Doublereed Archive - Posting 000070.txt from 2009/05

From: Donald MacCourt <maccourt@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] Oboe technique--cross fingerings
Date: Sun, 31 May 2009 19:04:22 -0400

What a great analysis of the different motions involved in opening and
closing keys!! As a bassoonist I am always aware of such differences.
Hans Moennig used to adjust the spring tension on bassoons so that all
of the springs had the least tension possible that would still make the
instrument cover tightly, and of course there are still some
differences. One gets used to them and the different pressures in
opening keys (or holes) becomes a matter of habit.

philfrei@-----.com wrote:
> Awhile back I wrote about a possible approach to dealing with
> cross-fingerings on the oboe, such as going from A to C or G to Bb.
> The ex-pianist in me was thinking it might be helpful to make sure the
> various keys involved all had the same spring tension, so that the
> strokes would be equivalent for the different fingers. And I went
> ahead and increased the spring tension on the G and A keys to match
> the higher level of tension on the F# key.
>
> OK, the experiment is over, it was a mistake. Or rather, it wasn't
> particularly helpful. I'm back, after many months, to lightening up
> the G and A springs to their normal levels of tension.
>
> My new theory is that the issue is a matter of "attention." I think it
> is natural to give priority to an action over a release. (Good old yin
> and yang principle.) For example, when playing a C from the starting
> point of an A, one tends to be more conscious of the finger going down
> (the F# key), than the finger that is rising (the A key). Maybe it is
> different for other folks, but it seemed to me it was the rising
> finger that was most likely off rhythmically when doing a
> cross-fingering. So it makes sense to try and retrain the brain to be
> attending to the rising finger as a way to correct that.
>
> For a while, I was trying to become more aware of the point at which a
> key "clicked" open, and to coordinate that with the click of a key
> closing. But putting attentiveness into the initiation of the rising
> action itself, "conceiving" the fingering as a result of the of
> off-key finger positions (as paradoxical as that might be) seems more
> helpful.
>
> The new approach does seem to be bearing fruit. Though, I'm hardly
> ready to tackle anything by Pasculli.
>
> Oh, one other technical thing: in Ferrillo's "Orchestral Excerpts"
> book, the commentary for Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, mvmt 5,
> mentions how it would be nice to use the left F, but that this might
> not be advisable due to the need to use the right-hand A-flat. It's
> got me thinking, why not use the right-hand A-flat more? Have other
> folks taken this key up? It's a pretty small movement if one positions
> the lower knuckle of the right hand near the key (and can
> simultaneously keep the fourth finger near the D key).
>
> Phil Freihofner
> Albany, CA
>
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