Why Does a Small Piece of Cane Cost So Much Trouble? It Is the Instrument

The reed is the sound source rather than an accessory to it. Air blown past the thin end forces it to close against the mouthpiece or against its partner, which stops the airflow, which releases the pressure, which lets the reed spring open again, and the cycle repeats hundreds of times a second. That pulsing flow of air is what excites the column of air in the instrument, and the tube then determines which frequencies are reinforced and therefore what note sounds. The reed is therefore doing the same job as a player's lips on a brass instrument, and its condition determines response, tone and intonation far more than most listeners realise.

Instruments divide by whether one blade or two are used:

• •Single reed, a blade clamped against a mouthpiece, used on clarinet and saxophone
• •Double reed, two blades bound together vibrating against each other, used on oboe and bassoon
• •Single reeds are manufactured and bought ready to use
• •Double reeds are usually made or heavily adjusted by the player
• •Free reeds vibrate through a slot without touching, as in harmonica and accordion
• •Reedless woodwinds including the flute use an air jet across an edge instead

Nearly all of these are cut from a single species of giant grass grown principally in southern France, and the properties of that cane are difficult to replicate. It is stiff along the grain and flexible across it, damps vibration in a particular way, and absorbs moisture to a degree that changes how it plays within minutes of starting. Individual pieces vary enormously in density and in grain even from one field, which is why a box of commercially cut reeds contains some that play well, several that are usable and several that are not, a variability players accept as unavoidable. Synthetic alternatives are consistent, unaffected by humidity and long-lasting, and are widely regarded as sounding not quite the same.

The supply of this material is unusually concentrated and that concentration is a recognised vulnerability. Most of the world's supply is grown in a limited area of southern France around the Var region, where the combination of climate, soil and established cultivation produces cane with the properties players expect, and a small number of firms dominate processing. Plants take two years to mature and are cut in winter, then dried and cured for a further period before being cut into blanks. Growing conditions in a given year affect the whole world's supply, and poor harvests are noticed by players everywhere. Cane is also grown in Argentina, Spain, China and elsewhere with mixed acceptance, and the dependence on one region for an entire family of instruments is regularly remarked upon.

The amount of work invested in a component that lasts a few weeks is remarkable and is a substantial part of professional practice. Oboists and bassoonists buy cane in tube form, split it, gouge the inside to a precise thickness, shape the outside, fold it over a metal tube, bind it with thread and then scrape the blades to a profile measured in tenths of a millimetre, adjusting by playing and rescraping repeatedly. That process takes hours per reed and is taught as a core skill. Single reed players sort through boxes, adjust with fine sandpaper and a knife, rotate several in use to let each dry, and store them flat at controlled humidity. A reed that has died sounds dull and unresponsive and cannot be revived.

The reed is the sound source, closing and opening hundreds of times a second to produce the pulsing airflow that excites the instrument, which then shapes it. Single reeds beat against a mouthpiece and double reeds against each other. Nearly all are cut from one species of cane whose variability is unavoidable, and double reed players make and scrape their own by hand over hours for a component that lasts weeks.