Being in its essence a very personal art, reedmaking is not a subject that lends itself naturally to the printed page. In the end, every player of double-reed instruments who has ever lived has of necessity had to mold his reed-making technique to the individual demands of his instrument, his physique, and his musical concepts. The making of reeds is much easier to show than to write about. And historically, while the flute and recorder attracted a mass of dilettants and amateurs, a ready market for publishers of do-it-yourself instruction books, oboists and bassoonists tended to rely from the beginning on lessons from professional players. Consequently, information on reeds in the earliest double-reed tutors is meager and unspecific. Added to this was a tradition of secrecy surrounding reed-making techniques which survives among some players even to this day. Reeds were made either by professional players or instrument makers, and the process was therefore regarded as a trade secret, to be protected like the thousands of others in that preEnlightenment atmosphere. Denis Diderot's unheard-of attempts in the mid-18th-century to gather technical information directly from craftsmen was evidently a most frustrating experience. His conclusion was that:
Craftsmen... live isolated, obscure, unknown lives; everything they do is done to serve their own interests; they almost never do anything just for the sake of glory. There have been inventions that have stayed for whole centuries in the closely guarded custody of single families... There are trades where the craftsmen are so secretive that the shortest way of gaining the necessary information would be to bind oneself out to some master as an apprentice..[1]
Figure 5: Diderot, D. Plate of musical instruments from the Encyclopédie, 1756. Bassoon reed.
Figure 6: Diderot, D. Plate of musical instruments from the Encyclopédie, 1756. Musette reed.
No wonder, then, that so little material of real substance on the subject of reeds and reedmaking appeared before about 1780, or that the bulk of usable information begins about 1800, long after the baroque oboe and bassoon, and even the classical ones had ceased to be used.
As the following survey will indicate, however, the basic principals of reed-making have not changed since the instruments were first invented in the second half of the 17th-century. Details like dimensions differed, of course, and various instrument designs have made different demands on reeds than are asked by their modern counterparts (for instance, the absence of an octave key). But these are differences of degree rather than kind; a reed may need to be softer or harder, wider or narrower, longer or shorter, but it is still a reed, made of the same materials as reeds are today: cane, brass and thread.
The statement by Diderot above should serve as a caution to beware of the many well-meaning non-players who felt obliged, for the sake of completeness, to add a few lines about reeds. Many of the later writers, on the other hand, were well- known players and experts on the subject of reeds, such as Almenräder, Braun, Garnier, Brod, Ozi, Parke, Sellner, Vanderhagen, Veny, and Vogt, and they were addressing their advice to students and serious players. Not only is much of this material intrinsically interesting and applicable to modern instruments, but some of it has never been dealt with again by later 19th-century writers.
The primary influence which the reed exerts on oboe and bassoon playing hardly needs stressing. As the oboist Leon Goossens has written
The reed of the oboe is what the larynx is to the human voice. [2]
David Ledet explains why this is so:
An oboist's style of playing is dictated in large part by his choice of reed. Articulation, breathing, flexibility, and intonation are affected by the particular reed... The oboist's aural conception of sound - his ideal tone quality - is successfully achieved to a great degree by his choice of reed. [3]
Early writers shared this attitude, indicating that, despite the sometimes casual descriptions of how reeds were made, the art of making them was considered no less important then than it is now.
Braun (1823), p. 165: A good reed has such an influence on the beauty of the tone and the assurance of the musical execution, that I would less rather be without one than with a good instrument.
LaBorde (1780), p. 331: The reed of the bassoon contributes at least as much as the quality of the wood from which the instrument is made, in producing the tone as one would wish it . . .
Bainbridge (1823), p. 14: But the best Oboe in the world will avail nothing unless the Reed be good. There are numbers of bad ones made by those that do not understand their principals . . .
Majer (1732), p. 34: Especially with bassoons and oboes, one should arrange to have a good reed, and the best maitres take care to make them themselves, to their own embouchures, as a good reed is half the playing.
Vanderhagen (c.1790), p. 5: This part [the reed] is very delicate, but however is the principal variable of the instrument; as everything depends on a good reed . . .
Garnier (c. 1800), p. 5: The reed is actually the voice of the oboe. The vibrations which are instilled in it by the air pressed from the lungs, cause the instrument to produce its sound.
Froehlich (1810), p. 36: As with all types of wind instruments which produce their sound by means of a reed, also with [the oboe], the reed is the most important [element].
Wragg (1792), p. 1: . . . after having procured a good Instrument, and an Assortment of the best Reeds, for on them (particularly the latter) depends your Tone...
Quantz (1752), p. 85: As to the tone on these instruments [oboe and bassoon], much depends upon a good reed...
Fischer I (c. 1770), Fischer II (c. 1780), Fischer V (c. 1790), pp. 4, 5: When you have procured a good Hautboy, and also a good Reed, for on them greatly depends the ease of Playing, blowing in Tune, and the sweetness of Tone...
Then (as now) there were remarks about the inconsistency and capriciousness of reeds. Both Banister and Talbot at the end of the 17th-century conditioned their praise of the oboe on the quality of reed being used : [4]
. . . with a good Reed it goes as easie and as soft as the Flute [ie. recorder].
. . . with a good reed and a skillful hand [the oboe] sounds as easy and soft as the Flute.
