Hey Reader,

It’s been a whirlwind few weeks. Earlier this week I played my second audition in two weeks (no, the repertoire did not overlap very much). And in 8 days I’m debuting my first solo recital program since 2012. I’m hoping to set up a livestream, info tbd, but if you’re in the San Jose area - you’re invited to join me in person for the upcoming dates:

• Friday, September 26, 1:30pm at West Valley College (Cilker building lobby)
• Saturday, September 27, 2:30pm at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Santa Clara.

Both shows are free, and I’d love to have more audience members!

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Now on to regularly scheduled content: I promised that I’d revisit cane selection. Today I’ll cover the more niche aspects of cane selection that not everyone agrees about.

Aspects of cane selection that many oboists care about

• Color: The color and shininess of the bark of the cane and the color of the inner part of the cane are both variables that some believe can indicate different aspects of the cane. The bark of cane is typically some shade of yellowish tan, but speckles of colors ranging from purple to brown to grey are also commonly observed. When I studied with her at DePaul, Jelena Dirks (now Principal of the St. Louis Symphony) said that she really liked pieces with a bit of purple on it. Generally I’ve been advised to avoid grey spots or places where the bark is dull instead of shiny.
  • On the inside of the cane, the color varies from greyed-off to quite yellow, and I’ve even used some cane with green markings to make decent reeds. I’ve observed that cane ages over time and takes on a darker brownish cast when it’s really old. I consider that cane to be much less useful, and only use it for students practicing tying reeds.
• Hardness: I find that cane hardness exists on a spectrum because each piece of cane is an organic material and isn’t exactly uniform. My understanding of cane hardness is fairly rudimentary: harder cane is less flexible and the reed can take longer to finish or break in, while softer cane is more flexible and is easy to finish quickly though it wears out faster over time. I know that hardness can be measured, but until recently, I haven’t had a tool to measure hardness, so I’ve used general guides provided by cane retailers about the qualities of cane.
• Bendiness: Some reedmakers twist pieces of soaked gouged cane to determine how bendy it is. I typically don’t care about this very much, so I only have some old notes to refer to about this quality of cane. My notes say: If the cane twists back into its original flat shape, it’s a good piece of cane. If it keeps the twist, it’s rejected as too bendy.

Niche aspects of cane selection

• Hardness testing: Until about a year ago, I had never tested the hardness of my cane. I’m happily able to borrow the West Valley College hardness tester, so I’ve been using it to test my cane for the last year or so. I don’t fully understand how it tests the hardness, but I have learned what numbers I prefer on the dial (8-10 for myself and 10-14 for student reeds). The lower numbers seem to be harder while the higher numbers seem to be softer.
• Density testing: There is a difference between hardness and density of cane. I learned about hardness and density testing for the first time maybe a decade ago while reading The Double Reed, IDRS’ quarterly journal. I remember thinking that the density testing was a pain in the butt, but that if I could get my hands on a hardness tester that would be worthwhile for the greater consistency in my reeds.
  • The article was apparently the final part of a 3-part series from 2011: “What Makes a Good Reed? An Explanation of Flexibility, Density, and Hardness of Arundo Donax L. Part III” by Kirsten M. Boldt-Neurohr, The Double Reed vol. 34 No 2, 2011.

All this said, the most important part of a reed is how it plays for you! It’s taken me decades to figure out both what cane I like, and how to make reeds consistently that work for me. I notice that my preferences change over time based on the humidity of the environment I play in, as well as the staples and oboe I use.

My current setup:

• Innoledy gouger, gouged to 0.58 when dry
• Rouche, Alliaud, or Marian cane 10.5 or 10.75 diameter, 8-10 hardness preferred
• Joshua +2 shape, Jennet Ingle Pro silver 47mm or Chiarugi 47 2 silver staples
• Euge template on a RNS profiling machine, finished by hand.
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I’d love to hear from you: What’s your current setup? How picky are you when you select cane to use for reeds? Did I miss any part of the cane selection steps that you take?

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Until next time,

Alli

Hey, Reader, Do you have any burning questions about playing oboe? Reply to this email and ask, and you might see the answer in the next newsletter!

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