Five Minute Reedmaker: The Beep and the Crow

What can you learn from your reed before you even put it in the oboe? We have two great tools - the beep and the crow. There's a lot of confusion out there, though, about these diagnostic tools. A case in point is an email I received recently:

Josue wrote: Every time I read about crowing the reed in books, or talk about it with teachers and colleagues, they say the reed must crow a pitch of C. However, I notice some of my reeds that crow on C are actually flat in intonation. I notice also that the beeping of those reeds (when you put the reed as if you were actually playing) is flat too. And in the other way, some of the reeds that beep in C are actually crowing in C#.
Is this difference in pitch between beeping and crowing normal? Should the beeping and crowing have the same pitch? Or which one is more important to obtain a good intonation? Should I keep the C pitch in the beeping or in the crowing?

What's he even talking about? The Five Minute Reedmaker explains. And demonstrates. In only seven minutes.

These Five Minute Reedmaker lessons post once a week on Youtube. You can subscribe to me there, or keep watching this space for updates. Soon I'll figure out a way to mount them on my own website as well. I’d love to hear what else I can help you with, and what my next short video should address - let me know!

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