TheOboeandYou:AJourneyToAPositiveDoubleReedExperienceExpressed By Dr.OscarPettyJr.,D.M.A MusicForAllSummerSymposium2018 BallStateUniversity Muncie,Indiana June25-30,2018

2

ReedbyExampleThereedisthenervecenteroftheoboe,withoutitthereisnosound.Soitisextremelyimportantthatyourstudentshaveaccesstoqualityreeds.Thisdoesn’trequireaprofessionallymadereed,thesemaycostbetween$20-$30foreachreed.These“Pro-Reeds”canbeexpensivefortheaveragestudent,bandororchestradirector’sbudget.Irecommendthatyoucontactaprofessionaloboistorbassoonistinyourareatogetfirsthandadviceonthebrandandstyleofreedthatwouldbestfittheneedsofyourstudents.Thestorespurchasedreedsarenotasexpensiveastheprofessionallycraftedreeds.IdonotrecommendplasticoboeorEnglishhornreedsofanykindforastudent.Oneofthemostimportantfactorsishowlongyourstudenthasplayedtheinstrument.Beginningstudentswillrequireareedthatislessresistanttoairandthatwillrespondwithamoderateamountofair.Becauseoftheirdevelopingembouchurethebeginningoboist/bassoonistwillnotrequireahardreed.Thereisnothingmorefrustratingthanastudenttryingtomakeasoundonandwoodwindinstrumentwithahardreed.Therefore,Irecommendasofttomediumsoftstrengthreedforthebeginningstudent.Thesofttomediumsoftreedwillallowthestudenttogaincontroloftheair,embouchure,andfingeringonthehorn.Inafewweeksthestudentmaysay“thisreedisclosing”or“toosoft”atthatpointyoumightconsidermovingthatstudenttoaharderstrengthreedperhapsamedium,andthentoamediumhard.Themediumhardreedisagoodchoicebecauseifthestudentisstudyingwithaprivateteachertheymayasktheirteachertoscapethereedtoamorecomfortablestrength.Myexperiencehasbeenthatelementaryschoolstudentstendtoplayonsoft,medium,mediumsoft,andhighschooloboistplayonmediumhardreeds.Overtimeareedbecomessofterandthuschangespitchandresponsetothearticulationofnotes.Theolderareedbecomesthehigherthepitch.Abasicrotationofthreedifferentreedsbythestudentisrecommended.Irecommendthatstudentsdonotplayonanewneedthedayofaconcertoraudition.Thestudentshouldplayonareedthatisbrokeninandthathasgoodpitchand“speaks”quickly.Theaveragemailorderorinstoreoboereedwillcostapproximatelybetween$12-$15dollarswithoutrefundsorexchanges;youmustselectthebrandofreedverycarefully.Allreedsareconsumablesandarerarelyexchanged,onlyiftheyclearlyaredamagedduringshipping.Eachcompanyhaspoliciesexplainingrefundsandexchanges.Myapproachtowhatreedstoorderisbytryingthereedspersonally.Ifyouarefinda“goodbatch”ofreedsfromaparticularvendorordermore!Iwouldsay4reedsperorder.Myapproachhelpstoeliminatewastedfundsandadditionalfrustrationfromstudentsanddirectorsalike.

3

ReedingIsFundamental:ImportantTipsforOboeReedSelection

v Lookforcracksorchipsonthebladesofthereed

v Reedsthathavealargeopeningatthetipwhendrymaynotbeagoodbuy

v Consultwithaprofessionaloboistorgraduatestudentthathasexperience

v Shoparoundforthebestpriceandqualityofreedthatyoucanafford

v HostaDoubleReedDayorClinicatyourSchoolorUniversity

v HostareedmakingclassatyourSchoolorCollege

v Agoodreedshouldplayintuneandplayinthe3registersoftheinstrument

v AgoodOboereedshould“crow”aCintermsofpitchandrespondwitha

moderateamountofair

v AvoidOboeReedsthathavesmallwirearoundthethroatofthereed

(exception,EnglishhornandOboed’amoreReeds)thewireisrequired.