The following remarks by LaBorde in 1780 (p. 331) will sound familiar to present-day players:
There are established rules for determining the proportions which a reed of the requisite quality should possess, in accordance with the bassoon as a whole; but in spite of all the precision with which one has attempted (for a considerable length of time) to produce exactly what is indicated in the making of a reed, it is still impossible to apply definite principals on this subject; it often happens that the reed which is made in exactly the right proportions is quite bad, whereas another which is less well-made, will be good, or at least passable . . .
And Wilhelm Braun speaks for all doublereed players, I am sure, when observing of himself (1823), p. 165:
How often have I envied other wind players, flutists or hornists for instance, who at any time, today or tomorrow, can pick up their instrument and without the slightest physical problem, can always play with the same virtuosity. If they have practiced one day well, they are then assured that the next day when they pick up their instrument again, they will have made at least some progress; with the oboe however, thanks to the reed, this is not the case; if today I have a reed with which I can be somewhat satisfied, then I can work the ear of the listener in a pleasant way, trusting that I may allow myself to take many risks which, with a less good reed, might insult the listener's ear (due to so-called "squawks"), and thus the good impression made before is cancelled . . .
Although reed-making is a heavy responsibility for oboists and bassoonists, the flute commentator Ribock (1783) rightly points out (p. 691):
Good oboists, [and] bassoonists . . . who make their own reeds can sound good even on a bad instrument; whereas bad players cannot get a good tone even on the best instrument. With the flute, on the contrary, a bad player always plays badly; a good player on a bad flute also badly; on a mediocre one still not well . . .
In other words, the oboist and bassoonist have an added element of control over their playing, assuming they can make reeds of reasonable quality.
From the time of their invention, doublereed instruments went through a gradual and continuous process of evolution. Lully's oboists and bassoonists used different instruments than Bach's and Telemann's, and the instruments of the mid-18th-century were different again. By 1770 the oboe had undergone a further evolution, and the introduction of keys and eventually key systems in the early 19th-century represented another major mutation. Reeds, it goes without saying, evolved along with the instruments and the demands of changing musical styles. Because our sources of information are so minimal, everything on reeds is presented together here, but obviously a writer in the early part of the 18th-century is talking about a very different kind of reed than one writing 50 or 100 years later. An idea of such differences is given in Figures 1 and 2, showing reeds of 1691 and c. 1770, typical baroque and classical reeds portrayed by contemporary painters. Future studies which deal with artistic depictions of early reeds and surviving original examples would make this mutation in the history of double reeds clearer. In general terms, during the course of the 18th-century, reeds tended to become narrower and shorter as the bores of the instruments became correspondingly smaller and the tessitura of oboe and bassoon parts gradually went upwards. Reeds may also have been scraped harder in the later 18th- century, to favor higher notes (which were still being produced without the help of an octave key). The introduction of this key must surely have had a major influence on the design of reeds, as the demand was no longer put on them to respond perfectly at both extremes of their range. [5]
Figure 1: Detail of painting by P. Mignard: Sainte Cecile jouant de la harpe, 1691.
Figure 2: Zoffany, J. J. The oboe player, c.1770.
Nowadays, with the exception of a few professional reed-makers who are usually oboists themselves, most reeds are made by players. There are a surprising number of indications that in earlier times reeds were often made for players by others, either reed suppliers or even, often, instrument makers.
Most beginners and many amateurs would have bought their reeds; this is indicated by Hotteterre III (1738, p. 79), Wragg (1792, p. 1), LaBorde (1780, p.331), Bainbridge (1823, p.14), Ozi II (1803, p.4), Ribock (1783, p.702), and Eisel (1738, p.104). Reeds were made and/or sold in England between 1750 and 1840 by: Goodman, Adam; Fagg, Hull and Mann; John Johnson; Snelling; (George) Dundass; R. Bremner; and Thomas Ling. The latter maker was mentioned by both Doane (Musical Directory) and Bainbridge (1823, p. 14):
I cannot help observing, that I have seen very good Oboe Reeds made by Mr. Ling. I give his name, because those amateurs who may attempt the Oboe on an improper Reed, may labour in vain and endanger their health; whereas, on good Reeds, no inconvenience will arise. I believe there are one or two other respectable makers of Oboe Reeds in London; but not having played on their Reeds, I cannot speak of their merits. I know the great reputation which Mr. Ling's Reeds bear among professors.
Reeds marked with this name have survived; at least three specimens of Ling's work are known. [6] Claver Morris, an English medical doctor and amateur oboist of the late 17th-century, records:
The prices paid for instruments in those days is of some interest . . . in 1688 a Hoboy with ivory joints and tipped with same cost 1 pound 7s. and four reeds 2s. in 1697. . . [7]
There is also a general assumption in many sources - strange to us in this century - that reeds were also supplied by instrument makers. (The last vestige of this tradition may be the mandrels which many modern oboe makers still supply with their instruments). This is mentioned in Hotteterre III (1738, p.79), Borjon (1672, p.34) (these are both musette tutors), Haydn (c.1767, p.56), and daSilva (1773). A bill for reeds has survived from the famous workshop of Denner in Nurenberg, made up on 4 September, 1705:
Auff den alhiesigen Music Chor habe verferdiget wie folget:
einen Fagott reparirt --- 1 fl 30 K.
6 Hautbois u. Fagottrohr a 7 1/2 Kr --- 45 K.
eine Rohrbixe --- 15 K.
