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*****The Reed Report: Issue 29*****
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Congratulations! As a newsletter subscriber, you are one of the
first to see this important information. Read on for the latest
and greatest from MKL Reeds.

In this issue:

*The BUZZ – Are you a college student home for break?

*Reed “Tip” of the Month – Can you play in tune?

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The BUZZ
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Are you home from college and absolutely excited about taking a
break from EVERYTHING (including the oboe:) ?

Vacations are great and more than necessary in your busy life.
But don’t forget, next semester is right around the corner.

Before you prop your feet up for your long winter nap, take a few
minutes NOW and prepare for next semester by getting your ducks
(er, reeds) in a row.

We’ve got something special for you now that you are home from
college.

Place an order on or before December 23rd and be entered to win a
FREE copy of our practicing guide, “Does Practice Make Perfect?”
The drawing will take place on December 26 and the winner will be
notified by email.

The guide, packed with practicing tips, shows you how to break
your practice down into its key parts and make sure that your
entire practice session works to build the right skills required
for you to master the oboe.

Follow this guide and take your oboe playing to a new level!

Order now by clicking on the link below:

http://www.mklreeds.com

When placing your order, don’t forget to let us know what college
you attend (put it in the order comments) so that we can enter
you in the drawing. (This offer is open ONLY to college oboists.)

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The Reed Tip
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This issue’s reed tip comes from the Reed Guru at our sister site
Oboe:Space (www.oboespace.com). If you have a reed question, you
can have it answered for free by visiting our site at
www.oboespace.com

Q: I make my reeds and have been doing so for years. I just
bought a new Loree and the reeds are in tune throughout out
except they are very sharp in the third octave. I have been
trying different shapes to try to find a better one for this
problem, but no success.

A: Because I don’t think of reeds being out of tune (but rather
me playing out of tune), I need to come at this from a different
angle. If my playing in general was sharp, or generally flat, I
would treat that as a reedmaking issue and probably experiment
with shapes and other variables.

It is typical for a note or two to not feel right for you on a
new oboe, hence the undercutting and all that can be done to
correct, say, an unstable or flarp F#.

But if I was in your shoes with a brand new oboe and there was a
whole octave that felt off, I’d probably look in the mirror as a
possible cause. Getting used to a new oboe after an old, maybe
worn out or even blown-out one can be difficult because you may
find that perhaps you were doing a lot of compensating (with your
air, embouchure, whatever) to make the old oboe work as it aged.

I’d try and be as honest with the new oboe as possible, and pay
extra attention to any habits you may have acquired. Perhaps you
were used to compensating for a flat upper register, and now that
you have one that sits in the right shelf, you don’t need to do
that.

Thanks for reading. Until next time…