v AvoidallplasticOboeReeds,evenforbeginners!

v EnglishhornReedsareunderthesesamebasicguidelines(widerinsize)

v Haveafewprofessionallymadereedsonyoursupplyorderforthat

advancedstudentthathasanimportantauditionormajorsoloinyour

band/orchestrarepertoire.

v SAVEthecorktubes/staplesoftheusedoboereeds,theycanberecycledand

usedwhenyourstudentsbegintheirreed-makingjourney!!!

4

MakingYourOwnReeds:Insaneideabutnecessary!

Irecommendthisifyourstudentsarestudyingwithaprofessionaloboistor

bassoonist. I approach this topic carefully, if a student has poor playing

techniqueontheinstrumentandrarelypractices;reedmakingisnotagood

idea! Studentsmaking their own reeds can be a blessing and curse. If you

startastudentmakingreedstooearlyintheirdevelopment;theywillwaste

valuablepracticetimetryingtoscapeoutthat“magicreed”.Myapproachto

thistoistoassistthestudentindevelopingallofthefundamentalsofplaying

the instrument. Correct posture, breath support, embouchure, fingering,

intonation, vibrato, and most of all tone production!! I recommend reed

making for those students that are serious and planning on majoring in

musicincollege.Thisisnotanexclusivepointofview;ifthestudenthasthe

time to devote to this aspect that comeswith playing the oboe then by all

meansdothereed-makingthing.Makingyourownreedsasanoboistisabig

deal and requires many tools, time, and yes patience! Most music

conservatories and universities have a “Reed Room” for students to make

reeds.Thereedroomisequippedwithagougingmachineandallthemajor

tools necessary to perfect this craft. In the oboe world your sound is a

combination of the reed, practice and the quality of your instrument. Your

reed isyourtonequality thatyouwillbeknownfor. In theearlyhistoryof

the oboe it is referred to as “an ill wind that no one blowswell”. So, our

reputationprecedesusinonelimitedcontext.Someoboistsonoccasionfight

thisstereotypeasajokeonsomelevel.Oncethestudentdevelopstheskillof

reed making it can be a very rewarding experience. You as oboist have

reachedanother levelof creativitywithinyourcraftasaperformingartist!

Theserecommendationsandideasareseenthroughthelensofpersonwith

over forty years of experienceplaying the instrument. Themost important

partofthejourneyisthatIstillenjoyperformingandstillmakereeds!!!

5

OboeandBassoonRecruitment

OneofthebestwaystoinspirestudentstoplaytheOboe,Englishhornand

Bassoonistoproviderecordingsforthestudentstolistento.Thestudentsof

todayhaveamazingaccesstoYouTubeandaplethoraofperformingartiston

everyinstrument.Thestudentscanselectfromperformingartisttheirageas

wellasthemoreseasonedartistsofthedoublereedworld.Theyalsohave

onlinemembershiptovariousdoublereedorganizationssuchasthe

InternationalDoubleReedSociety(IDRS)andanumberofotherwebsites

thathaveinformationaboutthedoublereeds.Youasthebandandorchestra

directorcanprovidesmallensemblemusicforadoublereedensemble.

ThereareanumbergoodarrangementsandoriginalworksforWoodwind

Quintet.MusicforWindQuintetfeatures,flute,oboe,clarinet,bassoon,and

horn.Thiscombinationofinstrumentscanbeselectedfromyourpooloffirst

chairplayersfromyourvariouslargeensembles.Youcanalsoselectmusic

thatfeaturestwooboes,Englishhornandbassoon.Ialsorecommendthat

youencouragestudentstodoubleonmorethanoneinstrumentoncethey

havedevelopedsolidfundamentalsontheirmajorinstrument.Forinstanceif

youhavealargenumberofsaxophonesplayers,suggesttoafewofthemto

tryoboeorbassoonforextracreditorspecialrecognitionwithinyour

program.Musicprogramsattheelementary,highschool,andsomecollege

programsmanytimeshaveashortageofoboes,bassoons,horns,violas,and

doublebass.Someofyouareawarethatoboeandbassoonplayersarein

demandforavarietyofensemblesinbothcommunityandprofessional

ensembles.