Summa ----- 2 fl. 30 K. Johann Christoph Denner. [8]
It is interesting that numerous arguments are advanced in early sources on the advantages of making one's own reeds. These arguments would have presumably been unnecessary if reed-making was an accepted adjunct to playing the oboe and bassoon, as it generally is today. Apart from Hotteterre III (1738, p.79), Bainbridge (1823, p.17), and the anon. writer in the Quarterly Musical Magazine (1827, p. 465), the following are relevant:
Braun (1823), 165-6:
. . . it is also truly necessary to be able to make one's reeds for this capricious instrument one's self, as it is very rare to obtain exactly what one wishes from someone else.
This imperfection (ie. inconsistent reeds) makes it necessary for the oboe player to take the trouble to make his reeds for himself, as they suit him best; it often happens that a reed which one player finds good is useless for another player.
Ozi Il (1803), p. 142:
Although the making of reeds would seem to belong more in the specialty of the making of Bassoons (sic), and for this reason, perhaps, one would not have expected to find here instructions on this subject, the success of players who have had the patience to work on them, however, as the makers have neglected too much this part, has decided us to place, at the end of this bassoon method, some suggestions on the way to make reeds. Besides the independence which artists will find by making them themselves, this work will teach them to recognize immediately the difference between good and bad cane, and above all to make reeds which best fit their embouchures.
Brod (1826), 110:
It is most necessary to know how to make the reeds one needs, as talent and the best of propensities entirely vanish if this important point is neglected; it is true that good ones can be procured by asking professionals, but it is infinitely more advantageous to be able to provide for one's self, as reeds must conform to the nature of your lips, teeth, the way of playing of each individual, and no one better than one's self can satisfy all these detailed conditions, on which depends the perfection of execution.
Borjon comments that "one does not find reeds for sale in packets like strings," (1672) P.34, so presumably reed- making was not the common art which Sellner (c.1825, p.6) for some inexplicable reason believed it to be:
The manner in which reeds are made, and the materials out of which they are constructed, has been written of so often, and is generally so well-known, that it would be superfluous to write more about it here...
What is surprising is the apparent existence of professional oboists who did not make their own reeds, as shown by Haydn's repeated orders for oboe and English horn reeds by the dozen from the maker of the oboes he used at Esterhazy, Mathias Rockobauer, [9] the many bills for the purchase of reeds for players at the Schwarzenberg Court at Cesky Krumlov in Czechoslovakia (from 1780 to 1790), [10] daSilva's order from Lisbon (1773):
From Turin we would like two oboes made by Palanca, approved by Mr. Besozzi . . . and each must come with a half-dozen reeds, and all done with the advice of Mr. Besozzi, and as soon as possible. [11]
(Reeds similar to these are shown in Figure 11.)
Figure 11: Photograph of two reeds from Musashino Museum, courtesy of Masahiro Arita. See Endnote 11.
It is of course possible that the players of these reeds also had other duties, such as serving at table (a common combination), and therefore had little time for making reeds, but Vanderhagen makes the same comment about his Parisian colleagues (c.1790, p.5):
. . . there are few professional players who know how to make [reeds], although it is much easier if each one makes them according to his embouchure, stronger or weaker.
We know as a matter of historical fact that some excellent modern oboists have become for a time completely dependent on professional reed-makers like the legendary Tom Brearley of Liverpool. [12] Still, it seems unlikely that virtuoso players of any period would have been permanently satisfied with such a situation. In 1732, Majer (p.34) states that:
. . . the best maitres take care to make [their reeds] themselves, to fit their embouchures . . .
But evidently there was a market for professional reed-makers (Walther, 1732, p.285 calls a reed-maker a "Glossopius" from the Greek Glottis for reed), catering to amateurs and some professionals, and many of these reeds were made or at least sold through woodwind makers' shops.
Arundo donax, the plant from which reeds for woodwind instruments are made today, is the same material that has been used from the time the instruments were invented. According to Perdue: [13]
The plant has a long history, perhaps as long as that of any other species with the exception of the basic food plants. Its utilization in the creation of music can be traced back 5,000 years. The plant was well known to ancient peoples of the Middle East. The term "reed" is of frequent occurrence in the in the Bible, and at least some of these references allude to Arundo donax.
The Pan pipe or syrinx was typically made from culms of this species, and the earliest organs, dating from approximately 200 B.C. or before, were made of donax cane. [14]
The earliest reference related to baroque double reeds is found in Borjon's musette tutor of 1672: [15] "[The chanter was] later made from cane and rushes, Arundo. " Talbot in c. 1695 observes that the "best reeds [are] from marshes of Spain and Provence." The plant is native to the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, but has become widely dispersed throughout the world. Its cultivation for musical uses has generally been limited to a small area of southeastern France, however, the Departments of Var and Alpes Maritimes, within the district formerly known as Provence. The most important plantations are in the vicinity of the coastal town of Frejus. [16]
Good descriptions of this process can be found in Bate [17] and Ledet (Tait).[18] According to Perdue, [19]
. . canes to be used for reeds are selectively cut during the winter months, when they are two or three years old . . . The newly harvested canes are tied in large bundles, often with leaves and branches intact. These bundles are stacked erect with the cane bases spread out in such a manner as to form a pyramid; they may be gathered into shocks around a post, or the bundles may be stacked erect against either side of a horizontal timber supported at a height of 2 to 3 in. above the ground.
Certain growers prefer to initiate seasoning of the cane under a tree or open shed or provide protection from the sun by covering the south side of the bundles with grass or cloth.
