Oboe Reeds

Listening to a lot of oboe music lately. While reading Mozart in the Jungle, a memoir by an oboe player, I became fascinated with oboe reeds and the necessity of serious players to make their own reeds. I was a reed player… clarinet and saxophone. You bought a reed, moistened it and started playing. I’ve always known oboe and bassoon double reeds were very different from what I used but didn’t realize the extent the customized shape and thickness impacted the tone and quality of the sound. So much of the playing depended on the expertise of reed making. The oboe player in the book obsessed over her reeds, bought imported cane and spent hours working at her reed table. Also found out there is a cottage industry in NYC of oboe reed makers used by professional oboist who don’t have the time to make their own.