The Structure of the Oboe
[Experiment]Try making a reed out of a straw

In this experiment, a reed is made using a juice straw, and the sound is compared to that produced by an ordinary reed.

Experiment steps

1. Cut a triangle out of the end of a straw.
2. Fasten the straw reed to the tube.
3. Stick the tube into the oboe and try playing.
4. Compare the sound to that produced with normal reeds.

Experiment results

Note: As this was an experiment, the recorded pitches differed from the correct notes.

The straw reed will make a sound when placed into the mouth and blown through with force. Even a beginner can make a noise with ease. However, in the experiment, no sound is produced when the triangle-cut base of the reed is flattened. Therefore, the player corrects the shape of the straw inside the mouth to make the cut surfaces round while blowing into them. If the straw is not inserted into the mouth at just the right depth, it will be utterly impossible to control the instrument's tones to keep them stable.

In this experiment, the lengths of straws are adjusted to make reeds, which are played like instruments.

Experiment steps

Experiment results

These lengths, 100, 80, 67, and 50, represent the ratios of pipe lengths that produce the notes C, E, G, and C#, respectively. When the instruments are made with straws with diameters of 6 mm, the actual pitches that are heard are E♭, G, B♭, and E♭.
If the straw is touched with a finger while it is being played, the upper portion will shake, clearly showing that the tube is vibrating all the way to the tip. The narrower the diameter of the straw, the greater the resistance, requiring more forceful blowing. Conversely, the wider the diameter, the easier it is to blow into the straw, but all the breath is used up quickly, so the straw cannot be played for a long time with one breath.