Each month, we pick one new Reed Report subscriber to win 2 free oboe reeds of their choice. September’s winner is Anne Sandham! Congratulations Anne! You’ve got 2 free oboe reeds coming your way, with our compliments. Welcome to the Reed Report! If you haven’t signed up for your free subscription to the Reed Report, [...]
Read MoreFlarp
The dust is finally settling from the big launch of the Reedmaker’s Network. And as the haze begins to clear, I realize that I may have hopelessly confused you all. Let me apologize… In all of my excitement, I’m afraid I didn’t make things as clear as they should be. And I can’t really expect [...]
Read MoreThe BIG day is finally here… and we’ve got an exciting announcement to make at MKL Reeds. Get the details now! http://www.mklreeds.com/reedmaking.htm
Read MoreWhat is my number one piece of advice is for an oboist who is really interested in making more progress in less time? “Practice.” But over the years, I’ve realized that the word practice can mean a lot of different things, depending on who exactly you are talking to. There is good practicing and there [...]
Read MoreWe’re only about 18 days away from our big announcement at MKL Reeds. If you are reading this blog and haven’t signed up for our newsletter, The Reed Report, you are going to miss out. Before you play another note on your oboe, go and get your free subscription. You’ll get some free gifts and [...]
Read MoreSo most of you know that we just got done unpacking the UHaul truck after our move from Chicago. Everything went pretty smoothly: the oboe made it, the gougers, even the reeds got here without a crack. The only problem was our poor UHaul truck. We lost a belt somewhere around Indianapolis which made things [...]
Read MoreIt’s probably no surprise that we get a lot of questions from present, past and future customers about oboe reeds. That’s my business of course. We get questions like: “Do I need a soft reed or a hard reed?” “How should I know what reeds to order?” “What do I do with oboe reeds if [...]
Read MoreI always love trying different shaper tips–not only do they offer me different options and “feels”, but they can feel different on different gouges, so I often revisit unused shaper tips when I redo my gouge. Having recently gotten both of my gouges worked on, I went back through my shaper tip collection to see [...]
Read MoreI know a few musicians (oboists and non-oboists) that take betas on a regular basis for a variety of reasons and situations. One takes them for auditions only, one takes them everyday for heart palpitations, and several take them for scary performances. I’ve never tried them for a few reasons, on which I invite discussion: [...]
Read MoreI certainly don’t profess to know everything about reedmaking….in fact, I kind of like being presented with the odd reed problem now and then. It challenges me to do some investigating and create a solution for a specific reed issue. In the end, I learn a lot and my reeds get better… I do have [...]
Read MoreLast week, I managed to fall on a hard linoleum floor and ended up with a lovely goose egg on the back of my head. Playing the oboe with a goose-egg is much like playing with a head-cold — the pressure is painful and every reed feels too hard. Ouch. To counterbalance the pressure, I [...]
Read MoreIf you haven’t been around MKL Reeds in a bit, you may have missed the announcement about our first foray into the publishing world. It’s called, “How to Raise a Young Oboist WITHOUT Going Broke.” It’s specifically written for oboe parents. So what prompted me to write my very first e-book, you ask? Well, I’ll [...]
Read MoreIn the past month, I’ve had 2 colleagues brave the bass oboe part in Holst’s Planets, one here in Chicago and one in Nashville. It’s a very cool part and doubles on oboe, and there are some juicy low B solo tidbits that are pretty scary. I’ve tried a Heckelphone before, but the few notes [...]
Read MoreWhen this time of year rolls around, I always get nostalgic for all of those good school memories I have of being at Eastman, in Rochester NY. By now, it is REALLY fall in Rochester and I associate that with getting back into the swing of things, oboe-wise. The school year always started with an [...]
Read MoreI’ve been playing more English horn lately and it’s got me thinking about the importance of a good bocal. Bocals can vary completely in sound, pitch, and stability, but finding the right combination for your horn and playing style can make a world of difference. Currently I’m playing a Laubin 3 and Hiniker 2 B11. [...]
Read MoreYou know when you’re kind of in a slump? Not a reed slump or an oboe slump necessarily, but just feeling blah? I’ve felt this way the last few days or so… nothing “wrong” per se, the weather’s been good and everything is really fine. Maybe it’s a momentary lack of motivation or just too [...]
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How do you know if you'll like an oboe reed before you play it? You can't. When the rubber finally hits the road, it hardly matters if the reed is a great one, perfectly customized to your every desire, if it just plain doesn't work well for you. 
My name is Maryn Leister. I am a graduate of the Juilliard Pre-College Division and the Eastman School of Music, where I was a student of Richard Killmer. After graduating from college, I lived in Nashville, TN, then headed to Knoxville, TN, New York City, and finally Chicago...
