Doublereed Archive - Posting 000071.txt from 2005/03

From: Dlouhy Jonathan <dlouhy@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] Spring thoughts (oboe)
Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2005 00:03:11 -0500


Phil, you've brought up a very good topic. Of course I have some
thoughts on the matter. the F# has to b e stronger since it is
responsible for closing the Bb and C keys on the left hand. There's now
way around that. I don't have any comments on the rest of your
observations. I will say that what I call the "B" key, middle finger
left hand feels better slightly stronger than the ring finger of the
left hand because it is a longer and stronger finger. Also bear in mind
the fact that the middle key has to be strong enough to push up the
lever that hooks over from the G# key. Of course the spring that closes
the G# key has to be strong enough that it will close the key, of
course, and not want to open up when you're blowing hard. This can
happen. I think it is important to bear these facts in mind when
adjusting spring tensions. Getting them to be all the same will not
result in them feeling the same because of the varying strengths of
each finger and your individual hand position. And as you pointed out
certain springs, like the trill keys and the octave springs must be
strong enough to push the key back down. I like the both octave keys to
be the same strength, personal preference, but it is very important
that the lower octave spring is sufficiently strong that it also pushes
the octave key back very quickly, for playing passages that require
jumping up octaves in sequence rapidly, Ravel G Major piano piano
concerto comes to mind. If that octave key doesn't close quickly enough
you're dead in the water.
That's all that comes to mind for now. I hope it helps some.

--
Regards,
Jonathan Dlouhy
Principal Oboe,
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

On Mar 26, 2005, at 10:56 PM, PhilFrei@-----.com wrote:

> Spring Thoughts (oboe)
>
> I've been experimenting with the springs on the oboe mechanism the last
> couple weeks. I thought I'd describe some of my observations, and get
> some
> reactions. For starters, "The Oboe Revealed" (by Carl Sawicki) has a
> chapter that does
> a good job of describing how to properly adjust springs, and I
> recommend
> people read that or the equivalent before trying any experiments. (He
> doesn't,
> however, go into any concept of how to determine what a good level of
> tension
> might be for a given spring or set of springs.)
>
> At least one person on this list has written of trying to get the key
> springs
> down to a minimum of tension, so that the keys can pressed with a
> minimum of
> pressure. This strategy has a natural appeal, but will get one in
> trouble if
> taken too far.
>
> While most of the springs are used to hold keys open, a lot of them to
> hold
> keys closed, such as springs for the octave keys, the C and B-flat
> pads, the
> A-flat key, the E-flat and D-flat, the trill keys. There may be a few
> I've
> missed. More tension is required to hold a key down AND prevent
> leakage than is
> required to open a key that has been released. Thus, some of the keys
> (octave
> keys, F-sharp, A-flat, D-flat, E-flat) need to have more resistance
> than the
> minimum possible for functioning "normal" keys like A or G.
>
> Thus, if every key were at the minimum functional tension, the oboe
> would be
> very uneven to the touch. It seems to me this unevenness creates
> unnecessary
> technical problems. I would like to suggest the best strategy is to
> first bring
> the tension down to a minimum for springs that hold keys closed, so
> that they
> still properly seal. Then, RAISE the tension on the rest of the keys to
> levels that match or achieve a certain balance.
>
> I'm curious about whether others have done this or tried to do this.
>
> A couple possible guiding principles:
> (1) A properly "balanced" first octave key should have the same amount
> of
> tension as the A and G key combined. If the Octave key is stiffer than
> these two
> combined, it won't want to close until the A and G are finished
> closing, and
> thus will tend to lag. I've tried several different ways of playing
> with an
> unbalanced octave key: resting the thumb on the key itself rather than
> resting it
> on the wood, using the "Paganini" method of dropping the oboe into the
> thumb
> when playing the octave key, attempting to fix the positions of the
> oboe and
> hand so that the thumb and fingers close together regardless of the key
> pressures. Simply making the spring on the octave key lighter and the
> A and G heavier
> so that they counterbalance has removed the need for any of those
> dodges.
>
> (2) The A and G should have the same pressure. If they are unbalanced,
> it
> will be needlessly difficult to play intervals such as G to middle B
> or half-hole
> D to middle B cleanly. For example, my G was a little lighter than the
> A, and
> on D to B, the G finger became slightly slower to rise causing a
> glitch in
> the interval, especially at faster tempos. When the A spring was
> weaker than the
> G spring, I often found the G finger jumping up ahead of the A.
>
> Similarly, it seems to me there are probably useful balances in the
> right-hand keys.
>
> At this point, one my oboe, the keywork is more evenly matched than
> ever
> before, and I am definitely finding it easier to play more cleanly and
> evenly. The
> F-sharp is still a bit stronger than the A and G despite
> strenghthening the
> latter two. To follow this concept to the logical end, on my oboe at
> least, I
> would have to put in heavier needle springs for the A and G. I'm not
> sure if
> I'm willing to go that far, and am wondering if anyone else has tried
> fully
> implementing the concept of "evenness of tension, first".
>
> But it sure would be worth it if suddenly the infamous A-C, G-Bb, F#-A
> thirds
> became easier to play cleanly.
>
> Maybe it's a bit like the difference between a synth keyboard with
> light
> plastic action and the heavier action of a grand piano, where most
> folks find the
> grand piano easier to play evenly and expressively.
>
> Any thoughts? Reponses?
>
> - Phil Freihofner
>

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