The Allure, Myth, Necessity of Gear
The right equipment can change your life.
In the period of time after concerts stopped in 2020, like most musicians I didn't play much in public and, in retrospect, a perverse benefit of this was a chance to test, tinker, scrap, and re-evaluate my reed-making. Playing oboe in fits and spurts through the pandemic I had the “pleasure” of putting the oboe down and then getting back into shape a few dozen times. The instrument feels extremely foreign after even a few days away and in this case, that feeling of being unmoored with the oboe was also the spark where I started to ask “why am I doing it this way” when it came to certain aspects of my reeds. I felt that I could keep a lot of ideas swirling around and instead of just settling on something that “worked” for a given concert I was able to think deeply about several structural factors within my reed-making for the first time since I was in school.
I filled in as principal oboe with the Elgin Symphony once life haltingly resumed the following year, and this was my chance solidify some new ideas into consistent practice. That season turned out to be the first year I finally could trust the reeds I made during the week of a professional cycle were going to turn out as beautifully as the reeds I walked in with on the first rehearsal with “unlimited” time beforehand. At the ripe age of 30. All throughout my freelance and auditioning career to that point (and my two seasons “acting” full time with the North Carolina Symphony) I felt like I could never stick the landing of reed consistency. It seemed so effortless for my teachers and yet I could only get ~95% of the way to their results. But, having made some important changes (I’m keeping this vague on purpose) I finally found “my” approach to reeds. Pretty soon after, I won the 2nd oboe audition in Grant Park and then associate principal with the Toronto Symphony. I account 90% of this “sudden” success to a finding an equipment setup that truly worked for me.
With in mind, when I get asked what is your reed-making setup my answer is that it doesn't really matter and that it won't change your playing, if that’s the only question you’re asking. For a setup change to be effective, it has to come as the result of asking the right questions; you need some kind of unrest or magnetic spark bristling up against the status quo of your current playing. We often think that that a shape or a gouge (or an instrument !) will make some huge difference, if only we could find the right one….. when in reality we often end up adjusting other aspects of our reeds when we make an equipment change and end up sounding the same as we started. Consider the following prior to any equipment change:
What are my non-negotiables? What am I willing to put up with on a lesser reed, if it gets me the X/Y/Z qualities I like? Should I realign what qualities are non-negotiables? (For those consistently missing the later rounds of auditions, this can be a crucial self-reflection)
Are issues of consistency in any way my fault, or can I safely put the blame on the machine?
What would another oboist think of my typical reed? Is the judgement they would make a quality I want to double-down on and emphasize, or try to negate?
Am I happy with the distance/size/relationship of an octave on my instrument? Even if I’m “happy” (or perhaps just… used to it?) would changing this relationship allow me more freedom to do X/Y/Z with my reeds?
Am I happy with the relationship with the “left hand” notes versus the “right hand” notes on my instrument? Would changing this relationship allow me more freedom to do X/Y/Z with my reeds?
Am I happy with how much air my reeds take? (Again, accustomed to ≠ happy with) Do I want my reeds to respond more immediately or with more “cushion”? What does an easy reed look like for me?
Do I want to emphasize brilliance or volume at the upper limit of dynamics? Can I adjust something with my playing to use a reed that takes more or less air, to get X/Y/Z effect?
In the event that something is fundamentally dysfunctional or simply no longer aligned with your playing priorities, equipment changes everything. But, the idea that some new piece of equipment will be a panacea can often lock heads with the inertia present in one’s existing reed-making process. Yes, gear can change everything or it can do nothing at all. A new gouge, shape, instrument, tool-du-jour could simply result in an altered scrape, since we reflexively create the same reeds with the same weaknesses. Then when all is said and done the new great gizmo “does nothing” because we didn’t consider what should be different in the conceptual approach.
On gear changes..
In general, I think equipment changes make the biggest impact from large to small. Meaning, start with your instrument. This is not a diatribe pro- or anti- certain instruments, but really be honest and nonemotional with an assessment of your instrument. For example, the intonation on your instrument can always be changed! In a few hours by most technicians. Even at home with some nail polish, a file, or a screwdriver. (Seek professional advice on this, just a disclaimer)
How about tubes, which are the next largest object we interact with on the instrument, in sheer physical size. I had a student come in recently with a reed case full of reeds, majority unplayable, and the ones that worked were always on the same type of tubes. As students we occasionally, despite ourselves, stumble onto a good read and my teacher Betty Camus would often sarcastically say, “why don’t you go home and make them all like that?” In this case, the “bad” tubes were a brand that’s well loved by the community and I sincerely believe that they work for many people. But, how about for you?
With the intonation fixed on your oboe and with a staple that supports the sound and intonation you would like, only now do we touch shape, cane, gouge. By this point, do you still feel your setup needs changing?
And on an on.
So, yes, I have very specific gouger setup that I prefer, cane that I like (sometimes), a shape I don’t often stray from, and an even scale on my oboe that I have put a lot of work into customizing. To have the hubris of a (usually male) figure from the last century, I would decree that this is TheWay™. It is certainly my way and it changed my life when I adopted this setup. Be relentless in your quest for a consistent and beautiful reed but don’t start at the tip of the pyramid when looking for what to adjust. Question the whole structure. Asking the right questions is more important than any machine or piece of bamboo. Questions are free and gougers are not.