Cane is not harmed by rain. During the initial drying period, the leaf sheaths rot and often stain the outside of the cane, producing a mottled appearance. This does not affect the quality of the cane. In fact, mottling is regarded by some musicians as an indication of high quality. The initial drying stage requires at least two to four months during which the moisture within the cane drains out or is otherwise dissipated. Following this period the upper branching portions of the canes are removed, the remaining leaves and sheaths are cleaned away and the canes are cut into lengths of about four feet. Any spoiled or cracked canes are discarded.
The quality stocks are next cured in the sun. The selected canes are suspended horizontally on low supports or laid obliquely along a fence, rope, or other support stretched between poles at a height of about three feet above the ground. Some growers arrange the supports so that they are oriented in a north-south direction. This is to prevent cracking of the cane and the development of an undesirable red coloration which may result from excessive exposure to the sun. As soon as the surface exposed to the sun turns to a creamy color, the canes are turned so that another surface is exposed to the sun's rays.
The cane is turned once or twice as the grower prefers. Exposing the cane in three operations is generally preferred as it results in a more uniform color. This period of curing takes at least three weeks, and a longer period is often considered more desirable.
The total period of outdoor drying varies greatly. The cane may be dried for six to twelve months, and some advocate an even longer period. In certain instances, sun drying is supplemented by kiln drying.
Following sun curing the cane is stored in sheds. It may be retained in storage for a further indefinite period of curing or immediately marketed. By the time the cane is used by the reed maker it may be as much as three to five years old. The total period of seasoning, as well as the growing period, is influenced considerably by the demands of the market.
By the time properly-seasoned cane is ready for use, it has turned to a rich goldenyellow. The cane is sectioned into tubes by cutting about 1 cm. on either side of the nodes. Tubes of poor quality are eliminated. These include tubes with walls too thin or too thick, tubes of unsuitable diameter, those that are cracked or not straight, and those that are of poor color or otherwise of inferior appearance. Tubes, in 50-pound lots, are packed in bags and shipped to manufacturers or distributors.
Early writers on cane generally agree with this description, although a few other interesting facts can be gleaned.
Brod (1826) confirms that
. . . it is only in the Midi where [cane] can be procured, in Frejus, in the neighborhood of Marseille and Perpignan is reputed to be the best.
and Ozi II (1803) mentions the departments of the Bouche-du-Rhone, Var, and the Alpes Maritimes, but interestingly enough states that:
That of the southern part of Italy is the most preferred, because there it acquires a degree of maturity which makes it drier and less spongey.
Except for Froelich, who generally copies Ozi for his section on bassoon reeds, this observation is repeated by one other source: J.F. Malot (1820), writing on clarinet reeds, also ranked Italian cane above French. Garnier and Sellner both agree that cane must come from an airy climate.
Garnier, Brod, and Sellner state that the proper time to cut the cane is the "late autumn, just before the frosts," and Almenrader explains (p. 59) that this is because the sap has then left the shoots. Brod agrees that the sap should not be present, but believes that it dries out in the two or three years after it is cut, when it is left to mature (p. 111). This maturing process, which Vanderhagen and Quantz both consider important, must be done in a wellventilated place, according to Almenrader. Cane which is not so treated, according to him (p. 59)
. . . can easily be detected by an unpleasant musty smell and a lack of elasticity.
It is interesting that both Brod (p. 111), and Sellner (p.6) believe that cane which is "too old and stale" will make reeds which "will be far from having as beautiful a sound as those which are from a more recent cane."
As far as qualities of the cane which are most desirable, Almenrader says (p.59):
It is of supreme importance to avoid cane with crooked growth. No matter how it is trimmed, after some use it will warp again to its original shape and lose the necessary arch of the two sides.
and Braun (1823) agrees with this for oboe cane. Brod and Ozi I consider cane which is closely grained and in which the pores are dense as more desirable, although Almenrader says (p.58):
The fear of many, that the wood of such a large tube is rather porous and therefore absorbs too much water when in use, I have never found confirmed in practice, as in general the absorbtion of moisture is impossible to call a fault, as in order to play a reed, one must purposely make it thoroughly wet.
This may be in reaction to Ozi's comment (1803, p.4), echoed by Froehlich (1810-11) (p.53) that:
The cane must not be spongey; this bad quality can be recognized when, being wettened with saliva, it absorbs the water quickly and becomes greenish in color; one should avoid the use of cane with this fault, as it will cause the lower notes to speak only with difficulty, and the more they are played, the harder they will become.
Froehlich adds to this:
In order to determine this [Ozi's test described above], one should cut away a piece of the outer, shiny side. One must be especially attentive, with reed cane, that the section of the wood, considered from the shiny to the rough side, is as thin as possible, as then the cane has the desired tensile strength. The best cane comes from Italy and has a yellower color, which becomes even yellower when it is wettened with spit.
Vanderhagen (p.5) comments that:
that which will work for the reeds of the clarinet and bassoon will be worthless on the oboe.
Brod states (p. 111):
It often happens that cane is not perfectly round, and in this case one should use the most arched side, which is ordinarily that which has been turned toward the sun and which, for this reason, is better.
As far as proper diameter is concerned, Garmer says it should be in size that of an ordinary finger, and Brod in 1826 specifies 11 to 12 mm.
According to Garnier (p.5):
The two blades should have a curvature between them such that they do not separate at all at the two extremes of their length when they are mounted on the brass tube.
Almenrader observes that if they are too small, they will turn out reeds which are too arched, "which is disadvantageous to ease and beauty of response," (p.58) but Braun (1823, p.167) says:
. . . the best should be large enough to make three or at the most four pieces from its circumference; if it is wider than this, one loses too much of the natural arch which is necessary, and it will also crack very easily when tied on . . .
