After some 6 months of anticipation since my having been originally notified of its intended publication, I received with excitement my copy of David Ledet's Oboe Reed Styles -- Theory and Practice (Indiana University Press). The book is indeed fascinating, resulting from over 30 years of the author's research and contact with leading oboists of the Western world: 40 from the U.S. and 41 from 13 other countries. The core of the work contains photographs of reeds acquired during that time span, usually from 1 to 3 reeds per player. They have been photographed with back-lighting as well as surface lighting, much in the manner of Peter and Elizabeth Hedrick's marvelous text on reed-making (Oboe Reed-Making: a modern method), and thusly enable one to grasp the concepts of each style as fully as possible in spite of the obvious limitation of seeing a reed rather than actually playing one. A feature of exceptional importance lies in that each photograph is exactly twice life-size (see further). The reeds are presented in alphabetical order, by country (and within each, by player), and are accompanied by biographical data on the oboist, what instrument he plays upon, and, if available, other pertinent information dealing with that player's reed-making and/or playing.
A series of tables and charts follow this photographic array, summarizing dimensions, trends, and abstracting generalities of style. These tables are of immense value, particularly in drawing one's own conclusions; however, they still and regretfully lack certain additional reed measurements. The primary table gives the thickness of the gouge in the center, the length of the scrape, the tip thicknesses per blade (left, center, and right areas), cane width, length of exposed cane (above the binding), overall reed length, plus staple measurements: length, internal diameter of its base as well as of its top end (both short and long axes of its ellipse), its material, and its thickness. The gouge, as one notices, is unfortunately not given for the sides of the reed. Indeed, a summary table ordered by gouge-dimension would be useful, rather than one done alphabetically, but the given data can always be assimilated differently. There are also a few measurements which strike me as being in a sense odd, in that the reeds of Joe Robinson and John Mack were measured at a gouge of .63mm. In the last IDRS Journal, Joe Robinson stated that he uses a gouge of just below .60, while the paragraph on John Mack in this very same book states his gouge as .58. Perhaps the reeds used as examples were rather exceptions. . . The length at which the reeds were tied is not indicated, although one can perhaps guess its original size and shape from the width of the finished reed and by measuring its throat on the photographs (here again lies the practicality of the 2x "magnification").
Other dimensions obtainable which I find useful are the distance from the string to the back of the tip, and the same to the back of the heart. One can equally measure the distance to the top of the "V" in the heart as an indication of the amount of slant or angle to the V-cut itself. The accompanying chart -- measured, I confess, more crudely than in Mr. Ledet's .01mm deviation -- nevertheless reflects a consistency which is of the utmost importance. For these (selected) oboists, the heart lies 14-15mm above the string, with the tip beginning 18-19mm. Ronald Roseman, who has spent many years measuring these areas of the reed, has derived similar measurements for successful reeds: 18/15 or 19/16, independent of the differences and subtleties of scrape-styles. . . and perhaps even independent of the shape and gouge (within reason). These two areas are better- balanced by means of their thickness and graduated areas than by changing their actual length or placement.
Other remarks about this book which should be made regard the brief but excellently detailed sections which precede the photographs. These deal with respiration, articulation, embouchure, the oboe itself, the acoustics of the room, and the effect of the listener--all having some important bearing on the tone and on the reed. The sections on breathing and embouchure are extremely technical anatomically and reinforce very precisely from the internal point of view the motions and " efforts " needed to produce and control the basic sound. (I wish that they had dealt a bit more with the external aspects resulting from these actions, to put things in a better and more direct perspective. . . ). The portions on acoustics touch base with elementary acoustical concepts and further refer us to the accompanying and rather complete footnote-bibliography -- one encompassing that a subject as well as all others dealt with in the book. Here again, Mr. Ledet has been thoughtfully thorough.
Indeed, that is the impression with which one leaves this book: it is a very complete and major work for teacher and performer alike. It is a source of much information as well as a tool with which to extract even more. It of course cannot recreate the direct contact which Mr. Ledet has had with performers and with their reeds, but it manages to impart the tangible crux of that information in some 212 pages. Perhaps a more accessible paperback version can follow one day, but for an hour and a half of concentrated study and $27.50, it contains an irreplaceable education.
binding to top of "V" binding to
Player back of tip to binding back of heart
(mm) (mm) (mm)
Bloom 20.- 20.5 16.
19.5 20.25 17.
Caldwell 18. 20.- 15.
19. 20.5 14.
Gatwood 19.- 22.- 16.5
19. 21.5 17.+
Mack 18.75 20.75 14.5
19. 21.+ 15.5
Robinson 18.75 20.- 14.5
17.75 19. 14.
Roseman 17.75 21. 15.
18. 21. 15.
Still 20.5 21.5 17.
20. 21.5 18.-
Woodhams 19. 20.5 14.5+
19.- 20.5 14.
N.B.: For the above selected players, the gouges varied from .58-.68mm, and the overall lengths of the reeds varies from 67-71 mm . . . with widths of 6.45mm to 7.15mm.
Franck Avril
Kansas City
Due to time constraints this article will concern itself with a review of two very important books of interest to oboists. Future articles will continue reviews of oboe music.
