This research studies the influence of the oboe reed (reed-making style, gouging
and shape) on the acoustics and the perception of the obtained sound and on the oboists´
proprioception during performance. Eighteen reeds were made following a factorial design
of 3 reed-making styles (fr=french; ge=german; us=american), 3 shapes and 2 gouging
thickness. Ten professional oboists, using the same oboe, recorded five exercises with an
instrument microphone and evaluated their own perception by using 19 criteria (on a scale
of 1 to 7) for each reed, after each exercise.
The acoustic measurements of 1900 samples show an influence of the reed style on
pitch (p<.001; η2=.72; ge higher pitched), pitch stability (p<.001; η2=.04; fr=more
unstable), intensity (p<.001; η2=.09; fr=less intensity), spectral center of gravity (p<.001;
η2=.14; fr=lower spectral richness) and harmonicity (p<.001; η2=.02; fr=less harmonic).
Reed shape and thickness gave significant but marginal results.
To study the differences in timbre, nineteen musicians made a holistic classification
on a set of 19 notes of C5 (1 oboist, 3 reed-making styles, 3 shapes, and 2 gouging widths),
and another set of 20 notes of C5 (5 oboists, 3 reed-making styles, 2 sizes). There are no
significant differences between reed-making styles, shape or width. There are significant
differences only between the oboists for the second group (p<.01), corroborating a
previous study where no differences in timbre between reed-making styles were found.
Proprioceptive responses yielded significant differences for the ratings on
flexibility (p<.001; η2=.45; fr=more flexible), timbre (p<.001; η2=.23; ge=best), rigidity
(p<.001; η2=.18; fr=less), balance (p<.01; η2=.15; us= worst) and global evaluation
excluding shapes with cast 168 (p<.01; η2=.15; us=the worst). French reed-making style is
rated as easier for the arpeggio (p<.001; η2=.36), diminuendo (p<.001; η2=.30) and legato
(p<.001; η2=.54). American reed-making style is rated worse for sound quality for
arpeggio (p<.01; η2=.13), diminuendo (p<.01; η2=.15) and legato (p<.01; η2=.14), while
german reed-making style is rated best for sound quality for fortissimo (p=.001; η2=.17).
Performers agreement is very high (α>.8 for easiness and α>.7 for the remaining criteria).
Six oboist evaluated the quality of sound and the performance of 54 diminuendo
exercises recorded by themselves, by an interpreter of the french school and another of the
german school. Agreement is high (α>.8 on performance) but no significant differences
between reeds arised for auditory ratings on sound quality and performance, except in
some specific cases. The comparison of the proprioceptive and auditory ratings for the
same oboist shows no significant correlation in the responses of sound quality (r=.08).
Furthermore, sound quality auditory ratings are more closely linked to acoustic parameters
(R2=.60) than the ratings made while performing (R2=.10), suggesting that the oboist´s
sound perception is highly influenced by its muscular/vibrotactile proprioception.
Reed-making style has a significant on the performer’s proprioception, but not in
the sound quality obtained. Oboists agree on the proprioceptive evaluation of the reeds.