This gives us an idea of the practical extremes of diameter which were considered useful.
As for special treatments, Almenrader explored the "El Dorado" of steeping cane in a special substance (in this case, oil), without success. He reports:
I have found by continued experiments [that it] produces only a muted sound . . .
Brod's suggestion for treating cane which is too young seems more useful, however. (p. 111):
If it is cut too fresh, one should divide it lengthwise in three or four parts as described above, gouge it, and expose it to the air for several days, in order to give it more consistency and elasticity; after this one puts it in packets for use when needed.
As Nora Post has pointed out, [20] we have yet to find evidence of oboe reeds with cane-to-staple proportions similar to modern ones before the last decade of the 17th century. This is not surprising, since it is in this period that careful descriptions and pictures of reeds first begin to appear. Since the instrument was only two generations old at that time, we can assume that there was still a certain amount of experimentation with reeds. The earliest clear illustration of an oboe reed that I know of is Figure 1 of this article, which is dated 1691. The reed in this painting has the proportions which we now consider normal, and seems to indicate a reed-making technique which was already well established and stable. This leads us to think that oboe reeds throughout their history have generally been made as they are today. [21] The one possible exception to this is the use of a two-piece staple, similar to the system used on the modern English horn and by some modern players of the early oboe. This type of reed is shown in Figure 3: wrapped with a Turk's-head like a modern bassoon reed, to support the bottom, it may have been detachable from its short "bocal".
James Talbot described reeds with staples for both shawm and the new French oboe in about 1698 or a few years earlier. [22] Douwes in 1699 mentions a small brass pipe for the shawm reed, but is not entirely clear in his description of the reed for the French oboe. Staples are also specifically mentioned by the following later sources: Vanderhagen (c.1790, p.5); Garnier (c.1800, p.5); Wragg (1792, p.2); Fischers I, III, and V (p. 5, 6, 6); Bainbridge (1823, p. 15); Koch (1802, p. 1083). Hotteterre III (1738, p. 78) also mentions staples used on the musette. Garnier, in his plate of reed-making tools, Figure 7, shows the staple in its stages of construction. Further comments on staples are the following:
Garsault (1761, p.627) (See Figure 8):
Since the reed for an oboe enters a hole at the top of the upper joint, it is made by rolling a small strip of brass on the mandrel before tying. The base of the reed is tied onto this, on which it rests, in order that it not collapse and be flattened when pushed into the hole. This is not necessary for reeds such as in Figure B (for bassoon and krumhorn), as their bocal enters the tail of the reed.
Figure 8: Garsault, F.A.P. de. Oboe and bassoon reeds from his Notionaire, 1761.
North (1710-28):
. . . the other [end] lapped and made fast about a quill, which is to be inserted at the end of the tube or pipe . . .
The word "quill" may be another term for staple, although experiments using the hollow bases of feathers as staples have been successful. [23] Brass is the material most commonly mentioned, but the inventory made at the death of the wealthy Amsterdam oboe maker Hendrik Richters In 1727 included a "ritie met een silver pijpie," a reed with a silver staple, among the musical instrument accessories. [24] On the subject of materials, Benade (p.500) has pointed out:
Since 1958 I have made several studies of the possible differences in damping that can be made by using copper, silver, brass, nickel silver, or various kinds of wood as the aircolumn wall material. If the walls are thick enough not to vibrate and if they are smooth and non-porous, experiment and theory agree that switching materials will make changes in the damping that are generally less than the two-percent change that most musicians are able to detect.
The most substantial information on staples comes from Brod (c. 1826, pp. 110-112). His detailed and accurate plate of tools is shown in Figure 9:
Figure 9: Brod, H. Plate of reed-making tools, from his Methode, c. 1826.
Figure 12 is one of the staples on which the reed is mounted. Its length is 46 mm, it is round at A and oval at B. Its interior diameter at A is 5 mm, the small oval diameter at B is 2 mm, the larger 3. At this point several file marks or grooves can be seen at the place where the cane will be tied on, as this gives the reed more solidity. At the other end, there is a small raised edge, which holds the thread with which one covers the little tube so that it enters correctly in the oboe.
The preparation of this little tube can seriously influence the intonation of the instrument. There must be a proportional agreement between its bore and that of the oboe, in dimensions necessary for good intonation, the quality and volume of sound. When it is too narrow at B, the upper notes are too low, the oboe has less tone, and it is less easy to make the notes above high d respond; the contrary is the case when this end is too wide.
Much care should be taken in choosing staples, and once one has a good assortment, they should be carefully kept, considering the difficulty one often encounters in finding those which are perfectly in tune.
One other type of staple may have been used in the 18th century. This is essentially a short bocal, and may be what Jaubert (1773, p. 183) describes:
This reed fits on a little tube placed at the top of the instrument.
The reed shown in Figure 3, as already mentioned, is probably of this type.
In modern experiments with the staple design of early oboes, players have found that the diameter of the bottom of the staple must be wider than the top of the bore of the instrument; in other words, the conicity of the staple is greater than the conicity of the oboe bore as a whole. This is also confirmed for the modern instrument in experiments by William H. Tait, described in Ledet: [25]
In experiments with staples that were true extensions of the oboe bore (no inward "step" from the larger staple opening to the smaller oboe bore), he found that the top notes were not possible to play. Also, staples that flare to nearly the bore of the socket are equally unsatisfactory. These experiments lead us to suppose that the present staple arose naturally, and it seems very difficult to improve on it.
