Finishing Your Reed!

Once you have scraped till the the tip of your reed is able to vibrate and you can hear a crow on your reed, it's time for the moment of truth: testing the reed.  Get out your oboe and let the reed soak for about 2 minutes in room temperature water (if it has dried out).  Place the reed in your oboe and simply play a scale, or whatever you wish to warm up and test the reed.  Make sure you have a tuner with you.  If the reed is too sharp, go ahead and keep scraping on it.  Be careful not to take off too much however.  If the reed is too flat, cut off a minuscule amount from the tip.  If you find yourself cutting off more than 1/4 of an inch off the tip, chances are it won't get any better and you will most likely have to play on a new reed.

A Completed Oboe Reed

I hope that all of your reeds play well and in tune :)

Good luck with all of your oboe endeavors,

Julia