An Annotated Bibliography
By: Yali Chen
Introduction Dictionaries
and Encyclopedias Journal Article
Books Dissertation Sound Recording and Video Website Sources
I still can remember the charming melody, the oboe solo in
The reeds are made of a slip of the stem from a large
semi-tropical grass folded in half. The two halves bound together and scraped
thin to vibrate. Arundo donax, the stem of a large semi-tropical grass, grows
around the
In general, there are three types of reeds: French, German, and American styles. The French oboe is played with lighter, narrower reeds, which are scraped evenly from the middle of cane to the tip so it can produce a sweet and bright tone. The German reed style is scraped from the middle to the tip, enabling you to blow a heavy and dark tone. Although the German reed is the thickest, it has a very fine curving tip, and has an extreme thin finish. The American style of reeds (established by Frenchman Marcel Tabuteau, who was a principal oboist with the Philadelphia Orchestra) are longer and less evenly tapered compared to the French style, and particularly German style.
Each style has its own characteristic, and has different advantages in variety of aspects. The tone is the most significant difference among the three styles. I have been using the German style of reeds ever since I started to play the oboe, and I have found myself getting used to it; however, I have realized that the beauty of the tone still depends on the individual more than on the styles. A virtuoso familiar with the American style of reeds can play just as beautifully as one of the German or the French style. Different styles result in different kinds of tones, which different individuals may have different opinions about.
I hope that I’ve helped people who have no knowledge in oboe to understand more about the different important factors of this instrument. In addition, I would hope that all the oboists would have more profound ideas about the reeds and develop interests in finding the most suitable style for themselves.
Dictionaries
and Encyclopedias
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
“Koch, Lothar” by Geoffrey Burgress.
[UCI Holdings ML100 .N48 2001]
Lathar Koch, one of the most important oboist in German, is the principal
oboe in Berlin Philharmonic from 1960-1991, whose oboe playing was distinctive
feature.
The
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. “Oboe” by K.
Janet, Geoffrey Burgess, Bruce Haynes and Michael Finkelman. [UCI Holdings ML100
.N48 2001]
This book gives all the terms and definitions behind all the music, and it original makers. In this article, we might learn the history, development and improvement of oboe.
The
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. “Heins Holliger”
by Michael Kunkel. [UCI Holding ML100 .N48 2001]
In my opinion, Heins Holliger is the most important and talented oboist in 20th century as well as composer and conductor.
The
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. “Marcel
Tabuteau” by Laila Storch. [UCI Holding ML100 .N48 2001]
Marcel Tabuteau, a
French born American, is the most important oboe player in
The
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. “Georges Gillet”
by Geottrey Burgess. [UCI Holdings ML100 .N48 2001]
Georges Gillet
became the youngest-ever professor at the Paris Conservatory. He wrote many exercises for oboe
studies.
The
New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. “Oboe” by Philip
Bate and Niall O’Loughlin. [UCI Holdings ML102 I5 .N48 1984]
In this article, it gives a brief idea about the development of oboe.
Dearling, Robert. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of
Musical Instruments.
Finding all the detail and background information on all of the musical instruments family.
Post, Nora. “The 17th-
Century Oboe Reed.” Galpin Society Journal 35 (March 1982): 54. [UCI
Holdings ML5 .G26]
The discussion of the oboe reed in the 1600’s, an important century in the history of the oboe reed.
Palmer, Grederic R. “Reconstructing an 18th-Century
Oboe Reed.” Galpin Society Journal 35 (March 1982):100 [UCI Holding ML5
.G26]
Analysis of reconstructing an oboe reed in the 1700’s, step by step.
Hedrick, Peter. “Woodwind:
Oboe Reed and Embouchure: The Hidden Relationship.” The Instrumentalist
35, No.2 (September 1974): 50. [UCI Holdings MLS .I55]
Details the underlying relationship between the oboe reed and embouchure.
McGann, Daniel M. “Woodwind:
Oboe Reed Binding Materials.” Instrumentalist 29, No.11 (June 1975):
67. [UCI Holdings ML5 .I55]
Description of materials need in oboe reed binding as a process.
