Your Reed: Obstacle or Opportunity
MAKING REEDS can be a quicksand of poorly
invested time from which a bassoonist struggles to emerge. Alternatively,
reed making can be a stepping stone toward more expressive playing and
increased confidence. James Kopp & Associates,
a firm of reed makers for bassoon, contrabassoon, and early bassoon
since 1991, offers in-depth answers about reeds and reed making in the
form of consultations, lessons, and master classes. Past clients include
established professionals in New York-area symphonic, operatic, theater,
and early-music ensembles, and amateur and student players at many levels
of experience.
Lessons: Reed Making Z to A
Reed making lessons follow an established syllabus and
method. A full course consists of fourteen hours of lessons, broken
into two-hour segments. These are taken in reverse order of the construction
process, so that the student’s lessons begin to pay off immediately:
1. Final Adjustments
2. Finishing techniques
3. Blank forming
4. Profiling and shaping
5. Pre-gouging and gouging
6. Cane selection and matching
7. Reed design: size, proportions, style, feel
The student can schedule lessons at short or long intervals,
as convenient. The number of tools required is minimal in the early
lessons, but increases later. We can recommend and provide tools and
supplies from Fox Products Inc., or the student can view a listing
of tools for individual purchase.
Consultations: Answers for experienced reed makers
Consultations are problem-solving discussions devoted
to matters of personal concern to the bassoonist already experienced
in reed making. Issues we have successfully addressed in the past include:
adjusting to a new instrument, improving projection, improving response,
general or specific tuning concerns, cane quality and selection, improving
yield in reed making, adjustments to reed making machines, and extending
reed life.
Master classes: Collaborations with artists and instructors
Master classes are available for schools and other groups
of bassoonists. These typically focus on standard reed making procedures
(as described above, under Lessons). Alternatively, they may focus on
specific questions (as described above, under Consultations). Master
classes are often presented in collaboration with a resident or visiting
bassoon instructor. Recent classes have included the Juilliard School
of Music, New York University, the Royal Academy of Music (London),
the University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa, and the University
of Wisconsin (Madison).
Big reeds and early reeds: Contrabassoon and historical bassoons
We make contra reeds in both traditional and innovative
styles, and we have probably made more reeds for early bassoons than
any other commercial reed maker in the world. Our insights are now available
to clients. The present-day player of a historical instrument can obtain
excellent results in either of two ways: (1) with modern-style reeds
of appropriate dimensions, or (2) with short-scrape designs based on
examples from historical sources. Either approach can be adapted to
work with baroque-, classical-, or romantic-era bassoons, or with bass
dulcian (curtal). Consultations on particular topics or lessons on basic
techniques are available.
James B. Kopp
has performed with The New Jersey Symphony, Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra,
American Classical Orchestra,and The Sebastians. His modern reeds have been
used in the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera orchestras, among
many others. His reeds for early bassoon are used in period-instrument
orchestras throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Japan. He is the
author of numerous articles on reeds and reed making in The Grove
Dictionary of Musical Instruments and The Double Reed. (An
expanded collection of these articles will appear in book form in the near
future.) He is also the author of The Bassoon, a history of the
instrument published by Yale University Press. He earned a Ph.D. in music
history and theory from the University of Pennsylvania, and studied bassoon
with Carl Nitchie, Jesse Read, Dennis Godburn, and Chuck Holdeman. He also
studied contrabassoon with Thomas Sefcovic.
Contact information and Fees
Lessons and consultations ordinarily take place in the
firm’s studio in Portland Oregon. Master classes
are typically hosted by a music school or conservatory. Fees for lessons
and consultations are currently $80 per hour. For scheduling, contact
James Kopp by telephone at 201.656.0107 (office hours are Monday-Friday,
10 – 6 Pacific time).