MANUFACTURE OF REEDS FOR OBOE

BINDING OF THE BLADES

Bojin Nedialkov
Oboe Professor at the University of Brasília

The oboe is a woodwind instrument made of wood with a conical central bore.
the instrument was created in France in the 17th century by musicians Jean Hotteterre and Michel
Danican Philidor1The sound of the oboe depends on a double reed made from the cane 'Arundo'.
Donax.” The reed is called the “heart of the oboe,” as oboists regard it as the part
most important part of the instrument. Professional oboists make their own
blades according to your criteria, preferences, and individual characteristics of the embouchure.
To build a good palette, the student must know the stages of it in detail.
process.
1. Parts of the Palette - characteristics:
- tube, length between 45 - 49 mm. The most commonly used are the tubes of 47 mm and 46 mm.
-cane, “Arundo Donax”, from France, Spain, Turkey, China, Argentina, Brazil, etc.
Preparation: the sugarcane is usually scrapped in the center between 0.55 - 0.63 mm and on the sides between
0.43 - 0.52 mm. According to the book 'Oboe Reed Styles' by David A. Ledet, the width of the
mold varies between 6.10 mm and 8.20 mm. According to the Reeds'n Stuff catalog by Udo Heng
For the years 2014-2015, the most used molds have a width between 6.27 mm and 7.39 mm.

Fig.1 - Curved cane, shaped and prepared with grooves to be tied.

The piece of sugarcane in fig.1 has the following measurements:

width of 7.20 mm (German mold model J.Klopfer 720/1)
- espessura do eixo central - 0.60 mm
thickness of the sides - 0.45 mm
2. Palette Binding
The piece of sugarcane, well soaked in water, can be tied directly to the tube, and this tying
It is called normal, or cold.

1In the middle of the 17th century, in France, Jean Hotteterre and Michel Danican Philidor modified the ancient instrument.
Shawm. The new instrument called Hautbois (in French means high wood) has a narrower conical hole.
It is a new reed, controlled with the lips of the instrumentalist right at the tip.
p.36)
 There is also another way to tie the palette with a hot mandrel. This
tethering is called: hot tethering. Some oboists2they prefer the warm binding,
because the cane doesn't crack at the moment of rolling and tightening the line. This way of tying the
the palette allows for a greater opening of the tip.
Wire is used for hot tying.3to secure the bent cane. The wire must be
placed more or less in the middle of the piece as shown in fig.2. It is very
it is important to water well4the piece of sugarcane before placing the hot mandrel between the
sheets.

Fig.2 - Wet can placed in the hot mandrel

Hot binding is recommended for places with a dry climate, as the palette becomes
but more open and does not close so quickly due to lack of humidity in the air.

Fig. 3 - Burned and curved cane to hold a larger opening after being
tied up.
The tradition of hot binding comes from Central Europe (Germany). A bound palheta.
hot has a longer durability, as the cane becomes more resistant at the base part that
it makes the quick fatigue of the material impossible.

2The hot tying is very used in Europe: Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, etc.
Há oboistas que não recomendam a amarração quente, achando que um tratamento da cana com temperatura alta pode
to damage the vibration of the whole blades and worsen the sound quality.
3A rubber ring can be used instead of wire to hold the cane during tying.
4Itis advisable to leave some drops of water between the wet blades. This way, the hot mandrel won't burn.
too much sugar.
 Fig.4 - Hot tied palette - length of 72 mm (American style).
The line must be tied to the end of the tube. For example, if the tube has a length
of 47 mm, the distance from the base of the tube to the end of the line must be exactly547 mm
The American plectrum must be tied with a length of 71.5 mm - 72 mm
For the European paddle, the length should be 74-75 mm.
After tying the pick, it is recommended to let it dry completely. To begin
to scrape the sugarcane6it is better to wet it in water first.
The tip of the plectrum should be wet and well scraped, as this way at the moment of
Cutting it will not crack.

Fig.5 - Blade tied in the 'overlap' manner (blades misaligned)

3. Overlap binding (unmatched blades) - for American palette

Tying the plectrum in the 'overlap' style implies greater tuning stability of the register.
sharp. With misaligned blades, the resistance of the reed increases and the sound becomes more
centralized and with more defined tuning. The 'overlap' tying is used more for the
long scraping - American.

4. Materials and tools necessary to make oboe reeds.

- cane, guava, and shaped
tubes for oboe reeds
line to tie the palette
wire to hold the cane, or rubber ring

5There are oboists who wind the string just before the tip of the tube. For example, with a 47 mm tube, the string reaches up to
46.6 - 46.7 mm.
6There are oboists who prefer to scrape the reed very dry, as this way the cane becomes smoother.
 mandrill
ruler to measure the parts of the pick
tip cutter (guillotine) or wooden cutting block
tab to place between the blades of the palette (used for support during the
scraping
knife to scrape the palette
water sandpaper, No. 400, No. 600, and No. 1200 for sharpening the knife and/or fine stone for sharpening
knife.
thickness gauge (micrometer)

Bibliography:

Baines, A.: 'James Talbot's Manuscript: I: Wind Instruments', GSJ, i (1948), 9-26

________ .1952. :‘Shawms of the Sandana Coblas’, GSJ, v (1952), 9–16

Woodwind Instruments and their History (London, 1957)

Dusté, Eleanor B. The American style oboe reed, Abstract of a lecture given at Graz, Austria,

August, 1984

Haynes, B. : 'The Speaking Oboe': a History of the Hautboy, 1640 to 1760 (Oxford, 1999)

Ledet, David. Oboe Reed Styles, Theory and Practice, Indiana University Press, 1981.

Nickel, E. : Der Holzblasinstrumentenbau in der Freien Reichsstadt Nürnberg (Munich, 1970)

Sandman, S.M.G.: Wind Band Music under Louis XIV: the Philidor Collection, Music for the

Military and the Court (diss., Stanford U., 1974)

Charles-David Lehrer, The Vade-Mecum of the Oboist: Albert Andraud's Great Anthology

Content and Historical Perspective. The Double Reed, vol.27, No.3.

Weber, David B. & Capps, Ferald B. -The Reed Maker’s Manual (Phoenix, AZ, 1990)

Weinmann, K.: Johannes Tinctoris, 1445-1511, and his unknown treatise 'On the Invention and

'Usus Musicae' Historical-Critical Investigation (Regensburg, 1917)