Probasco, Robert. “Woodwind:
Preparing the Oboe Reed for Playing.” Instrumentalist 29, No.2
(September 1974): 50. [UCI Holdings MLS
.I55]
Description of the preparation of the finished oboe reed prior to playing.
Cantwell, J. “Teaching Oboe
Shills – Reed Styles.” Woodwind Brass & Percussion 24, No.3 (1985):
8.
Details the instructions of oboe skills and the different reed styles.
Ostryniec,
J. “7 Tips on Oboe Reed – Making.” Woodwind Brass &
Percussion 22, No.6 (1983): 10-13.
Ceasarspall, K and JC Spall.
“Regression Analysis as an Aid in Making Oboe Reeds.” Journal of Testing
& Evaluation 25, No.4 (July 1997): 439-444. [UCI Holdings Sci Lib TA
410 J6]
Professional oboe players who make their own reeds go through a five consuming process that often results in a wasted effort.
Thrasher, M and KS Chesky.
“Prevalence of Medical Problems among Double Reed Performers.” Medical
Problems of Performing Arts 16, No.4 (December 2001): 157-160.
A study of medical problems of double reed players. Throughout the study, more females reported musculosketal problems than males.
Dalmont JP, B. Gazengel, J.
Gilbert and J. Kergomard. “Some Aspects of Tuning and Clean Intonation in Reed
Instruments.” Applied Acoustic 46, No. 1 (1995): 19-60. [UCI Available
online]
Analysis of the effects of the recd and the player embouchure and the consequences of inharmonicity in the resonance frequencies.
Glave, S., J.Pallon, C.
Bornman, LO. Bjorn, R. Wallen, G. Rastam, P. Kristiansson, M. Elfman and K.
Malmgvist. “Quality Indicators for Woodwind Reed Material.” Nuclear Instruments & Methods in
Physics Research Section B-Bean Interactions with Material and Atoms 150
(April 1999): 673-78. [UCI Available
online]
Reeds are the calms of Arundo Donaf, a tall, cane-like perennial grass. Large proportions of the prepared reeds are unusable due to quality, which are correlated with chemical and anatomical structure of the grass tissue.
Ledet, David A. “Oboe Reed
Styles: Theory and Practice.” Music Educators Journal 87 (November
2000): 55-6. [UCI Holdings ML 1 M234]
Like the book, an analysis of the different oboe reed styles, in theory and Practice.
Rath, Richard. “Oboe Reeds,
Styles and Shapes.” Woodwind, Brass and Percussion 23, No.2 (1984): 11-13.
Details of oboe reeds, styles, and shapes, and their effects of playing and tone.
Racz, V. “The 8th
Annual Northwest Oboe Seminar.” The Double Reed 25, No.2 (2003): 35-60.
Meeting notes from the seminar that includes new theories styles and practices.
Lehrer, Charles-David. “The Double Reed Archaeologist: A Guide to Its Contents.” The Double Reed 24, No.4 (2001):25-30.
Analysis of the double-reed. Everything from material, type, effects and contents.
Storch, Laila. “Oboe
Conference in
Meeting notes from
Bournes, D. “Oboereedbib: An
Annotated Bibliography of Oboe Reed Material.” JIDRS XVI (1988): 93-9.
Details all aspects of oboe recd material and type.
Haynes, B. “Double Reeds,
1660-1830: A Survey of Surviving Written Evidence.” JIDRS XII (1984):
14-33.
Survey notes of double reeds, their history, style and influence on oboists.
Burgess, Geoffrey. “Historical
Oboe Reeds: Avenues for Further Research, or Now What Do We Do With All These
Measurements?” A Time of Questioning (1994): 205-22.
A Chronological listing behind the history of oboe reeds, and some of its individual impacts.
Girard, Alain. The Singing
Reed: An Introduction to Reed Making.
In order to understand the importance of reed or anything in life, one must know about the original: where it came from and how it was made.
Ledet, David. Oboe Reed
Styles: Theory and Practice.
In depth details on the different styles of reeds including the theories and practice.
Weber, David B. The Reed
Maker’s Manual: Step-by-Step Instructions for Making Oboe and English Horn
Reeds.
Just as important as any owners’ manual, this manual has the entire step by step of reed making.
Berman, Melvin. The Art of
Oboe Reed Making.
