double reed

{{short description|Type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments}}

{{multiple image

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| image1 = Bassoon Reeds.jpg

| caption1 = Bassoon reeds, showing the oval opening (bottom left), which is actually a vesica piscis

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{{use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}

A double reed{{Cite web |url=https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/oboe/mechanism/mechanism002.html |title = The structure of the oboe: The double-reed mechanism |series=Musical Instrument Guide |publisher=Yamaha Corporation}} is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. In contrast with a single reed instrument, where the instrument is played by channeling air against one piece of cane which vibrates against the mouthpiece and creates a sound, a double reed features two pieces of cane vibrating against each other. This means, for instruments with the double reed fully exposed, that the air flow can be controlled by the embouchure from the top, bottom and sides of the reed.{{cite web |url=https://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/double-reed-acoustics.html |title=Double reed acoustics: oboe, bassoon and others |last=Wolfe |first=Joe |publisher=UNSW Sydney, School of Physics |website=Music Acoustics |access-date=3 October 2022}} The term double reeds can also refer collectively to the class of instruments which use double reeds.

Structure and dimensions

The size and shape of the reed depend on the type of double-reed instrument which is of two groups, conical and cylindrical.{{cite book |last1=Jähnichen |first1=Gisa |last2=Yoshitaka |first2=Terada |title=Double reeds: Along the Great Silk Road |date=2019 |publisher=Logos Verlag Berlin |place=Berlin, Germany |isbn=9783832548865 |pages=i-vi|series=25th International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) Colloquium, Double-reeds of the Silk Road: The Interaction of Theory and Practice from Antiquity to Contemporary Performance}} Even within families of instruments, for example, the oboe family, the reed for the oboe is quite different from that for the cor anglais (English horn).{{cite book |title=Physics and music: Essential connections and illuminating excursions |first1=Kinko |last1=Tsuji |first2=Stefan C |last2=Müller |date=2021-05-31 |publisher=Springer |place=Cham, Switzerland |isbn=9783030686758 |pages=103, 181-182, 185}}

Oboe reeds are usually 7 mm (0.3 in) in width, while bassoon reeds are wider, from 13.5 to 15.9 mm (0.53–0.63 in). Since the width of a reed affects its sound and response, reed makers experiment constantly to achieve the results they desire. Reed length, which broadly affects pitch, is much less consistent globally, as different orchestras tune to different frequencies. Auxiliary double reeds such as English horn and contrabassoon have their own sets of measurements, which are subject to the requirements of the player.

{{Gallery

|align=center

|width=200

|height=155

|File:Palheta.jpg|Bagpipe of Portugal reed (gaita transmontana)

|File:Bassoon-reeds2.jpg|Bassoon reed

|File:Anches bombarde.jpg|Bombard reed

|File:Reed f-alto crumhorn.jpg|Crumhorn reed

|File:Duduk_mouthpiece.png|Duduk reed

|File:Tudell i canya de la dolçaina.JPG|Dulzaina reed

|File:Par de inxes Viquipedia.jpg|Gralla reed

|File:Oboe Reed.jpg|Oboe reed

|File:Piffero Doppelrohrblatt 20090427214452.jpg|Piffero reed

}}

Materials

For the reeds of European instruments, cane from Arundo donax, a wetland reed species traditionally from southern France, is commonly used.{{cite book|url= |last=Buccur |first=Vochita |title=Handbook of materials for wind musical instruments |date=2019 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |pages=187; 255; 574 |isbn=9783030191757}} The reeds of non-European instruments can be made from similar wetland grasses, bamboo or young leaves from toddy palm trees.{{cite web |url=https://wmic.net/mongolia-bishguur/ |title=Mongolia 'Bishgüür' |website=The Hartenberger World Musical Instrument Collection |last=Hartenberger |first=Aurelia |date=n.d. |access-date=2022-10-26}} For example, the reed of Japan's hichiriki can be made from either mountain bitter bamboo{{cite web |url=https://gagaku.stanford.edu/en/woodwinds/hichiriki/ |title=Hichiriki |last1=Kapuściński |first1=Jarosław |last2=Rose |first2=François |website=Orchestration in Gagaku music |publisher=Ensemble Reigakusha |date=2020 |access-date=6 October 2022}} or Phragmites australis, the latter is a softer cane than Arundo donax.{{cite web |url=https://www.doublepipes.info/hichiriki-reeds/ |title=Hichiriki reeds |first1=Jean |last1=Jeltsch |first2=Robin |last2=Howell |last3=Brown |first3=Barnaby |website=The workshop of Dionysus |date=2018 |access-date=7 October 2022}} When soft materials are used, adding layers to the reed can increase the stiffness while also maintain suppleness; for example, Myanmar's hne reed can have up to six layers of leaves from the palmyra palm tree which technically transform the double reed into a sextuple reed.{{cite web |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/500766 |title= Hnè, late 19th century, Burmese |website=The MET (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) |date=2022-01-01 |access-date=2022-10-25}}{{cite web |title=Wind instrument 'Hne' |url=https://sammlung-digital.lindenmuseum.de/en/object/wind-instrument_2233 |website=Linden-Museum Stuttgart / Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde |date=2020-01-01 |access-date=2022-10-25}}

