We’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 goodies, and it will only take a minute. You can signup here: Sign-Up For The…
So 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 like steering and braking a bit difficult. Luckily, no one was hurt. Here is a…
It’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 I order them and don’t like them?” The list goes on and on… These are…
I 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 how things felt, and I’ve decided that my Ruth shaper tip makes absolutely fabulous reeds….that…
I 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: 1. The addiction factor: A person can start taking them just for auditions, then for…
I 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 a lot of reedmaking experience, however, owning a reed business and all. This leads me…
I had the pleasure of playing Tombeau for the first time a couple weeks ago. I played second oboe/English horn and it was a really fun part, though there are some really quick switches. Due to some past wrist problems, I play both oboe and English horn with a neckstrap now, and fast switches always offer a sort of conundrum for me: Is it better to wear 2 different neckstraps…
Last 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 made all my reeds really light and easy to play without really blowing. Now that…
In the freelancing world, there is often a lot of the same work; pick-up orchestras for the Messiah, or maybe church wedding gigs. So, I always get a little excited when something comes along that is really different, and more importantly, really fun to do. Not that long ago, I got the chance to play with a professional vocal ensemble, and was thrilled to discover a piece for choir and…
If 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 tell you….. As many of you teachers out there would agree, oboe parents that “get…