De-mystifying reeds

Uilleann Pipes
1

Reed Hate or De-mystifying reed making.

I have been making reeds for over thirty years. During that time I have seen every kind of theory and method for making reeds…some of it useful and lots of it pure conjecture. After all this time I must confess, after making several thousand reeds, using miles of string, brass and cane, I do not love reed making. If you are trying to make reeds, and you enjoy making them then you have not made enough of them. Two things that pipe makers hate: tying on bags and reed making. Even Benedict Koehler told me that making reeds is like pulling teeth. I know how he feels I know that you might say this is a bad attitude and I will agree. In spite of that here is a simplified synopsis of what I have learned.

There is no mystery to reed making. I repeat: there is no mystery to reed making! A reed is simply a copper/brass tube with a piece of split cane tied on to the end. No mystery there. To make a reed you need four things: 1) a good piece of cane; 2) a few tools and sandpaper; 3) ability to work with hand tools; 4) luck.

Regardless of what you have heard use only good California, French or Spanish cane and quit wasting time on plastic reeds, wood reeds or other materials except cane. It is going to take you long enough to learn to make a cane reed without diverting your attention to experiments.

Paddy Keenan and Finbar Furey and myself, can make a very good reed with a utility knife, sandpaper and a beer bottle for a sanding cylinder. In other words, you do not need a tool box full of stuff to make a reed.

The ability to work with hand tools is an absolute must. Give yourself this test: take a pocket knife or box cutter and a new wooden pencil, hold the pencil in one hand and the knife in the other and trim the pencil to a nice and smooth 3/4” long conical point. If you cannot do this simple task, then give up trying to make a reed. If you cannot change a tire or a spark plug then don’t waste time trying to make a reed. If you cannot chew gum and walk at the same time give up reed making.

Even when you get competent at reed making the “luck” factor takes up a great deal of your success. There is no really good method of selecting pieces of cane or predicting the outcome of the scrape.

Think of this: Liam O’Flynn is not a reed maker. Instead of spending his time trying to make reeds he turned his skills to learning to play, with mighty success I might ad.

I don’t want to end on a down note so here is a piece of advice. In spite of my ranting If you want to learn to play Uilleann pipes you HAVE to learn to make or at least work with reeds, unless you are rich and can afford to have a reed maker do it for you. So take a stab at it, making the first 2-3 hundred can actually be fun.

All the best,
Patrick Sky
1/1/2010

2

I hate making reeds, and only make them when I absolutely have to. I make maybe 25 or 50 of them and narrow them down to the one that I like the best. I have learned to be very careful with them, and they usually last me about ten years. They die when I mishandle them and/or I carelessly adjust them to play despite wild temperature and humidity extremes. So I make them very hard and slowly beat them into submission with as much lbs./sq. inch of air pressure as I can give them. Eventually they soften up, and the more I play them the better they get, and they respond to moisture nicely.

3

Pat, thanks on behalf of those like me, who have trembled in fear at the prospect of delving into
reed-making.
I feel more confident now, in at least beginning.

Rich

4

I can barely make a plastic double reed to play a 6 note scale on my Zampogna, and can hardly imagine having to make a reed that plays a two octave chromatic scale. I don’t envy those who have to make Uilleann pipe reeds. I will say that if you have the time and no particular pressure for success, the methodical activity of making a reed can be somewhat enjoyable, that is until you are unsuccessful after repeated attempts - then it can get very frustrating. :tantrum: But even then, after you finally do succeed, there is a nice feeling of accomplishment and pride of playing an instrument knowing that you had a direct impact bringing to fruition. (btw, making single cane reeds is much more enjoyable than double bladed reeds in my opinion)

5

Pat,

Well, it’s entirely good to know that my feelings Re:reed making are shared. I too, dislike the amount of time that the entire process takes away from music making.

I’m certainly in agreement with you regarding plastic.

As far as wood is concerned, I also have to agree. I too, would recommend all reed makers, to stay away from spending the amount of time that takes to learn how to make good wooden reeds. It simply to time intensive, and it will rob one of 10s if not hundreds of hours that one should be spending on learning/making music.

Mind you, I’m saying this in the face of having made some very good wooden reeds. I believe that when it comes to chanter reeds, wood is second-best (tonally). Simultaneously, it can be a very close second. Conversely, as far as the predictability regarding the way material works, it’s many times over better than cane. Oh well, there’s always a trade-off to be had.

For instance, I made this particular yoke (below) for a piper who lives in Colorado. She has not been able to have a reed that was responsive, or easy to play well in low humidity. It is in environment where wood excels.