For one who wants to have and understand all the foundations of making oboe reeds.
Bate, Philip. The Oboe: An
Outline of its History, Development and Construction.
A Comprehensive overview of the oboe. Outlines the history development and construction.
Ledet, David Author. “A
delineation of reed styles.” Ph.D diss., The
Description of the types of reed styles and their delineation. The author also has a full explanation of all
reed styles and the origin from which the reed was created.
Snitkin, Harvey Roy. “The
effect of reed type and player on the listener’s ability to discrimination
differences in tone quality.” Ph.D. Diss., The
Analysis of the effects of different reed types and depending on what type of reed the musicians uses is how the musicians perform that can depict the differences in tone quality that listeners pick up.
Evans, Kenneth Gene.
“Instructional Materials for the Oboe, 1695-1800.” Ph.D. diss.,
There are many materials that are need to product a quality oboe which this book provides a list of the all the imperative materials need to teach the art and history of the oboe. Evans also states many factors in the different kinds of materials that can be used in making a quality reed.
Prodan, James Christian. “The
effect of the intonation of the crow of the reed on the tone quality of the
oboe.” DMA. Diss., The
Details the effects on the tone quality of the oboe due to the intonation of
the crow of the reed. The author goes into detail on many of the factors that
have a big influence on the pitch and accuracy.
Such as the direction of the scrape way is one of the most influential
factors on the tone and quality of the oboe.
Antonopulos, Margaret Beth
Mitchell, “Oboist Henri De Busscher: From
One of the most famous oboists from Belgian, Henri De Busscher has a big
influence on American oboe schools in the western
Veazey, Charles. The Oboe
Reed Video: A Step-by-Step guide with Charles Veazey. Produced and directed
by Zamor Productions.
In this video, it shows every step to make the reed for an oboe. It goes into detail from the very beginning of wrapping a Cane to then scraping the reed to the perfect shape to have the finishing tone.
Strauss, Richard. Concerto
for Oboe and Orchestra in D Major,
Hansjorg Schellenberger, the principal oboe in Berlin Philharmonic, is the most important oboist who always used the German style reed in this century. He enjoyed the heavy, dark tones which is one of the strong qualities in a German reed.
Bach, J.S. Oboe Concerto in
F, The
Heinz Holliger, a talented oboist, is the most valuable performer in 20th
century. He became one of the most
talented oboists in the 20th century without following the German,
French, or American Styles. He created
his own styles which has made him so unique and brilliant.
Albinoni, Tomaso. 12
Concertos op. 9, I Solisti Veneti conducted by Claudio Scrimone. Ultima
3984255932, 2000, compact disc.
Pierre Pierlot, professor at the Paris Conservatoire, is one of the most important oboists of our times who used the French style reed. Consistent pattern in the French music in Oboe is the sweet, light, beautiful sound that is very easy to listen and enjoy. When you listen to this piece you will be able to hear the typical French style reed.
Villa-Lobos, Heitor. 25th
Anniversary – International Double Reed Society. Crystal 0941478702, 1997,
compact disc.
John Mach and Alex Kleing are the two important oboists from the East Coast
using the American Style Reed. They are
able to master the qualities of the American Style Reed which has very light
and soft tones. This is made possible
because the American reed is so heavily scraped from the top to the bottom of
the tip.
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. Oboe
Quartet, Brandis Quartet. Nimbus
Records 1035754872, 1996, compact disc.
Lothar Koch, the principal oboe in Berlin Philharmonic from 1960-1991, is one of the most important oboists who uses the German Style Reed. Koch, really demonstrate the powerful qualities of German reed style which is the strong deep stones.
Internet on-line. <http:www.public.asu.edu/~schuring/Oboe/oboeinfo.html>. [
In this website, you may read the information about reed making.
Internet on-line.
<http:www.public.asu.edu/~schuring/Oboe/Reed.giode.html>. [
You can read all the steps in making reed and all the information that you should know in advance.
Internet on-line.
<http:www.public.asu.edu/~schuring/Obeo/diagram.html>. [
In this website, it gives you the detailed picture of reed.
International Double Reed Society.
Internet on-line. <http:www.idrs.colorado.edu/>. [
You may get all the information about concerts, conferences and events in
oboe.