The way in which a reed is bound affects its character, mainly in how tightly or loosely the thread is pulled. A thicker, stronger thread will allow tighter binding. Early references to thread are therefore of interest:
Jaubert (1773, p.183): . . . and the two pieces which compose [the reed] are fixed together at this end with waxed thread, turned circularly in several layers, and well established with a knot.
Garnier (c.1800, p.6): . . . strong beeswaxed thread.
Bainbridge (1823, p.15): . . . on the staple the blades are tied with strong thread . . .
Hotteterre III (1738, p.78): Further, when the reeds (of the musette) are too sharp, they can be lowered by putting a little hemp thread, fine and beeswaxed, around the bottom of the staple, or else a piece of thin paper, in order that they will be less forward in their sockets.
Figure 7: garnier, J.F. Plate of reed-making tools, from his Méthode, c.1800
Considering the mutations the oboe, its music, and its reed have undergone, it seems surprising that so many of the tools shown in the plates of our principal sources, Garnier and Brod (Figures 7 and 9), are basically unchanged today, over a century and a half later. Aside from the fact that we are still using Arundo donax as our basic material, (which, as Perdue points out, [26] "...is a rather unusual case in which modern technology has been unable to develop a satisfactory substitute..."), the conservatism of reed players towards their tools is understandable; usually "craftsmen of necessity" rather than trained handworkers, they are taught in what is still fundamentally a master/apprentice discipline, with the unquestioning acceptance this implies. How many active players have the background, time, or inspiration to experiment with new tools? Reeds are confusing on some level to everyone who makes them; the "tried and true" is therefore encouraged.
There are certain areas of reed-making where experiment and innovation would be useful, however. Staple design is an obvious one: as Brod points out, the staple bore has a definite effect on intonation, and yet almost no modern oboist has a clear understanding of even the basic variables involved. This is surprising, considering that there seems to be no industry standard for the dimensions of modern staples.[27] Another example is the use of plaques made of steel, which of course immediately dull the carefully sharpened reed knife. That these are so generally used seems puzzling, when a hard plastic, wooden, or resin plaque works otherwise just as well (though not, it is true, as long).
Although both Garnier (tool A) and Brod (Figure 2) display a gouge, only Brod describes the gouging bed, which is excellently illustrated and described by Froelich (1810-11, p. 53): (See Figure 10)
To make gouging easier, a small bed can be made from hardwood, as shown at B. This can be secured in a clamp with the tenon p. If this is not available, the tenon can be omitted and the bed made fast to a table; this is necessary if any heavy cutting is to be done. The top of' the bed must have a channel of the depth that an unworked piece of cane will just fit in it. At the back at bb, an adjustable wedge is placed, just as on a planing-bench, which is set higher or lower, depending on the cane to be gouged. (With this bed it will be easy for a somewhat practiced hand to gouge cane to the desired dimensions with a fine gouge.)
Brod's description:[28]
Figure 5 is a small bed or piece of hardwood which is hollowed out lengthwise, according to the diameter of the exterior of a piece of cane a little larger than that used to make reeds. See at A and B the flat heel, used to hold the end of the cane when it is being gouged.
Garnier describes the gouge itself:
. . . [it] is made of steel one pouce ( = 27.07 mm) [29] long and bent In the form of a crescent through its entire length, which is several lignes ( = 2.25 mm); it is shown here only in profile. Its diameter is in proportion to a piece of cane split lengthwise in two. It cuts on its two lengthwise sides, and is used to remove the pith in the interior of the cane.
Brod's gouge, Figure 2, has a diameter that:
... is a part of the same circle, more or less, as the cane one uses for oboe reeds; ie. 10-11 mm.
Brod was writing in c. 1826, and was using an instrument similar to the first Trieberts, which are the precursors of the modern Lorees. The bore was thus not very different than a modern one.
Froelich also describes the gouging scraper:
Next, the cane is scraped clean with the steel plate shown at 2. The diameter of this tool must be, just as the [bassoon] cane, not much larger than a zoll and must be sharpened on one side, just like a plane blade. A regular steel button can also be used for this.
Brod and Garnier respectively, on the same tool:
Figure 3 is the scraper which has a blade at each end which is very thin and rounded according to the curvature of the gouge; it polishes and smoothes the cane after it has been hollowed out by the gouge.
The second, B, is a blade of flat stock steel whose two rounded ends are sharpened. This is used to scrape and polish the inner surface of the cane.
Following is the remainder of Garnier's description of his tool illustrations (c.1800):
The third, C, is a knife with two blades, one of which is used to prepare and shape the cane, the other for finishing the reed.
The fourth, D, is a steel file used to polish and remove all unevennesses in the reed.
The fifth, E, is a mandrel or piece of conically shaped steel which is used to form the reed staple. It is also used to hold the reed when it is being mounted and fixed with the two blades on the staple, done with strong beeswaxed thread. This tool thus prevents the reed from being crushed.
The remainder of Brod's tool description:
Figure 1, Plate VI, represents the shape of the knife, whose straight blade should be of the same temper as that of a razor. It is good to have several of these knives, as they are frequently used.
