Balancing an oboe reed can be difficult, especially if you are not that experienced at it. There are some things that can help however. The first step in balancing a reed is to make sure the crow is up to a “C”. If it isn’t, clip the reed. I prefer using single edged razor blades [...]

Well, you might think that all there is to crowing an oboe reed is to put it in your mouth and blow hard. In essence that is correct, but did you know that 99% of the information you need to make a good reed is in the crow? That being said, I can hear you [...]

  They say that you can’t really tell much about a reed by the way it looks. I think that is true, however looks do play a small part in how the reed functions. The most important thing when looking at a reed is symmetry. Both blades must look the same. If your reed is [...]

Well, first off, sorry for the play on words here, but what the heck. Here are some reed tips, or “Tips to help you make better oboe reeds.” This is the section of the site which will be updated every week. Remember that by subscribing to the Making Oboe Reeds Newsletter, you will have access [...]

For the Parents One day after playing clarinet 2 years in school, I came home and told my parents that I wanted to play the oboe. Their first reaction was, “The who?” “The oboe Mom.” “That’s nice.” She answered, and then said, “What’s that. That big curly thing?” Unfortunately, this is how most parents are [...]