As close as it gets to actually watching someone live. There are certainly other fine options, but i have found the. These two steps are my method of forming the tube and how i bevel, wire, and wrap the reed. Crow the sound the reed makes when not attached to the bassoon.
Using one allows you to get really scientific with your reed adjusting making. Comments by terry ewell on the performance characteristics of each reed are also included in this article. Benjamin kamins, professor of bassoon at rice universitys shepherd school of music, demonstrates clipping and adjusting a new bassoon reed in the herzbergkamins reed making method. Response not making sound immediately when you articulate or only being able to. This cleans off the surface scum that collects with use and lengthens the life of the reed. The next post will be after the cane is dried the first time. Measurements of north american bassoon reeds terry b. Mmis bassoon reed profiling machines are accurate, adjustable, and ensure a consistent reed every time. There are three primary elements of the reed to inspect for its general health. Alternately, you can gather the materials for finishing your own reeds by acquiring a reed knife, mandrel, reamer, plaque, small rattail file, fine flat file, fine sandpaper, small pliers, small block of hardwood, and cane. With experience you will soon learn the sound and feel of a good reed. Depending on the settings of the template set and the type of cylinder set the profiler can do this for all types of bassoon reed. As demonstrated in glickmanpopkins bassoon reed making pg. New pyramid diamond file for reed making has a rating of 5.
The teaching of bassoon reed making can be traced back over three hundred years, as this brief historical analysis by christin schillinger shows. These come in handy when the reed you boughtmade is flat in pitch. How have successful reed makers instructed amateurs to master a craft that. We still have to seal the tube up and create a fulcrum to maintain the tip opening by beveling and putting on the wires. Do not use the lips to constrict the reed when making this test, just hold loosely and blow. Diamond file set diamond file set four 5 12 diamond files. The oboe reed knife requires more sharpening than knives used for clarinet, sax or bassoon reeds. Reedmaking tools bassoon tools files hodge products. Beveling takes cane off the inside at a 45 degree angle. We suggest you try our crook and staple student bassoon reeds which are designed specifically for the needs on the beginner bassoonist until you reach about grade 4 bassoon and made in the uk. The importance of cane selection in historical bassoon reed making instrument.
Diagnosing and adjusting reeds cayla bellamy, bassoon. Instead, general principles exist that, with great exceptions, produce consistent reedsmostof the time. Usually delivered within 35 business days from despatch. A pedagogy for finishing reeds for the germansystem.
These wire shapes may change as you adjust the reed to make a better sound. The earliest, merely cursory mentions of bassoon reeds in print appear in musical dictionaries and broad works by, for example, johann joachim quantz and jacques hotteterre. Using the flat file i make two strokes from the collar and go off the tip in each section, on both sides. This pdf file is an adaptation of a flute warmup from the taffanelgaubert book 2, number 4. Thought id do a pictorial on how i make bassoon reeds. A brief reed making guide university of north texas. Bassoon reed making tools edmund nielsen woodwinds. Jason worzbyt welcome to the wonderful world of bassoon reed making.
Buying premade reeds can become expensive if you are a professional or consistent player who uses up reeds constantly. Below is a list of tools you will need for the different stages of reed making. Though he makes reeds slightly different from me, this is an excellent book for novice reed makers. Reed making is a skill that requires many years in which to develop competence. Ewell towson university, towson, maryland while many excellent books and articles are now available detailing preliminary steps for making. Lou skinners theories and techniques, james mckay another source for articles by burns. They have a thicker tip which means they are less likely to be damaged accidentally, respond very easily making a freeblowing pleasant tone and they. In many cases, i am including the brand of tool that i prefer, and the. Making your own bassoon reeds allows you to shape, file, and adjust the reed to your personal needs, rather than having to cope with the difficulties some storebought reeds can present. Its fun to go shopping for shapers or shaper tipsreedmaking.
