Doublereed Archive - Posting 000044.txt from 2004/12

From: Rhondda May <rmay@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] Re: key adjustments; was Left thumb (oboe)
Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2004 10:18:49 -0500

Phil, i actually had the oboe out of the case today and paid special
attention to where my left thumb was for your benefit; it's at 9
o'clock to the octave key, not south.
I second Mr. Still's opinion about getting off the thumb, mainly b'c
you never want to leave anything down unless you really need it. This
goes for the Ab key as well; anything extra, don't leave it, put it
away (as I regularly tell my kids....)

On 12 Dec 04, at 9:33 PM, PhilFrei@-----.com wrote:

> I'm going to go out on a limb and say there should never be any wiggle
> and
> there should never be any dead play (key moves up or down before it
> opens) on
> any key. And that goes for closing keys, too. I was having a terrible
> time
> trying to get the A-flat to B-flat smooth. Finally, I looked at the
> key work and
> realized the A-flat key had to go down a couple mm before it even
> started
> raising the pad off of the oboe. Any wonder there were always glitches
> there??
> (Ended up adding some cork so it engaged right away. Now, the interval
> is
> consistently smoother. And I thought the problem was me!)
>
> I was thinking that I could improve the keywork by lightening up all
> the
> springs to make them the minimum. But it seems that keys that don't
> have fingers
> holding them down will leak if the springs are too weak. I had to
> tighten back
> up several keys to stop all the leaks that had sprung. I then came on
> the
> notion of INCREASING the spring pressure on a few of the lightest
> keys, even
> though they didn't need it. The benefit was that the keys became
> closer in pressure
> to the keys that required more pressure. I now am of the opinion that
> too
> great a degree of unevenness can throw things almost as much as keys
> that are too
> stiff.
>
> I'm not sure I'm reading this correctly, but I think the folks that
> place the
> thumb lightly on the oboe just south of the octave key and roll it are
> doing
> the same motion as that done by clarinetists, as described by Ed Lacy.
> I
> recall Ray Still saying he used a rolling thumb technique, and always
> released the
> thumb for the second octave notes. I like the idea of releasing the
> thumb for
> the second octave key, because I find going up to c# or d (third
> octave) much
> easier without the thumb engaged.
>
> It has been interesting reading all the comments.
>
> One of the passages that motivated this question for me is the Britten
> "Bacchus" or "Dionysius" (I can't recall which was the name) from
> Metamorphosis, the
> quarter = 132 section where there are some running broken thirds. I
> don't
> think I could "anticipate" a rolling action at that speed. Maybe on
> passages like
> that, leaving the thumb lightly on the octave key makes more sense.
> Just for
> the exercise, I am playing everything, the last few days, with the
> thumb
> always on the key. It is starting to feel a little less wierd and to
> wander off
> less frequently, and does seem to help, even if it isn't something one
> would want
> to do all the time. I seem to be able to get a good half-holing
> position with
> this grip, too, but the low B and B-flat are tough to play this way (a
> good
> time NOT to use the technique?).
>
> Phil Freihofner
>
> In a message dated 12/12/2004 12:15:26 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> doublereed-digest-help@-----.org writes:
> Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 18:01:19 -0600
> To: <doublereed@-----.org>
> From: "Miriam Williams" <mwquacker@-----.net>
> Subject: key adjustments; was Left thumb (oboe)
> Message-ID: <002301c4dfdd$b5a3e4c0$6401a8c0@DELL>
>
> Speaking of adjustments, how much wiggle should there be on the L F
> key;
> none, or just a bit loose. I think mine is quite loose and should have
> it
> tightened up more. There is also a bit of play up and down; I can
> press
> down maybe 2 mm or so before the key opens at all.
>
> Miriam
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Weiss" <weiss440@-----.net>
> To: <doublereed@-----.org>
> Sent: Saturday, December 11, 2004 2:39 PM
> Subject: [DR-L] Left thumb (oboe)
>
>> Another suggestion would be to make sure the spring tension of the
>> thumb
>> octave key is as light as possible. Stiff springs (anywhere on the
>> horn)
>> make it all the more difficult to achieve a fluid technique.
>>
>> David Weiss
>>
>>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> For personal help: email doublereed-owner@-----.org
> Doublereed is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org
>

---------------------------------------------------------------------
For personal help: email doublereed-owner@-----.org
Doublereed is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org