Peter Dunn wrote: . Having examined the practices of Colin Ross, Richard Butler and John Liestman, I cannot find any great difference in science, but merely a difference in the subtleties of method which are to be expected in the work of any craftsman. > > Would a completely standardised reed be any better? In some ways, yes it > would. It would make the production of reeds more uniform in quality > (hopefully!) and the teaching of reed making as an accepted practice more > widely able to be disseminated.
end of quote ---------------xxxxxxxxxxxxxx-------------- Having attended many reed making workshops over the years, both for NSP and for Uilleann pipes, I have the impression that there are as many methods of making a reed as there are reed makers. However, most recognized reed makers seem to adhere to a narrow range for the overall dimensions of their reeds but allow themselves minor variations (particularly in the scrape) to account for the variability of the cane. Let us not forget that arundo donax is a plant, and as such different pieces of cane vary in hardness, density and the structure of their fibres. A totally rigid, standardized reed making process would be doomed to a high failure rate because only reeds made from cane that suited the chosen dimensions would be successful. Na piobanri uilleann (the Irish pipers' club) has produced a DVD called "The Heart of the Instrument" where four highly regarded pipemakers give a masterclass in reedmaking for Uilleann pipes. One of them, Benedict Koehler, bases his whole approach to reedmaking on how the cane feels in his hands, how it flexes, etc. On the Youtube video put up by Steve Douglass (thanks Steve), Colin also flexes the cane slip at one point in the process as he decides how to continue working on it. What lesson could all this hold for an amateur reedmaker: stop treating the cane as though it were a standardized, man-made material and give more thought to achieving the desired result by listening to what the cane is trying to tell us. That way, we can begin to understand our failures and work towards a higher success rate. Well, that's my inadequate contribution... Cheers, Richard To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