Listen to this example if you would:

preshaw D chanter/curly maple reed

This individual now has a reed that plays in a non-humidified environment ( humidity ranges between 10% and 30%) and sounds well. In addition, wooden regulator reeds also fair very well in low humidity and they sound very good.

The idea is to use the wooden reed as the humidity dictates. I would have to say that for these reasons and possibly one more : for those who tour, making wooden reeds is worthwhile endeavor ( for someone to pursue!?!).

Having said all of that, I think I’m going to go into my music room revel in the fact that I will not be making the reed, but will instead be playing music!
:party:

6

I’ve been making reeds for quite a good number of years now and I am still trying to find a design which works best in my Froment D chanter. One day, I will use one method, and it works, then on another day it fails. So, I try different tweaks which work on certain days of the week, yet fail on the other days. The element of luck that Pat mentions is very real, and in my opinion boils down to a) having a good bit of cane and b) reproducing just the right proportions of thickness, scrape gradient, tension etc on both blades of the reed-head and getting the dimensions of the staple right. Its not easy, and almost imperceptible imbalances can lead to a less than satisfactory reed.

I am trying to hit on a reed design which is not too loud, rich toned and with a strong back D. I am also trying to predict next weeks lottery numbers by ‘reading’ the shavings created by my reedmaking.

I am currently rethinking Alain Froments original chanter reed design. Many people say to me that he was a great pipemaker, but his reedmaking wasn’t quite as good. Is this due to a fundamental error in his actual reed design, or was it due to the way he finished the reed (maybe too quickly). Froments staples were made from the 4.76mm OD tubing. The eye is very narrow. I believe that using such a staple means that the internal volume of the reed is small which necessitates using a longer reed to get the pitch down. I made a copy of Froments original reed this evening (a rush experimental job), and found that gently squeezing the bridle at the sides, thus creating a larger volume internal cavity, gave a pretty decent reed. The overall length of the reed head seems to result in a quieter reed, ie, a reed that has to be opened up a bit in order to get it to play rather than trying to close it down because it is too loud. How long this reed will last, and how stable it will prove to be remains to be seen.

At the end of the day, it is important that pipers have at least an appreciation of how a reed works, and how to adjust it, and this knowledge can be gained through the necessary evil that is reedmaking. It will, however, make you completely ‘hatstand’. Take up the fiddle instead :boggle:

7

Reeds suck. Suck, suck, suck. Making reeds is suckier. Suckier, suckier, suckier.

I enjoy both a lot, does that make me the suckiest?

(… no one needs to answer this…)

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Sometimes I’ll make reeds when I don’t feel like playing. However, just because I don’t feel like playing, is not a good enough reason to not play (me talking to myself, here).

9

btw, I still have my Childress reed from 2001…when I got my pipes.
It’s my backup, but it’s totally playable.
And that’s in Maine, where relative humidity swings like politicians on issues…

10

The sanding cylinder stage is the part I hate. Boring, dusty, time consuming. Would like to see if there’s a way of mechanizing that. Michael O’Donovan’s articles on using bassoon reedmaking equipment were interesting. The guy who got me started with the pipes used to use a shooting block he made himself to gouge almost all of the cane at once; last time I spoke with him he said he was making the whole reed with power tools, with great results. Never checked out his setup.

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Brian Howard makes his reeds this way. He has invented and customized several really neat pieces of equipment that makes this step a very easy and quick process.

12

The sanding cylinder stage is the part I hate.

In The Heart of the Instrument, Benedict Koehler just uses a scraper, no sanding cylinder.

I read somewhere that one reedmaker had found a stone age tool that he used as his scraper.

13

Depending upon one’s rhythm and how fresh the mind is, the gouge/cylinder part can move along. It’s not a step to be bored at, as so many very important variables rest in doing this portion of the process, well!

14

Hi ALL

Reeds are not the mystery they are made out to be. I found this out a long time ago.
While Steve has said that one day his process will work and the next day it wont, i’ll bet that something is missing or perhaps there is a step he is not doing as well as he could.

I love making reeds and always have done. This may sound arrogant and if it does i apologies. I actually get more “fun” these days out of the ones that dont work because it reminds me that no matter how much i think i know. I still do not know enough.

As Pat says there are a thousand different ways to make a reed, but the main thing is that at the end of it all you have a reed that works for you. It doesn’t really matter how you go about it as long as the end justifies the means.

eg some people will make take a week to make one reed and at the end they have a reed that they are happy with. I can make a reed from start to finish in 20minutes and have a reed im happy with. Is one way better than the other? In my opinion no. It all comes down to what works best fro you.

