Klarinet Archive - Posting 001099.txt from 1998/12

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] To Oboe or Not to Oboe....
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 12:34:41 -0500

On Tue, 29 Dec 1998, Clark, Dorothy wrote:

> Are there any clarinetists/oboe players out there? If so, how
> challenging is it to grasp and efficiently play the two. [snip] I
> guess my questions are: Is it an easy cross between the two? Is the
> fingering much like the clarinet, etc.?

The fingerings have some similarities, but there are also major
differences. The clarinet overblows a perfect 12th in the upper register,
while the oboe overblows an octave. The breathing process is quite
different on the two instruments. The embouchure has relatively little
similarity. But, the most difficult area is in the reeds. Most oboists
eventually despair of trying to find satisfactory commercial reeds, and so
they feel that they have to make their own reeds. This is a technique
which can be learned only after years of experience, the investment of a
great deal of money in tools, equipment and supplies, and much trial and
error.

My answer to the question, "Can I teach myself to play the oboe?" or the
clarinet or any other instrument is, "Probably not very satisfactorily."
In the final analysis, we all teach ourselves. The teacher can't move our
fingers for us, can't breathe for us, and can't form the embouchure. As
teachers, we can't even see what is going on inside the player's mouth
while she/he is playing. But, we need guidance from an expert teacher to
learn to accomplish those things.

I think you can learn to play the oboe as a doubling instrument. If you
want to be able to produce a satisfactory tone and develop a useful
technique, you will need to spend quite a bit of money for an instrument,
find commercial reeds which will work for you until you can learn to make
your own (over-the-counter oboe reeds cost from $7 to $20 or more, and
some of them won't work, and others, usually the better ones, will crack
after you have played two or three notes on them), get a good teacher, and
be prepared to practice regularly and extensively over a period of months
or years.

It is not my purpose to discourage you, although I may have done that, but
to make you aware of the pitfalls before undertake this rather daunting
task.

Ed Lacy
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Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
Evansville, IN 47722
el2@-----.edu (812)479-2754
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