Hardness and Diameter with Nermis Mieses
Associate Professor of Oboe at Michigan State University
Nermis Mieses is faculty at Michigan State University and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. Formerly, she performed as Principal Oboe of the Detroit Opera and served as Chair of the IDRS Gillet-Fox International Competition for Oboe. Her artistry has been recognized by the University of Michigan Paul Boylan Alumni Award, the Barbirolli International Oboe Competition, the First International Oboe Competition of FEMUSC, and others.
She is an active soloist, recitalist, competition juror, and masterclass presenter in America and abroad. Her debut album Oboe in Hues features solo oboe pieces by the French oboist-composer Gilles Silvestrini. In her native country of Puerto Rico, she earned a BM from the Conservatory of Music. Her MM and DMA degrees are from the University of Michigan under Nancy Ambrose King.
Knowing how hard a piece of cane is opens up a world of customizability in reed making. Pairing hardness with the appropriate diameter is the ultimate way to ensure consistent, reliable reeds.
A reed made on soft cane with a large diameter tends to collapse.
A reed made on hard cane with a small diameter produces heavy and open reeds.
So how do we find the optimal combination?
The key is to identify your preferred hardness and diameter range. The more consistent you want your results to be, the narrower those ranges will become over time.
Each player’s range is personal. Your preferred measurements will depend on playing style, setup, performance demands, and climate. Assuming you already know how to use a hardness tester and measure cane diameter, here are Nermis's recommended pairings based on the American long scrape style.
In the following chart, you’ll notice the ideal range centers around cane hardness measurements 10 – 13 paired with 10.5 – 11 mm diameter cane. Harder cane provides more projection, stability, tolerance for complex scraping, and durability as it holds its arch better throughout its lifespan. Softer cane, on the other hand, relies on smaller diameters to stay functional.
| Hardness | Diameter | Characteristics & Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| 8 – 9 (very hard) |
~11.0 – 11.5 | Powerful projection, long break-in period, very stable and durable. May need extra scraping. Great for humid climates. |
| 10 – 11 (hard) |
10.5 – 11.0 | Ideal professional range; focused and projecting tone, broad dynamic range. Reliable stability, responds well to scraping customizations, durable. |
| 12 – 13 (medium hard) |
~10.5 | Ideal professional range; focused and projecting tone, broad dynamic range. Reliable stability, responds well to scraping customizations, durable. |
| 10 – 13 | 9.5 – 10.0 | High-altitude cane – adjust expectations accordingly. |
| 14 – 15 (medium soft) |
9.75 – 10.5 | Easy response, limited dynamic range, quiet low notes, less pitch stability (prone to over-scraping). Best in dry climates. |
| 16 – 18 (very soft) |
9.5 – 10.50 | Beginner reeds; dull tone, easy to finish, deficient pitch stability. |
| 19+ | Unusable. |
Practical Tips
Keep a log of each reed’s hardness and diameter. Over time, you’ll learn what combinations give you the best results for your playing needs.
Porous tube cane tends to be soft.
Prioritize selecting segments of smaller diameters.
Dense and smooth-walled tube cane tends to be hard.
You can lean into the larger diameter segments.
Once you own a hardness tester, you’ll notice that tactile tests can be deceiving. Measuring precisely saves time, especially when adjusting between humid summers and dry winters.
Both professionals and students benefit from this approach! By limiting variables, students learn reed-making and tone control more efficiently. Professionals, meanwhile, can maintain predictable results year-round and use hardness and diameter as control variables to conduct reed-making experiments with greater reliability.
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