Type of Document	Treatise
Author	Kistler, Karen Melinda
URN	etd-05102010-090145
Title	A Manual for the Oboe Gouging Machine: Initial Setup, Maintenance and General Usage, Specifically for the Harvard Double Reed Gouging Machine
Degree	Doctor of Musical Arts
Department	Music, College of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Eric P. Ohlsson Committee Chair Jeffrey Keesecker Committee Member Richard Clary University Representative
Keywords	Gouging machine Harvard Double Reed Gouger
Date of Defense	2010-03-18
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract A high quality reed is of the utmost importance in producing a good tone on the oboe. The gouging machine, which thins and contours a piece of cane as the first step in the manufacturing of a reed, has a great effect in the overall outcome of the reed. An imprecise result from the gouging process will result in poor quality reeds. On the other hand, a great or even good gouge will help an oboist create a high quality reed that does the many things that a player demands. While many years ago very few oboists gouged their own cane, today most university and conservatory students, undergraduate and especially graduate, are expected to know how to gouge cane in the process of making their own reeds. The Barret Oboe Method, first published in 1900, has a crude drawing of a gouging machine and some brief instructions on how to use it and how to adjust the overall thickness of the cane. Prior to these early machines cane was gouged by hand with chisels and sandpaper. Without having a consistent (machine given) result the oboist fights too many variables. The basic idea of the gouger has not changed over the years (1840s-2010,) but obviously the machining has improved with the aid of computer design. Today we have machines that are designed and manufactured well, and an oboist can adjust a machine with confidence. There are no manuals that fully explain how to calibrate, adjust, or maintain a machine, and this treatise exists to address that void. Very few people know how to properly set-up a gouger: putting in the blade, knowing what to look for in a result, and knowing how to tell whether or not the finished product is a good gouge or not. There are very few places to learn these skills. This author apprenticed with John Ferrillo, Principal Oboist of the Boston Symphony, and designer of the Harvard Double Reed (HDR) gouging machine. When an oboist needs a blade sharpened and re-installed, or to have a new blade put in, one must mail the fragile machine to one of the few (often extremely busy) people who know how to do the work, and wait weeks, sometimes months, to receive the machine back in working order. The need to expand the knowledge of how to use, set-up and maintain one’s own gouging machine has reached the point where this information must get out to many more oboists than currently have access to the information. This paper intends to create a progressive manual that guides a trained oboist through the steps of setting up one’s own machine, and maintaining that gouge. The manual will be geared specifically toward the HDR machine, but the information will be relevant to any double radius gouger. The manual will identify the various parts and screws on the machine, aided by photographs, and will include a section on how to gouge, and more importantly how to prepare cane for the HDR gouger. The main focus, however, will be on how to set up a gouging machine. A maintenance and troubleshooting section will conclude the manual.
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