This element of mystery is something that i work very hard to dispell. A working reed is a working reed, the question then remains does it work for you? ( in terms of suitability, tone, tuning at your pressure and playability with a half, three quarter or full set) I believe this is where the real skill lies.

If one looks at the multitude of methods therer are too making a reed, in the end we look for the same qualities so it doesn’t matter how its made.
Like you Pat i always try new things, not only is this good for the individual in terms of expanding your skills and knowledge base, it is also good for the craft in general. In this way many new and exciting developments can be made and implemented by numerous professional and amature makers alike.


One point i disagree on is that making reeds takes away from making music, while i understand the point you are making and in someways i agree. I feel that making reeds IS a vital part of making music.

I have an interesting question which i would greatly appreciate our experienced makers to answer.
Would you play a reed made by someone else? Professional or otherwise?

My answer to that is no, I have never played a reed in my pipes that i didn’t make since i was able to make my own reeds give me the performance i required.
To give some perpsective on this i’m very very lucky that i know some well established makers and players these include. B Koehler, P Keenan B. Howard ( pre and post “readytie”) Dave Hegarty, Alan Moller and Alan Burton. While
these guys are totally amazing reed makers, they still cannot give me what i want from a chanter. So from this perspective it is vital for me to make my own reeds.

Looking forward to hearing your responses :smiley:
All the best for now
Paddy

Sorry Pat have to disagree on the luck part :frowning: as BK says let the cane speak to you :boggle:

ps

The oboe guys have got it all going on, we could learn a lot from them :wink:

15

To clarify:

The time spent making a reed is time that could be spent making music.

The act of making a reed and how that act relates to making music may be a point of semantics.

As a cancer survivor and someone who is in their 40s, I’m quite cognizant of the passing of time. Life is short. I’d rather spend my time making music than reeds, any day. I make reeds simply because it’s a necessity. Mind you, there is joy when the 2 pcs. of cane and brass/copper come together well, but again..(for me) that pales in comparison to playing well and getting absorbed in the life blood that is for me, traditional music.

16

Yes, if I knew them and their work. Admittedly, I don’t need anyone else to make my reeds for me, so perhaps my answer to this question is a bit moot.

17

One thing I’ve learnt over the years is to hold on to your reject reeds. In the 18 years I’ve been playing, I’ve only made about 2 reeds from scratch that I used for playing. The others, only about 3 or 4, were my pipe-maker’s rejects. I was in a band at that time and didn’t have time to pursue reedmaking; I also had some finicky fiddle and flute players who were always on my case about ensuring my tuning was to their satisfaction, so I made damn sure the reeds and chanter were in perfect tune (as far as UPs go) especially back D and the second octave G so the reeds HAD to be good. When a reed died, I’d get on the blower to my pipe-maker and ask if he had any more rejects.

Not sure why but perhaps the rejects settle in after a while and are more willing to comply to a little further adjustment; perhaps when we work on a reject at a later date we do so not at the end of an exhausting process of gouging, sanding, scraping that may lead us to impatiently throw in the towel.

18

I would be willing to play any reed that fit my requirements. I seem to have made only two successfull reeds, both for my Hillmann chanter, one of which died after a year and another that lasted 7 years.

I have had several failures and haven’t been “in the mood” for reedmaking. I need some more strength to blow them in, though. Maybe tomorrow. :swear:

I have lots of slips prepared and soaked in neetsfoot oil, ready to tie in and scrape and this is the best time of year I have found to finish my reeds (winter time reeds seem to welcome the increase in humidity with spring/summer weather).

I am playing a C chanter reed made by a friend of mine that does OK, but I would like the notes above octave G to play easier (plus I can’t get high C# and top D), so I need to reed all my chanters and 2 C regulators as well as tuning my drone reeds. :tantrum:

19

I have never made a reed, but I know that I should learn. I have a Ray Sloan D chanter with the original reed. The reed is probably 12 years old and sounds good if the humidity is perfect. If it is too dry then the B goes sharp and the G. Also my low D can be flat sometimes. I also get a weak back d too. I have tightened the bridle to perk it up once.
Most of the time I’am in tune with the session people. I noticed that I have to vary pressure on some notes to be in better tune though. I think this is “normal” ? :confused:
I hope my reed lasts forever.
:party: If it does not then I’ll take all of your rejects if you want to get rid of any. :pint:
Or it sounds like I will be miserable making reeds for myself. It could be cool.

20

No matter whats said,reeds are still a mystery to me.

RORY