It is also possible to make reeds from synthetic materials such as polypropylene,{{cite web |url=https://www.legere.com/need-to-know/why-they-work/ |title=Need to know: Why they work |date=2022 |last1=Légère |first1=Guy |last2= Kortschot |first2=Mark |website=Légère Reeds |place=Ontario Canada|access-date=6 October 2022}} which tend to last longer because they are less sensitive to temperature and humidity fluctuations. However, since the tone quality is dissimilar to that of a cane reed, synthetic reeds are not favoured by professional musicians.

Construction

A variety of tools are used for splitting, chopping, gouging and shaping the cane in the reed-making process.{{cite web |title=Guide to oboe reed making |date=2021 |publisher=Lyon Oboe Studio |website=Concordia University Irvine, Music Department |url=https://www.cui.edu/Portals/0/assets/arts/music/events/double-reed-day/Guide-to-Oboe-Reedmaking-2021.pdf |place=California, United States}}

=Example: Bassoon=

For bassoon reeds, tubes of cane are first split lengthwise then gouged to a certain thickness using a gouging machine. The chosen piece of cane is then cut to shape using a flat shaper and the centre portion is thinned (profiled) using a profiling machine which could be as simple as a wooden dowel and scraping knife to sophisticated machines with planes on a rod and a barrel to hold the cane that has accuracy down to .001" . The cane is folded end to end to form the two blades of the reed. The unprofiled end of the cane is shaped into a tube with the aid of a mandrel and bound with three (or four in some reed making techniques) strategically placed wires. A turban made out of thread is added on the third wire. It provides a hand hold for the reed that is not a sharp wire. The folded tip is cut off to allow the blades to vibrate and final adjustments to the interior of the reed using a reamer to precisely finish the tube to fit the bocal dimensions, and to the exterior (blade) using a reed-scraping knife or tip profiler, are carried out. The reed is then ready to fit to the bocal of the bassoon. The parts of the bassoon reed starting at the tip are: tip, blade, collar (where the profiled cane ends and throat begins), throat, 1st wire, 2nd wire (where throat ends and tube begins), 3rd wire, and butt (where the tube ends).{{cite EB1911 |first=Kathleen |last=Schlesinger |wstitle=Reed Instruments|volume=22|page=974}}{{cite book |last=Schillinger |first=Christin |title=Bassoon reed making: A pedagogic history |date=2015-12-14 |publisher=Indiana University Press |place=Bloomington, Indiana, United States |isbn=978-0253018151}}

=Example: Oboe=

The construction of double reeds for the oboe family of instruments is similar in principle: like the bassoon's reeds, they consist of two pieces of cane fastened together with an opening at the tip. However, because the oboe does not have a bocal, the cane must be fastened to a metal tube (the staple), the lower half of which is normally surrounded by a piece of cork. The staple is then inserted into the farrow at the upper end of the oboe.{{cite book |last=Rothwell |first=Evelyn |title=Guide to oboe reed making |volume=III |series=Evelyn Rothwell's Guide to Oboe Reed Making |publisher=Howarth of London |place=London |date=2018 |pages=1; 5–8; 45}}

=Ready-made reeds=

Players can buy reeds either ready-made, or in various stages of formation, such as part-scraped, reed blanks, or buy the staples and cane separately. Cane is sold in several forms: as tubes, gouged, gouged and shaped, or gouged and shaped and profiled. Bassoon cane has the further option of being profiled before purchase. There are also many options with regard to staples and shaping equipment, which all have a subtle effect on the tone quality a reed will produce.