Figure 4 is a mandrel; that is, a polished steel skewer, perfectly round at A, and taking on an oval form around B, as it diminishes. It is impossible to describe precisely the exact measurements of this tool, as the slightest difference in its size can have an influence on the correctness of the staples which are made on such a mandrel. Moreover the fabrication of staples being completely the province of oboe makers, one can be content with a mandrel which enters only approximately into the tubes. The usage of this tool is in this case only to give more facility in holding the staple when one ties on the reed. If one wishes, however, to be more exact, one must use a tube whose correctness has been proven, and file the mandrel in such a way that it enters the tube, touching it at all interior points. Mark the point on the mandrel at which the tube ends when the mandrel is put in forcibly, which can be seen at A. The second mark which can be seen there gives the length of a longer staple which is sometimes used to lower the pitch of the instrument.
Figure 7 is a small billet or piece of hardwood, on which the end and corners of the reed are cut.
Figure 8 is a polished steel blade, rounded on its two ends. It is the thickness of a playing card, and is about 15 cm [sic; mm] wide. This "plaque" is placed in the opening of the reed in order to scrape and thin the end the necessary amount.
Figure 9 is a fine file whose use will be seen further on.
Figure 10 is a pliers, used in making reeds for the English Horn and Baryton.
I cannot resist concluding this survey with a final quotation from David Ledet's excellent book on modern oboe reeds, which seems to put all reeds, early and contemporary, in their proper historical context: [30]
Clearly, there is no "correct" set of dimensions. Each style has its own acceptable limitations or it would not be a definable style. But within each of these styles, the individual player must arrive at his own "correct" dimensions.
At this point we can see that, just as there is a double reed of the Orient, there is a double reed in Western civilization, definable by a set of dimensional limitations into which fall all the styles we have discussed. We are documenting the living history of Western reedmaking, which will become the written history of the centuries to come. Within the context of the truism "the past is prologue," we can expect that in the centuries ahead, double reed dimensions will change as a result of different instrument specifications and new musical and aural demands.
1. Denis Diderot. Rameau's Nephew and other works.Tr. J. Barzun and R.H. Bowen [return]
4. Banister, p.ii; Talbot, p.29 [return]
5. See Haynes III for a list of graphic depictions and locations of surviving reeds, p. 45ff. [return]
6. See Palmer. See also Byrne, M. "Reed Makers", GSS 1984, 99-101. [return]
7. In modern terms, a reed would therefore have cost about L8.00, or 1/27th the value of the oboe. [return]
9. See Langwill II under "Bauer, Rocko". [return]
10. Hellyer, pp. 58-9 [return]
11. There are two oboes by Carlo Palanca now in the Musashino (Japan) Music Academy Instrumental Museum, together with a half-dozen surviving original reeds. These reeds are probably made by Palanca, and are similar to the style used by Alessandro Besozzi, the preeminent oboist at Turin at that time. See Wind, Thiemo. Alessandro Besozzi di Torino (1702-1793). Diss. Univ. of Utrecht, unpubl., July 1982. [return]
12. See Bate, p.17; Goossens pp. 44, 52; and Post, Nora, "Interview with Leon Goossens and Edwin Roxburgh", The Double Reed, Winter 1982, p.44. [return]
20. "The seventeenth century oboe reed" in Galpin Sociey Journal XXXV (1982), pp. 54-67 [return]
21. Post's article (cited above) draws attention to early depictions of reeds which show that the proportional length of the cane to the staple probably varied during the instrument's early history. From this evidence she concludes that the type of reed used universally on the oboe in the 17th century had a much longer cane-to-staple ratio: anywhere from 1-2 1/2 to 1 (modern reeds are approximately 1 to 2). Reeds of this type, she points out, have some definite advantages: they sound beautiful and do not squeak. I have not yet seen one, however, that can play the notes above a2 with any security, and this of course reduces the Baroque oboe to the range of most Renaissance instruments. Conceivably, some 17th century music could have been played with such reeds, but the upper part of the Philidor Ms often goes higher, and there are other 17th century pieces which even go up to high d3. To my mind, none of the iconographic evidence included in Post's article is convincing separately or together, let alone complete enough to allow definite conclusions. Three of the illustrations (Derosier, the better Gobelin, and Flentrop) probably depict longer stapled reeds, and the others are either not accurate enough to take seriously (eg. Holme) or are shown with shawms or transition instruments which may well not have been expected to play above a', and could thus have used reeds without throats.
As Fred Palmer has suggested, the reed Post draws particular attention to, in Diderot's Encyclopedie (1751-2), is probably not an oboe reed, but is intended for a musette. It closely resembles reeds found with a musette in Copenhagen (see GSJ XXXI, p. 144, Plate IX [d,e,fl). No other oboe reeds found in illustrations contemporary with Diderot remotely resembles this one, as for example Garsault's (Figure 8), writing in France in 1761. The Diderot reed appears to have no staple, a condition conceivable only with a reed permanently mounted in the cap of a chalumeau or bourdon of a musette; used on an oboe, it would collapse and go out of alignment immediately without the support of a staple. It is easy enough to believe that Diderot, or his illustrator, mixed up a collection of reeds while preparing the plates; the "oboe", musette, and bassoon reeds in Diderot's illustrations are all suspiciously similar. [return]
22. Recent research indicates that Talbot probably made his manuscript notes in the period 1692-5. See Byrne II, p. 5. Talbot mentions that he had a Bressan oboe and tenor oboe (no known Bressan oboes survive.) [return]
23. Experiments made by James Caldwell, Oberlin, Ohio. [return]
28. For studies of Brod's Methode and his reedmaking techniques, see the two articles by Hedrick. On Brod's life, see Ventzke. [return]
W numbers refer to T. Warner's Annotated Bibliography of woodwind instruction books, 1600-1830.