A new publication, Oboe Reed Styles -- Theory and Practice, has recently been released by the University of Indiana Press. Written by David Ledet, co-author of the very successful The Art of Oboe Playing, this book is the first comprehensive treatise on world-wide oboe reed styles ever to be published. Indiana University Press and the author are to be congratulated for undertaking a book intended for such a limited readership and yet a book which is so valuable to the entire oboe playing community.
Oboe Reed Styles is written in two parts. Part One deals with six aspects of tone production which the author considers to be of importance in their relationship to reedmaking. These are respiration, articulation, embouchure, the instrument, room acoustics, and the listener. Some fifty-four pages are devoted to these six factors during which time some well accepted as well as some newer and even controversial concepts are presented. The second part deals with the oboe reeds themselves. Detailed photographs in reflected light and in silhouette are presented of reeds from eighty oboists from fourteen different countries. Along with the photographs, arranged by country, are detailed biographical sketches of each player including some of their own comments on reed styles and techniques. Following the reed photographs is a chapter dealing with a delineation of six worldwide reedmaking styles as shown by the reeds. The final chapter provides tabular information of important measurements and observations along with a complete summary and conclusions. An excellent bibliography follows.
If there is any weakness in the book it would be that, instead of being a completely factual and objective presentation, the first part - dealing with tone production - occasionally strays a bit back to the method book format of The Art of Oboe Playing. There is certainly no question regarding the material presented. But since the rest of the book is so straight forward and objective the occasional lapse into subjective writing seems a bit out of place. It should be added that the strengths of the book far outweigh this minor weakness. The photographs and comments are very revealing as to the marvelous mix that appears to be prevalent in reeds of oboe players worldwide. Also impressive is the fact that most likely the appearance of a reed doesn't really tell the story of how well it plays. The table present some remarkable comparative information about very important areas such as center thickness of gouge, length of scrape, tip thickness, cane width, cane length, reed length, staple length, staple material and thickness, and staple measurements of all reeds studied. The tables and comments following each are perhaps the most important aspect of the presentation in the trends and tendencies observed in the photographs can often be followed up by carefully observing the detailed measurements.
David Ledet is to be congratulated for the wonderful job he has done in organizing his materials and presenting them in such a logical and convincing manner. In the opinion of this reviewer the book should provide the basis for more learning about oboe reeds and reedmaking than any other previous source. It is without a doubt the most important publication to come out since The Oboe by Philip Bate and may indeed prove to be of more practical value to oboists and teachers throughout the world. Although selling for about $25-30 it is well worth the price and should be in the library of every serious teacher of the oboe.
Books on how to play the violin, how to play the piano, and how to sing exist in quantity and quality and have done so for years. It is to the credit of many artist-teachers of the past and present that they have seen fit to take the time and effort form their busy schedules to attempt to pass along to future generations of performers their philosophies of teaching and performance. In the wind area, and especially the oboe area, we have very little in the way of book length presentations form the great teachers and performers of the past or present. When a good book comes along, from whatever instrumental point of view, it is important for oboists to be aware of it and to understand a bit of its contents. We really do learn form all performers as to new and interesting ways of treating the music and materials se work with.
Rosario Mazzeo, former clarinetist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and artist-teacher of the clarinet, has, for more than a decade, written a series of articles for the Selmer Bandwagon titled "The Clarinet Master Class." These articles have been almost entirely rewritten to fit their sequential presentation in a new book, "The Clarinet-Artistry and Technique" published by Alfred Publishing Company of Sherman Oaks, California.
Among the four teachers to whom Mazzeo gives credit at the opening of this book appears the name of Fernand Gillet, second honorary member of the IDRS and former oboist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. This point in itself would make reading the book a necessity for oboists interested in following points of thought that may have been passed from Gillet to Mazzeo. However there are certain chapters which should be of special interest to oboists. For example, Chapter Sixteen discusses scale studies and how to use them. Included is a very complete explanation and discussion of "Exercises Sur Les Gammes, Les Intervalles Et Le Staccato" of Gillet. The explanation of the method and Mazzeo's insights into the importance of its study should be very meaningful to the oboist searching for understanding on first approaching this monumental work.
True, much of the book is intended for the clarinetist. But there are many sections, such as Part One- Concepts (where basic material is presented regarding practicing, how to use the mind, developing tonal concepts, tempo, etc.), and Part Three- Controls (where tuning, legato, staccato, tonguing, staccato style, and the art of tonguing are discussed) which could be most helpful in thinking through a particular area of performance technique. The chapters dealing with scale studies are very important in pointing out to the player the relevance of practicing scales. The final two chapters, his "Dutch Uncle Lecture" (where the real world of the performer is explored for a short time), and his personal view of some very important "Extra-curricular Musicians" who have made significant contributions to the field of music, perhaps exemplify more clearly than any others Mazzeo's humanism expressed in a very meaningful way.
Rosario Mazzeo has the ability to write on the page as if he were having a personal conversation with you. It is clear, concise, informative, personal, and above all thoughtful writing. I enjoyed reading this book the first time and am sure that it will prove even more interesting each time I read it. I would recommend this book to all oboists who want to thoroughly enjoy reading about performance. It is the hope of this reviewer that more wind players, especially our fine players and teachers of the oboe, would begin to write lengthy articles and even books about their chosen life work!
James Lakin
Iowa City