Double

Reed Guide
Updated by Kathy Johnson 2019

OBOE

Reeds
• Soaking
o Dip reed in water up to the heart
o Shake out the excess water and put it back in the case for safe keeping
o In 2 minutes it’s ready to play, in 5 minutes, it’s dry
• Storage/cases
o Ventilation is key
o Cases that hold the reed by the tube is preferable to the mandrel style cases
• Lifespan
o 7 hours of optimal play time on any individual reed
o Reeds may last longer than that, but tone and intonation will suffer.
o Reeds get sharper in pitch as they age
• Crow
o Lips on the thread
o Reed sound/beep
! Lips on the cane while forming a proper embouchure
• Reed Exercises
o Descending Remington
! Concert C – Concert A
o Ascending Remington
! Concert C – Concert Eb

Embouchure
• Double lip embouchure
• The reed takes the bottom lip in
o Don’t just roll the lips in an insert the reed
• Roll the top lip over the top teeth
• Let the reed ‘float’ between the lips with little pressure
o The reed is supported from the sides by the corners of the lips
• Don’t allow the reed to ‘rest’ on the bottom lip
o This will restrict vibration

Articulation
• Touch the tip of the top of the tongue to the edge of the lower blade of the reed
o Use a “THUH” (as in the word through without the ‘r’) as the articulation syllable
o Be careful not to articulate past the tip of the reed
• Air is ‘dented’ or ‘interrupted’, not stopped when articulating

Articulation Exercises
 • Begin with longer note values and progress to shorter note value to gain control over how the sound
relates to the articulation

Instrument Angle
• Lower the head slightly
• The oboe is at approximately a 45 degree angle
o Changing the angle will affect the tone and response

Air
• Always operate between 20% - 70 % lung capacity
o There is quite a bit of resistance when playing the oboe
o Too much air and too little air can cause problems
o The student should feel some ‘back pressure’ but it shouldn’t be debilitating
! If the student is experiencing head aches or head rushes, they are probably trying to
blow too hard
o There are times when oboists must exhale the remainder of the air at the end of a phrase
before inhaling

Intonation
• The quality and strength of the reed is most important when developing good embouchure, tone, and
tuning habits
• A bad/old reed will be harder to play in tune
o This will cause students to compensate in unusual ways and create bad habits the can
negatively affect embouchure development
• Tuning can be controlled through a combination of air speed, embouchure strength, and voicing
(tongue position)
o The oboist is also able to slightly roll the reed in and out to alter the pitch, as done in the reed
Remington’s

Fingerings
• There are multiple fingerings for some notes on the oboe; so there is a hierarchy when selecting the
best one for the situation
o F
! Right key F
! Left key F
! Forked F
o Half-hole notes
! 1st octave key
! 2nd octave key
! 3rd octave key

Reed Adjustments
• Oboists go to great lengths to learn the skill of reed making
o This takes a lot of practice
o Don’t allow students to work on their own reeds until they have been trained
o If you are not skilled on reed making; don’t work on the reeds of your students
o Have a professional work on the reeds of your students (private instructor or reedmaker)
 • Special tools are needed to make almost any adjustment to the reed; you can destroy a reed if you
don’t use these tools
• The only adjustments you might feel comfortable doing would be to open the blades or close the
blades of the reed with your fingers
o Make sure the reed is sufficiently soaked
o Make sure you aren’t squeezing or pressing so hard as to split the cane

Bassoon


Reeds
• Soaking
o Soak the entire reed for 10 minutes
• Storage/Care
o Use a well ventilated case
• Lifespan
o 3-4 weeks if played regularly
! The reeds performance will vary depending on external conditions like weather
• Crow
o Lips to the wire
• Reed Sound/Beep
o Lips on the cane
o Form a proper bassoon embouchure

Reed Exercises
• Reed pitch exercises are to facilitate the different registers of the bassoon
o F on the reed
! C-G
o F# on the reed
! G-A
o G on the reed
! A#-D
o G# on the reed
! D#-G
o A on the reed
! G#-A
o Bb on the reed
! High Bb and above
• A combination of air speed, embouchure strength, and voicing is necessary to produce the correct
pitch
o Incorrect voicing in the lower register
! As much as a quarter step sharp
o Incorrect voicing in the upper register
! The note might not respond
• Descending Remington
o Concert F – concert Eb
 • Ascending Remington
o Concert F – concert Bb

Embouchure
• Double lip embouchure
• Make sure the jaw is dropped and relaxed
• Corners ‘hug’ the reed from the sides
o Think of a drawstring bag
• Developing the embouchure
o As you continue to refine your embouchure, you will want to create more oral cavity space
o Depending on lip size, you may want to roll your lips in less, aiming more for the red part of the
lips
o A bad reed will be harder to play in tune and will create poor embouchure habits and impede
embouchure development

Articulation
• Because the bassoon reed is further in the mouth
o Articulate on the lower blade of the reed just past the tip
• Use a “THUH” (as in the word ‘through’ without the ‘r’) syllable
o Correct tongue placement
o Correct amount of tongue on the reed

Fingerings
• LH thumb
o Home position is over/depressing the whisper key
o This thumb will move more frequently and has many key responsibilities
• RH thumb
o Home position is over the pancake key
• Venting/flicking
o To facilitate response on A, A#, B, C, & D above the bass clef staff
• Bocals
o Fox 2 or 3 or Heckel 2 is standard
! Fox CVX is a great choice for school use
• Silver plated nickel silver tube
• Ease of response in the full range of the instrument
o Number = length
o Letter = Metal and/or Bore size/taper
• Recommended Method Book resource
o The New Weissenborn Method for Bassoon
! Weissenborn is the most reliable source for bassoon pedagogy
• Great method book for private instruction and reference
• Great fingering chart (comprehensive)