Author: RobinDesHautbois
Date: 2012-05-20 11:08
It seems that I bought my oboe from the relaxed period in Lorée history (1980s & 1990s). Even after having it revoiced, it behaves as follows:
- if you use the lowest octave (Bb-C with no 8va key) as a standard
- the half-hole notes are sharp or flat depending on the harmony
(this is actually a good thing: harmony moves the notes anyway)
- the 2nd octave key notes are flat
- the 1st octave key notes are essentially flat, but mostly they are unstable:
they will "WOHLF" sharp and/or flat (yes, "and/or") during a crescendo or diminuendo without a really good reed
This was very well known in my student days. In Montréal, it was taken for granted that you had to compensate with fingerings and breath-work. Oboes was assumed unreliable (including Fox, Selmer, Yamaha and others I can't remember) and whether one played in tune or not was the mark of how good a musician one was.
=> A really good reed and cooperative weather makes up for this quite nicely and a good control on embouchure takes care of all situations.... the idea that the lips are as soft as can be and must never move, in my mind, is as ridiculous as can be! But the big question is HOW to learn embouchure control? To me, it was performing reed excercises and ear-training: the rest became an autonomic response.
In my blog, I compare really old Lorées, really new Lorées, some Howarths and some other used instruments.
http://robindeshautbois.blogspot.ca/2012/01/comparing-many-oboes.html
Most of them were much better - not enough to make me exchange my old companion, but enough to choose differently were I buying new. Only the Strasser (semi-pro Marigaux) had completely reliable for tuning. Some had the same "WOHLF-ing" on the 2nd octave key notes.
Robin Tropper
M.A.Sc., B.Mus., B.Ed.
http://RobinDesHautbois.blogspot.ca/music
|
|
The Oboe BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