Oboe and bassoon reed making requires a lot of tools, varying from the cheap and simple to the complex and expensive. Bassoon reed profilers profiling machines from midwest. The following list includes all the tools you will need to form reed blanks starting with gouged, shaped and profiled cane, as well as for adjusting reeds. Heres part one, which entails the part i do when the cane is wet the first time. The profiler with collar cutting function ccf can cut a sharp collar. The easiest place to get these is one of the large double reed companies. How to adjust bassoon reeds diagnosing your bassoon reeds. The bassoon profiler is not a tip profiler so it does not make a finished reed tip. It goes through all of the major and harmonic minor scales using the circle of fifths. Reed making from gsp to blank christin schillinger, bassoon.
Double check your wire measurements, and wire snugness. The importance of cane selection in historical bassoon reed making. Reeds n stuff spare blade for oboe or bassoon profiling machines. The bassoon profiler scrapes the profile of the reed. Reed making knives, threat, wire, tools discover our accessories. Hodge products is an ecommerce store selling oboe and bassoon products including reeds, reed making tools, and double reed accessories. The book is full of very detailed pictures that take you through his entire process of making a reed. I was making an infographic of how much it costs to be a bassoon student, and wondered what the average cost of a finished bassoon reed was. Rieger tip profiling machine for bassoon this is the ultimate machine for any bassoonist. Even then, for most professional bassoonists, it becomes a dynamic art, subject to change as the player, circumstances, and demands of performance change.
In many cases, i am including the brand of tool that i prefer, and the source of the tool. We offer a wide variety of bassoon reed making files to create the right reed for your instrument. If youve decided to stick with the bassoon, consider making your own reeds. There simply does not exist a right or wrong method for making reeds. Bassoon reed files need a top notch bassoon reed file to create the exact reed you desire.
A diagram showing my reed dimensions and wire placements. Hodge products is also the manufacturer of hodge silk swabs for all the woodwind instruments as well as trumpet and french horn. Bandmasters, who do not play bassoon should either buy their reeds from a reliable source, or buy reed blanks and hand finish them. This reed adjusting file is 14cm long, includes a comfortable soft touch rubber handle and will fit into a tiny space for transportation when required. I ended up putting together this excel sheet with as many reeds as.
Making the wire rounder by squeezing the sides of the reed, where the wire is, will. Steps for quickly identifying the most promising reeds, thereby saving time and guesswork. There are two kinds of knives that are widely accepted to use, the doublehollow ground and beveled. I have prepared this handout to serve as a guide for your journey through the reed making process. If you plan to make a lot of reeds, you will definitely want to invest in one of these. While the early steps of forming bassoon reeds can be precisely specified and in many instances. In the earliest known indepth discussion of reeds, pierre cugnier stresses that no scientific proportions serve as a perfect model producing consistent reedseverytime. For places to buy suppliestools and more info on making bassoon reeds, go to my resources page. It makes every reed tip identical and allows thickness adjustments as well. Philadelphia orchestra sol schoenbach said that if you take a laundry basket and fill it with reeds that you have made, by.
Picking up where my previous post leaves off, we now have a piece of cane folded over and the tube made round. Peruse our topnotch inventory below to find the bassoon reed profiler you need. This book describes and illustrates a basic method of bassoon reed making that is ideal for players who are just beginning to play or those who which to know more about making, adjusting and finishing reeds. Gig bags for rieger machines reeds n stuff bassoon reed tip profiling machine. Knives are essential for oboe reed making, not adjusting. Reeds n stuff spare blade for profiling machines this is a blade for the reeds n stuff oboe profiling machine to replace a dull or damaged blade.
Looking at the butt of the reed, there are four corners. For more info on making bassoon reeds, go to my resources page. Nexuswoodwind now offers a wide variety of high quality yet affordable bassoon reed making tools for the aspiring bassoonist. Before being able to adjust your bassoon reeds you must first decide what is wrong with the reed, it is no use simply saying the reed is bad. Reed making is inextricably linked with modern bassoon pedagogy. With your knife perpendicular to the grain of the cane, scrape in the channels to create the intended shadow. So if youre interested in making your own reed youve come to the right place. Bassoon reed kits easels filing miscellaneous bassoon reed making tools pliers shaping tools view as grid list. Pyramid diamond file for reed making crook and staple.
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