I am a total nerd about all things oboe. I love making oboe reeds, playing the oboe, and teaching oboe lessons. I have been making oboe reeds professionally for nearly a decade, though my Etsy shop is fairly new. Please see my website AaronLakota.com for lots of great information about making oboe reeds. I also sell oboe reeds at ALakotaReeds.com Happy oboe-ing !!


My oboe reed making philosophy

I think it may be helpful for customers to understand my thoughts on oboe reeds, reed making, and playing the oboe to get an idea of how my reeds may work for the individual purchasing them from me. I hope you may find your way to AaronLakota.com where I have more information about oboe reed making, oboe and the teaching, but here I will provide you with an overview of what you may expect from my reeds. One of my goals as a reed maker and teacher is to give people more access to the joy that music can bring, and help them to express their inner artist.

Resistance of oboe reeds and tension

I feel people can learn to Be Happy Obo(e)ing if they take some of the physical and mental stress away from playing the instrument. The physical stress comes from reeds and trying to blow too much air down a tiny little opening. The tension created from that “back pressure” creates stress throughout the entire body system, the shoulders, face, arms, hands and throat. The mental stress comes from never knowing if the reeds are going to work today or not, whether it will articulate that low C, or the high E clearly and in tune or leave us feeling frustrated.

The body and mind are linked and if one cog within the system is broken the cycle of tension and stress will continue. Decreasing stress within the body/mind system is the pathway to effortless playing in my perspective. I cannot say I have truly reached this point within my own playing, but it is my goal. I feel the biggest problems in creating conflict within the system in my experience are the oboe reeds we make, or the reeds we buy. The reeds we choose to use as oboists are the first variable in creating or relieving stress within the system. Finding a reed that works well for the individual player is very important, but unfortunately reed making can take a lifetime to master, and purchased reeds are expensive and often inconsistent due to many factors which are out of the control of even the reedmaker.

There are many oboe reed makers selling their reeds, which I think is wonderful because there are opportunities for people to find a product that really works for them, however finding the right reed can take a lot of time, money and energy. I do not believe that my reeds are the holy grail, and will be a good fit for everyone but they will be the best oboe reeds for some oboists. The only way to know is to buy a few and try them out. I suggest people buy three (3) reeds in their first order to get a sense of consistency and what to expect. I strive for consistency as an oboe reed maker, but every oboe reed will be slightly different due to the nature of cane and scraping by hand with a knife. Every one of the new Legere synthetic oboe reeds is slightly different as well, showing that even when you control for the material inconsistencies are to be expected.

The reeds are built to crow at a C natural with not too much rattle. I do make reeds crow slightly flat ( 5-10 cents flat) intentionally because as a reed is played the internal dimensions of the reed get smaller and the pitch raises. This also gives a little flexibility in adjusting the reeds for people wanting to do that. The reed will play very well in tune after a few hours of playing assuming we use similar air and embouchure.