Double reed

A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in

various wind instruments. The term double reed comes
from the fact that there are two pieces of cane vibrating against each other.[1] A single reed consists of one
piece of cane which vibrates against a mouthpiece made
of metal, hardened rubber, resin, or some other material.
The term double reeds can also refer collectively to the
class of instruments which use double reeds.

Arundo donax cane is used for the making of double

reeds. For bassoon reeds, tubes of this cane are rst split
lengthwise then gouged to a certain thickness. The chosen piece of cane is then cut to shape and the centre portion is thinned (proled). The cane is folded end to end
to form the two blades of the reed. The unproled 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 isn't a sharp wire. The folded tip is cut
o to allow the blades to vibrate and nal adjustments
to the interior of the reed using a reamer, and to the exterior using a reed-scraping knife, are carried out. The
reed is then ready to t to the bocal of the bassoon. Note
that there are many schools of thought and processes for
making reeds.

Construction

The construction of double reeds for the oboe family

of instruments is similar in principle: like the bassoons
reeds, they consist of two pieces of Arundo donax 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.[2]
There are many dierent methods of making reeds and
many variations of design have been developed. 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 proled. Bassoon cane has the further
option of being proled before purchase. Cane from several dierent regions is used in reed making, traditionally
from southern France. There are also many options with
regard to staples, shaping equipment, and so forth, which
all have a subtle eect on the tone quality a reed will produce.

2 Playing a double reed

Bassoon reeds

Oboe double reeds are about 7 mm in width. Bassoon

double reeds are wider than oboe double reeds with a
There are several dierences, the most obvious being width anywhere from 13.5-15.9 mm. They are also
size, between various types of double reeds, for exam- shorter and thus do not need such a tight embouchure in
ple between that for a bassoon and that for an oboe or a order to make a sound. Most double reeds require a simcor anglais (sometimes called an English horn).
ilar embouchure. Players must pull their lips over their
1

OTHER INSTRUMENTS

3.2.2 Instruments where the reed is partially enclosed by a pirouette

rackett (renaissance)
shawm
3.2.3 Instruments where the reed is fully exposed
baroque bassoon
A bassoon reed

baroque oboe
dulcian

teeth to protect the reed from their teeth.

oboe da caccia
rackett (baroque)

List of instruments which use

double reeds

3.1

Main Western orchestral instruments

Bassoon
Contraforte

aulos
bagpipes
bombard

Semi contrabassoon

duduk

Contrabassoon (Double bassoon)

dulzaina

Piccolo heckelphone
Oboe

guan
gyaling
hichiriki

Piccolo oboe

hojok

Oboe d'amore

kn

Cor anglais (English horn)

nadaswaram

Oboe da caccia

organ

Bass oboe
Sarrusophone
Contrabass Sarrusophone

3.2.1

4 Other instruments

Tenoroon

Heckelphone

3.2

sordun

Period instruments
Instruments where the reed is fully enclosed
in a windcap

Cornamuse

piero
pi nai (used in piphat)
piri
shehnai
sralai
sopila
suona
surnay

Crumhorn

tangmuri

Kortholt

tarogato (early)

Rauschpfeife

tenora

Hirtenschalmei

tible

Double reed societies

International Double Reed Society
British Double Reed Society

References

[1] Petrie, Matthew. What Type of Reed Does an Oboe

Use?". Crook and Staple. Retrieved 14 February 2015. A
double reed has two pieces of cane (Arundo Donax) that
are attached to each other and vibrate against each other,
when blowen, to create a sound.
[2] Wikisource:1911 Encyclopdia Britannica/Reed Instruments

External links
Schlesinger, Kathleen (1911). "Reed Instruments".
In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopdia Britannica. 22
(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

EXTERNAL LINKS

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Double reed Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_reed?oldid=745287963 Contributors: Tjunier, Hyacinth, Mintleaf~enwiki, Antandrus, Grm wnr, Mindspillage, Hapsiainen, Rsholmes, Keenan Pepper, Gmaxwell, Bluemoose, Josh Parris, DaGizza, Hairy Dude, Badagnani, Ngorongoro, Theda, Sotakeit, Nae'blis, Drkeithphd, Mattmm, SmackBot, SaxTeacher, Bogman, Morrisjm, Ginyuushijin, Jbnbsn99,
Obiskobilob, JMK, Scohoust, Cydebot, Goios, ST47, PKT, Thijs!bot, Marek69, Brain40, Jmartinsson, Flowanda, Xasz, Thegreenj, Plasticup, Fountains of Bryn Mawr, Useight, Burpen, Davin, Aznerd11, Logan, Millstream3, Cyfal, ClueBot, SuperHamster, Mwasheim,
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JNeutrino and Anonymous: 64

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File:Britannica_Oboe_Discant_Schalmey.jpg Source:
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