Reed Knife Sharpening, A Guide For Reed Makers

I am very grateful to be able to share this incredibly helpful sharpening guide with website visitors. Thank you to Daryl Caswell for writing this amazing little reed knife sharpening guide, the oboe community really appreciates you for sharing your great knowledge of sharpening with us. I am especially fortunate to have been given permission…

Review of the Fox-Laubin oboe

Two Great American Oboe Makers Into One; A Review Of The New Fox-Laubin Professional Oboe I recently had the opportunity to try a couple of the new Fox-Laubin oboes. I have been wondering about these instruments since I saw the release on the Fox website months ago. Being a long-time fan of everything Laubin since…

An Introduction To Breath Support For Oboists.

What is breath support/Air support? Recently, I had a brief interaction with a young oboist on the IDRS Facebook page about feeling discomfort while playing the oboe. The conversation went into the topic of breath support and how to breathe properly into the oboe. I spend a lot of time thinking about this topic since…

Avoid the double reed making rut

Avoid The Reed Making Rut. We oboists and double reed players in general, must deal with temperamental reeds which are made from organic material. What is working great one month may not work at all the next. Reed making can be going very smoothly and suddenly nothing we make is working. Reeds are leaking, or not…

The Internal dimension of double reeds.

The Inside story of the double reed. Understanding how the internal dimensions of a double reed affects its playing qualities. An oboist recently wrote to me with some questions about shaper tip dimensions and what qualities different shapes affect. I watched my mind start chattering away about how the shaper tip affects different qualities of…

oboe reed intonation introduction.

Evaluating intonation in oboe reeds. The ability for a musician to play in tune with other instrumentalists is an important ability no matter what level they are at. While many instruments can be adjusted to play better in tune by changing either the length of the instrument, or  string tension,  the oboe must be tuned…

Legere oboe reed update

Legere oboe reed review update I have played around with the Legere oboe reed I purchased a couple of weeks ago. I have also heard from some colleagues around the world about their experiences with the synthetic oboe reeds. Please see my post “Legere oboe reed review” if you are new to the topic, or how I…

oboe reed response introduction

Oboe Reed Response; a great reed starts with great response… Have you ever had one of those days where your tongue is pecking away at the oboe reed, working as hard as it can, and your articulations still sound slow or sloppy? Well, your reed may have response issues. Don’t worry, by recognizing the oboe…

oboe cleaning, a step-by-step guide

Cleaning the oboe is loving the oboe. Oboes need love too. Cleaning the inside of oboe after every playing session is a “must do” task whether you are a beginner  or a professional oboist. Oboe cleaning is not difficult, but it is very important therefore it should always be done.  We oboists  blow air into the…

Legere oboe reed review

Introducing the new Legere oboe reed. No water required, just add air The oboe community has been buzzing lately about the new synthetic Legere oboe reed. I heard some lovely recordings of oboists playing on the reed a few days ago and  was impressed that someone finally made a good sounding oboe reed from synthetic…