Tips for new student oboe reeds

Tips for new student oboe reeds.

Once received the reeds, it is necessary that the first two or three times wet the cane in water for a longer time. The normal thing is to wet them 1 or 2 minutes. In this case, about 5 minutes will be enough for the reed to hydrate well and sound better and easier.

Usually after leaving the cane in water during this time the top of the cane will have an opening too large. To fix it, I recommend that you lightly squeeze your fingers in the scraping part of the reed to close the tip. Always squeeze very carefully because reeds are very delicate. The ideal opening is approximately one millimeter. I leave you a photo so that you can get a better idea of how it should be.

Once the cane is ready, just put it on the oboe. As the reed is new it has an unused staple and sometimes it is difficult. If we force the staple, we can break the cork. A tip to make the cork better suits the oboe and to enter more easily is to press it a little with a flat object. Always do it at the edge of the table so that the cane does not break. I leave you a video to show you how to do it much more clearly.

Now you can enjoy playing with your new reeds!

I give you an extra tip for old staples. In this case, your staple will come too loose. The tip is to put some rice paper or also called smoking paper around the staple. This will make the reed fit better.