=Reed variability=

Differences in reed construction that may be visually minor can have a substantial impact on the sound produced by the reed, and as a consequence professional double-reed players must exercise meticulous craftsmanship in creating a suitable-sounding reed for whatever repertoire they are playing, with yet further considerations such as whether the player is principal or sectional, or whether the reed will be suitable for every item on the program. Environmental factors such as humidity and temperature also affect the performance of a double reed. Adjustments to reeds are, consequently, very frequent among double-reed musicians.{{cite book |last2=Schuring |first2=Martin |last1=Fiala |first1=Michele |title=Great oboists on music and musicianship |date=2020-11-27 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0190915100}}

The reedmaking culture varies between countries, cities, and individuals, and the reedmaker accepts that the life of each reed is extremely short.{{cite podcast |host=Chloe Veltman |title=Oboe reeds |website=BBC Radio 4 |publisher=Publisher |date=20 April 2020 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p089zlpj |series=The Boring Talks |id=51 |access-date=5 October 2022}} Among oboists, there are several distinct schools of reedmaking, notatably the American and European schools.{{Cite book |last=Ledet |first=David |title=Oboe Reed Styles, Theory and Practice |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780253213921}} American, or "long scrape" reeds feature two visible "windows" of removed cane separated by a central spine, whereas European or "short scrape" reeds typically feature a more homogenous, tapered thickness across the entire reed. The construction of the American reed can help facilitate a "darker" timbre, whereas European reeds may foster a "brighter" sound.{{Cite journal |last=Evans |first=Nicole |title=A Comparison of Traditional American, German and French Oboe Reeds |url=https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1207&context=utpp |journal=Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts |via=The University of Montana}}

Playing

The orchestral double reeds all employ a similar embouchure. Players pull their lips over their teeth to protect the reed from their teeth, and then vibrate the blades of the reed by blowing, while controlling the timbre and pitch with constant micromuscular pressure adjustments from the muscles of the mouth and jaw. Articulation is achieved by occluding the mouth of the reed with the tongue and then releasing it, with extended techniques such as double tongue, flutter tongue and growl all possible as on the other woodwind families.{{cite book |last=Griswold |first=Harold G |title=Teaching woodwinds |date=2015 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |pages=22–23 |isbn=9781317343707}}{{cite book |last=Millican |first=Si |title=Starting out right: Beginning band pedagogy |date=2012 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |pages=59–60 |isbn=9780810883024}}

The principal difference between double-reed embouchures – both between and within instrument families – is in the positioning of the rolled-in lips, and the musculature employed to control a sound. Oboe reeds, being much longer relative to their width, require concentrated pressure near the tip with more pressure from the sides of the mouth, whereas bassoon reeds are played with lips slightly more pouted and not necessarily aligned vertically. Similarly, the Armenian duduk does not require rolled-in lips and the control of the air flow is distributed toward the lower half of the cheeks.{{cite book |last=Nercessian |first=Andy |title=The duduk and national identity in Armenia |date=2001 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |pages=115–117 |isbn= 9781461672722}}

All double-reed players employ and develop muscles at the back of the mouth to control their intonation via adjustments to the shape and pressure of the oral cavity surrounding the reed.{{cite web |title=Oboe: Two worlds of sound |website=Vienna Symphonic Library |url=https://www.vsl.info/en/academy/woodwinds/oboe |date=2022 |place=Vienna, Austria |access-date=6 October 2022}}{{cite book |last=Pagliaro |first=Michael J |title=The musical instrument desk reference: A guide to how band and orchestral instruments work |date=2012 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |pages=74–75 |isbn=9780810882713}}

