Balancing
a 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 for this. You get
a much cleaner cut.
Ok,
you have a reed that is crowing a "C" and with a
good opening. The first thing to understand is the three basic
things you want in a reed.
Check
to make sure the ends and corners of the tip are as thin as
you can make them. It the edge gets feathered, clip it a bit.
Try
the reed in the oboe starting the notes without the tongue.
Only use your air. If you hear that the notes don't speak
cleanly, and you have kind of a "eeeeaaawwww" attack
to the start of the note, that means that the transition between
the tip and the heart needs some work.
The
photo below shows were to check:
If
everything looks good, but the reed is still unresponsive
or very hard, take the heart down a bit. Clip the reed again
to maintain the "c" crow.
Now
you can take a bit out of the back to give some more depth
to the sound. Whenever you scrape the back of an oboe reed,
go slowly and always check the crow. If it drops, clip
it.
Remember
the key word with all of this. . . Balance.
There
are no set rules to how thick certain parts of oboe reeds
should be. Many factors affect the way the reed works. For
more information, sign up for the Making Oboe Reeds Newsletter
and receive new tips every month.
If
you would like more detailed information on this topic and
many many others, take a look at the "Making Oboe Reeds"
E-book.
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