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Anon. "The rise and progress of the hautboy," Quarterly Musical Magazine and Review, 9 (1827). pp.465, 468
Bainbridge, W. Observations on the cause of imperfections in wind instruments, particularly in German flutes. Innes, 1823. pp. 14-19
Banister, J. Jr. The sprightly companion. London: 1695. New reprint by P. Hedrick. p.ii.
Borjon, C.E. Traité de la musette. 1672. Chapter 12; pp. 19, 34-5
Braun, W. "Bemerkungen uber die richtige Behandlung und Blasart der Obie," Allg. Mus. Zeitung 25 (1823). pp.165-7
Brod, H. Methode pour le hautbois. c.1826. pp.2, 110-113, 117
Burney, C. A general history of music... London: 1776-89. Reprinted Dover. Vol. 1, p.402
Diderot, D. "Hautbois" in Encyclopedie... 1756. p. 70
Doane, Musical Directory. 1794.
Eisel, J. P. Musicus autodidactus. 1738. (W71) p. 104
(Fischer, J.C.)(I) The complete tutor for the hautboy. c.1770 (W119) pp.4-5
(Fischer, J.C.)(III) New and complete instructions for the oboe or hoboy. c.1780 (W142) pp.5-6
(Fischer, J.C.)(IV) The compleat tutor for the hautboy. c. 1790 (W 167)
(Fischer, J.C.)(V) New and complete instructions for the oboe or hoboy. c.1790 (W169) pp.5-6
(Fischer, J.C.)(VI) The hoboy preceptor. c.1800 (W204) P. I
Froelich, F.J. Vollständige theoretisch-praktische Musikschule. 1810-11. pp.36, 53ff.
Furetière, A. Dictionnaire universel. Rotterdam: 1690. vol. 3, p. (3)
Garnier, J.F. Méthode Raisonné pour le hautbois. c. 1800. (W233) pp.5-6, 8, 10
Garsault, F.A.P. de. Notionaire on mémorial raisonné. 1761. p.627
Halle, J.S. Werkstätte der Heutigen Küste... 1763. vol. 3, pp.368, 370
Hawkins, J. A general history of the science and practice of music. 1776.
Haydn, F.J. Letter, 5 December 1776.
Hellier, S. A catalogue of musicall instruments. In
Galpin Society journal (GSJ) XVIII, pp. 3-6
Holyoke, S. The instrumental assistant... c. 1800 (W234)
Hotteterre, J. Principes de la flûte 1707 (W42) tr. D. Lasocki, London: 1968. p.86ff.
Hotteterre, J.(III) Méthode pour la musette. 1738 (W70) pp.78-9
Jaubert, P. Dictionaire raisonné universel... 1773. p. 183
Koch, H.C. Musikalishes lexikon. 1802. pp. 1082-3
LaBorde, J.B. de. Essai sur la musique. 1780. (W148) Vol. 1, pp. 265, 331-2
Majer, J. Museum musicum. 1732, 1741 (W117, 119) pp. 34, 47
Malot, J.F. L'Art de bien faire une anche de clarinette. 1820
Morris, C. The diary of a west country physician (1684-1726) Reprint 1934
Mortimer, London Universal Directory. 1763. Lists in GSJ 11, pp.27-31
North, R. Theory of sounds. c.1710-28. Musical Grammarian. Reprinted in Wilson, John. Roger North on music. 1959. pp. 229-30
Ozi, E. (I) Méthode nouvelle et raisonnée pour le basson. 1787 (W160) p.6
Ozi, E. (II) Nouvelle Méthode de basson. 1803 (W271) pp.3-4, 142-4
I.P. "On the oboe and bassoon," Harmonicon, Part 1. 1830. pp.192-3
Parke, W.T. Musical memoirs. 1830. Vol. 1, p.322
Petri, J.S. Anleitung zur praktischen Musik. 1767, 1782. p.468
Quantz, J J. Versuch... 1752. (W85) tr. E.R. Reilly, London: 1966. pp. 85-86, 268
Ribock, J.J.H. "Ueber Musik: an Flötenliebhaber insonderheit", Cramer's Magazin der Musik 1 (1783). pp. 691, 701-2
Selhof, N. Catalogue of the music library, etc. 1759. Reprint Amsterdam: 1973. p.257
Sellner, J. Theoretisch praktische Oboe Schule... c.1825 (W414) pp.6-7
daSilva, P. Letter, 1773. Reprinted in M.P. McClymonds, Niccolo Jommelli: the last years 1769-1774. UMI Research Press
Talbot, J. Oxford Christ Church Ms. 1187, c. 1692-5 (W26) Reprinted in GSJ 1, p.9 by A. Baines. pp. 12-15
Vanderhagen, A. Méthode nouvelle et raisonnée pour le hautbois. c.1790 (W175) pp.3, 5
Vény, L.A. Méthode complète pour le hautbois. c.1828 (W428) pp.15-16
Verschuere-Reynvaan, J. Muzikaal kunst wordenboek. Amsterdam: 1795. p.369
Vogt, A.G. Méthode pour hautbois. c. 1813 (W335) p.3ff
Walther, J.G. Musicalishes Lexicon. 1732. p.285
Whitely, W. The instrumental preceptor... 1816 (W351). pp.7, 10
Wragg, J. The oboe preceptor... 1792 (W 179) pp. 1-2
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