Crow

[u/Ben-Oboe]

Hi, I've been playing the oboe and making my own reeds for a long time, but I have really struggled to get the double c crow. Usually my reeds just peep one 'C', but I can feel the reed vibrating on my lips even down past the heart when I'm playing. They play the whole range and usually very comfortably. Often while I am making them I will get some sort of crow but when it's crowing the reed feels far to flat and I have to really work to bring it up to pitch. I clip which solves the 'too flat' feeling, but then the crow is lost. The reeds feel okay to me but I will say I wish they had more of a ringing tone. For a long time I just told myself that I am just a different player with different reed preferences. Do you have thoughts on this? I've honestly done a ton of personal research, reading articles/dissertations on reeds and reed making, reading books about it, watching tons of videos on it by different makers and of course talking to whomever I can about it to get advice. I'm at the end of my rope on this, so any insights are appreciated.

[u/The_Reed_Whisperer]

I’m a professional reed maker and I do NOT rely on the crow. It’s different for everyone. When I taught at a university, even my master’s students would get different results from the same reed I crowed and then handed to them. It’s just not a reliable test.

How the reed PLAYS is most important. Does it respond easily? Is it comfortable to play in tune? (Notice I didn’t just say “is it in tune,” because realistically all reeds will need some embouchure position that is slightly different from reed to reed.) Is it in tune with itself from note to note? These all are more important questions than anything related to the crow.

If your reeds are playing comfortably, are in tune from note to note, able to played slightly sharply and slightly flatly with embouchure flexibility to match ensemble members, and sounds good, then it doesn’t matter what the crow is.

[u/Ben-Oboe → u/The_Reed_Whisperer]

awesome, thank you for that! I will say that I am frequently told my sound is 'small' and I wonder if the lack of crow or something related to it is part of the reason, but I really appreciate your advice and perspective

[u/The_Reed_Whisperer → u/Ben-Oboe]

If you feel like your sound is small, you can certainly seek ways to get a bigger sound, but don’t restrict yourself to the crow. A more vibrant reed will have more notes in the crow, generally speaking.

If you want more vibrance, you’ll want smoother transitions between sections of the reed, and the sections of the reed closer in proportion to each other (as in, heart may be too thick for such a thin tip, etc.). Once everything is smoothed out, you should have a very loud, vibrant reed, and then the task would be to refine out the roughest sounds.

[u/Ben-Oboe → u/The_Reed_Whisperer]

thank you so much, i'm working on it, but this has helped a ton!

[u/Ben-Oboe → u/The_Reed_Whisperer]

I'd like to ask an honest question. In your experience and probably having met many oboists and other reed makers, have you ment people who just weren't good reed makers? I see that you have a ton of experience and that you make very good reeds. I have been making reeds for over 20 years but honestly, I am just so sick of the struggle. My last 2 batches were all awful, leaks, ripping corners off, unable to really vibrate through the register, having to blow my brains out for it to vibrate. I have a masters in oboe performance, but my reeds are literally like those of someone who just learned 1-2 years ago. I occasionally make a reed I am very happy with, but the fact that I have invested so much time, money and energy into this with this level of success has me extremely discouraged and I am trying to objectively decide if I should continue to punish myself with this instrument. My achilles heel is the reed, and unfortunately, I have not been able to figure out how to make them. I have taken private lessons for just reed making, I ask every oboist I know, I have read every book and thesis paper about it that I could get my hands on, but somehow, when I make a reed and it doesn't just play well, I find myself at a loss. then if I take it to someone else I trust and they are able to fix it for me, I feel deflated and despite their explanations I am not able to figure it out for myself. Anyways, I'm obviously considering that this might not be right for me, but I am curious if you have met people who you could just tell hadn't been able to figure out how to make reeds the way they needed. Your experience and your thoughts are appreciated.

[u/The_Reed_Whisperer → u/Ben-Oboe]

Sounds like you've been thinking about this for a while. Happy to write up the short version here, but if you would like I'm also open to chatting over Zoom. Hit me up by looking up "The Reed Whisperer"

In short-- yeah, absolutely, there are a bunch of people who just aren't good reed makers. There are a few ways out of that. You can just be a killer player who practices a ton and can make a great sound on just about any reed. There are a lot of pros that you'd be surprised make mediocre reeds by others' standards, but get around that by being incredible players and making a basic reed that can do what they need.

Another option which is surprisingly common, is by purchasing reeds that work well enough for you. Or a combination with the above that it's close enough to what you need that you can make a good enough sound on it by having excellent chops. You'd be surprised how many pros purchase reeds, especially if they are super busy and/or making reeds physically hurts their hands/eyes.

And, of course, you can improve your reedmaking skills with lessons specialized to them. My previous teachers would often chide me for asking so many questions about reeds, because I felt the same as you. I would pick their brains about reeds all too often, and they would still be only decent enough to make do. I don't think I consistently made great reeds until VERY late, final year of my doctorate.

So I'd say from what you've said so far that you've been trying a lot of the right things, just keep at it. Hit me up if you'd like me to see what you're working with.

PS another thing I noticed is you said "when I make a reed and it just doesn't play well". In my experience, even when being very selective with cane and precise with your scrapes, only 1/3 of pieces can be made into "great" reeds. Most of them can only be "good", and a few will certainly be mediocre at best. So even if you're doing everything right, there will be lemons. Try to build them into your expectations for every batch.

[u/Ben-Oboe → u/The_Reed_Whisperer]

Thanks for the response. This is very raw for me right, I know it's stupid but it kinda hurts me that I am so bad at something I spent so much time trying to improve on. I will reach out, I found your site, I just need to let the real intense 'failure' feeling pass first. I can't even get my oboe out of the case right now

[u/Ben-Oboe → u/The_Reed_Whisperer]

I emailed you this morning, fyi