very big endeavor to undertake and has always been extremely difficult and time consuming to learn. With this oboe reed lesson, you can become a more consistent reed maker.
Oboe reeds with loose sides is one of the most important things to avoid when making oboe reeds. Learn four strategies to avoid this problem!
Sometimes you will go through periods where you are not making great oboe reeds. Check out this online oboe reed lesson to learn the major reed making missteps to improve your reed making consistency.
The reed doctor posts will teach you how to adjust your oboe reeds. It will help you diagnose common reed making problems and show you where to scrape or how to adjust your oboe reed.
A quick post on how to use an Innoledy gouging machine and a double radius gouging machine. Contact the maker of your gouging machine for more specific information.