Instruments

=Period=

There are three main groups of instruments based on the methods of playing: blowing directly into the reed, partially blowing into the reed, and not blowing directly into the reed.{{cite web |url=https://wmic.net/europe-united-states/wind-instrument-7/woodwind-7euus/double-reed/ |title=Double reed |website=The Hartenberger World Musical Instrument Collection |last=Hartenberger |first=Aurelia |date=n.d. |access-date=5 October 2022}}{{cite book |last=Carroll |first=Paul |title=Baroque woodwind instruments: A guide to their history, repertoire and basic technique |date=2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |pages=88–91}}{{cite web |title=Music in the daily life of Vermeer: The shawm (2) |first=Adelheid |last=Rech |date=2021 |url=http://www.essentialvermeer.com/folk_music/shawm_a.html |series=Essential Vermeer 3.0 |access-date=5 October 2022}}{{cite journal |title=Renaissance wind instruments with a double reed, part 1 |first=Agnieszka |last=Szwajgier |date=2019 |url=https://www.sciencegate.app/document/10.5604/01.3001.0013.7164 |volume=2 |issue=12 |pages=9–32 |doi=10.5604/01.3001.0013.7164 |series=Notes Muzyczny |s2cid=212926747 |access-date=6 October 2022|url-access=subscription }}{{cite journal |title=Renaissance wind instruments with a double reed, part 2 |first=Agnieszka |last=Szwajgier |date=2020 |url=https://www.sciencegate.app/document/10.5604/01.3001.0014.1900 |volume=1 |issue=13 |pages=9–27 |series=Notes Muzyczny |doi=10.5604/01.3001.0013.7164 |s2cid=212926747 |access-date=6 October 2022|url-access=subscription }}{{cite book |last1=Burgess |first1=Geoffrey |last2=Haynes |first2=Bruce |title=The oboe |date=2004 |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=24, 256 |isbn=9780300093179}}

class="wikitable"

! scope="col" | Reed fully outside

! scope="col" | Reed partially enclosed in a pirouette

! scope="col" | Reed enclosed in a windcap

style="vertical-align: top;"

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=Orchestral=

=Other=

class="wikitable sortable"
Instrument

! Region(s), best-known for

algaita

|West Africa

aulos

|Greece

bagpipes

|Scotland

balaban

|Iran

bombard

|Brittany

bishgüür{{cite web |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/503987 |title=Bishgüür, 1987, Ulan Baran, Mongolian |website=The MET (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) |date=2022-01-01 |access-date=2022-10-26}}{{cite book |title=The Garland Encyclopedia of world music: East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea |date=2017-11-22 |isbn=9781351544290 |editor-first1=Robert C |editor-last=Provine |editor-first2=Yoshihiko |editor-last2=Tokumaru |editor-first3=John |editor-last3=Lawrence Witzleben |publisher=Taylor & Francis}}

|Mongolia

charumera{{cite web |url=https://www.geidai.ac.jp/labs/koizumi/english/gcato/html-text/591.html |title=Charumera |date=2014 |publisher=Music Department, Tokyo National University of the Arts |place=Tokyo, Japan |id=591 |series=Catalog I |access-date=6 October 2022}}

|Japan

cromorne

|France

duduk

|Armenia

dulzaina

|Spain

fadno

|Sámi

gaita transmontana

|Portugal

guan

|China

gralla

|Spain

gyaling

|Tibet

hne

|Myanmar

hichiriki

|Japan

hojok

|Korea

kèn (also, kèn bầu)

|Vietnam

lupophon

|Germany

mey

|Turkey

mizmar

|Egypt

nadaswaram

|India

pey au

|Cambodia

piffero or piffaro

|Italy

pí tơm

|Vietnam

pi nai

|Thailand

piri

|Korea

pommer{{cite book |title=The eloquent oboe: A history of the hautboy 1640-1760 |first=Bruce |last=Haynes |isbn=9780198166467 |date=2001 |page=24 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}

|Germany

rhaita

|Africa

saronen{{cite web |url= https://www.auralarchipelago.com/auralarchipelago/saronen |last=Keen |first=Palmer |title= Ramé reeds: Madura's sound of saronen |website=Aural archipelago: Field recordings from around Indonesia |date=2018 |access-date=6 October 2022}}

|Indonesia

selompret{{cite book |url= https://doi.org/10.2307/768524 |last=Sutton |first=Anderson |title= The crystallization of a marginal tradition: Music in Banyumas, West Central Java |date=1986 |pages=115–132 |volume=18 |series=Yearbook for Traditional Music |publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.2307/768524 |jstor=768524 |s2cid=193009606 }}

|Indonesia

shehnai

|India

sralai

|Cambodia

sopila

|Croatia

sorna

|Iran

suona

|China

surnay

|Middle East

tangmuri

|India

tárogató

|Hungary, Romania

tenora

|Spain

tible

|Spain

taepyeongso

|Korea

tromboon (trombone with reed)

|United States

zurna

|Middle East

Double-reed societies

See also

References

{{reflist}}

{{Double reed}}

{{Reed aerophones}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Double Reed}}

de:Zunge (Tonerzeuger)#Doppelrohrblatt