6

Itisalsoimportanttohavequalityandwell-maintaineddoublereed

instrumentsinyourinventoryatyourschool.Ialsostronglyrecommend

havingaprofessionaloboistandbassoonistvisityourschoolandplayallof

youroboesandbassoons.Theotheroptionistohaveawoodwindrepair

specialistindoublereedsvisityourschooltogiveyouanassessmentofyour

inventory.Thiswillprovideyouwithimportantinformationontheplaying

conditionofyourhorns.Dependingonyourschoolsbudget,itmaytakeyou

twoyearstopurchaseanewbassoon,oboe,orEnglishhornforyour

program;itisworththewaitinthehandsoftherightstudentthatis

interestedinplayingit.Inmostcasestheintermediatelevelhornwithagood

reedandaqualityinstructionwilldojustfine.

7

OboeandBassoonRepertoireandResourcesBeginningandIntermediateStudents

v ATUNEADAYv TUNESFORTECHNICv CONCERTANDCONTESTCOLLECTIONv ELEMENTARYMETHOD-RUBANKv INTERMEDIATEMETHOD-RUBANKv ADVANCEDMETHOD-RUBANKv ConcertoforOboeinFMajor-Corelliv ConcertoinCminor-B.Marcellov ConcertoinDminor-A.Marcellov ConcertoNo.8inBb-G.F.Handelv TwoFantasyPiecesforOboe-CarlNielsen,Opus2v IncantationandDanceforOboeandPiano-WilliamGrantStillv BriefElegyforOboeandPiano-UlyssesKayv PietaforEnglishhornandPiano-UlyssesKayv SonataforoboeandPiano-FrancisPoulencv RhapsodyforOboeandPiano-MarioLombardov ConcertoforOboeandPiano-MarioLombardo

MOREADVANCEDSTUDENT

v FerlingStudiesforOboe/Saxophone,Opus31,FranzFerlingv FortyProgressiveMelodiesforOboe,A.M.R.Barretv CompleteMethodforOboe,A.M.R.Barretv GrandStudiesforOboewithBassoonAccompaniment,A.M.R.Barretv WeissenbornStudiesforBassoon,Opus8

v WebsiteswithBassoonandOboeResources:

v InternationalDoubleReedSociety:www.idrs.org

v TheOrchestralBassoon:www.orchestralbassoon.com

v FreeBassoonSheetMusic:www.fagotzim.narod.ru

v MusicandtheBassoon:www.musicandthebassoon.org

v TheBreakingWindsBassoonQuartet:www.thebreakingwinds.com

8

OboeReedBrandsandRecommendedVendors*JonesArtistOboe*JonesArtistBassoon*StuartDunkelOboeReeds(ProfessionallyCrafted).*NorthTexasReedsandCane(ProfessionallyCrafted).

*ReedMakers.com(selectthereedstrengthforyourembouchure&resistancetolerance).ThisappliestoEnglishhorn,Oboed’amore,andBaroqueOboeReeds.Irecommendthatyouandyourteachermakesmallordertogetherandtryasamplefromeachvendorbeforeyoumakealargeorder!Askvendorarethereedsguaranteediftheydonotplayuptopitchandcostrefundable.*Anumberofmystudentsplayonthisbrandofreed,notallvendors’grantee100%satisfactionforallreeds.**Thisdocumentisintendedfordirectors,teachers,performers,andstudentsthatwouldliketogainadditionalknowledgeonreedselection,solorepertoire,andtutorsforoboeandbassoon.