 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2001-05-04 14:32
I don't want to take up too much space on this board with a thread that's admittedly off topic. But I haven't found anywhere else to ask it.
I recently borrowed my school's oboe to fool around with. I need some *basic* advice- what kind of reeds, a good instruction book, that kind of thing. Is there anyone around here who I could e-mail with some questions? Or is there an oboe board somewhere to ask these questions?
Thanks,
Micaela
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-05-04 17:17
Michaela, [What a role in Carmen!!] - I'm sure Mark C will allow a bit of oboe talk since many of us {me for some 10 years} played [or fought] the oboe - eng horn battle. I'd suggest getting an early instruction book for advice, reed help and fingering an antique system vaguely related to clar, more so to sax! Ledet and in particular, Gilbert Borema come to mind, I'm sure there are newer ones. Don
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-05-04 18:31
Micaela -
One of the regulars on the Klarinet board is Ed Lacy, a prof. at the University of Evansville, who plays all the woodwinds and is a double-reed specialist. You might want to sign up for Klarinet and post your question there, or contact him directly at el2@evansville.edu.
Keith Stein's The Art of Clarinet Playing has, or at least used to have, a counterpart, The Art of Oboe Playing, by Robert Sprenkle, who taught at Eastman. As I remember, it has a lot to say.
Good luck on oboe. I tried to learn it by immersion once, playing nothing but oboe for a month. I even took a couple of lessons. I could play the notes, but I couldn't get beyond sounding like a strangled duck.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Kaizhi
Date: 2001-05-04 18:49
It's probably a lot easier to deal with the fingerings and stuff than learning how to 'operate' on the reed.
Find out if you can get reeds from a local professional player. Bring your oboe to them when you meet them for the reeds. Most of them are will be happy to adjust them for you as well as teach you a thing or 2.
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2001-05-05 00:05
Thanks for your help. I'm going to a music store tomorrow and I'll find a book. I'll see what I can do with the dying duck (aka a wooden Bundy). I can currently play Mary Had a Little Lamb and Hot Cross Buns.
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Author: Rina
Date: 2001-05-05 00:50
The oboe is the instrument that humbled me. Then again, I was told by an oboist friend that both the instrument and reed I was using were ****. I truly would go to a teacher to get a hand made reed. The book I used for fingerings etc was "Learn as you play Oboe" published by Boosey & Hawkes
Good luck
R
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Author: Mike Irish
Date: 2001-05-08 04:53
oboe reeds are a bit ..... ummm.... weird.....
one thing to look for, ( hand pick every reed you buy.... do not take for granit that just because it is a good brand, that they will all be good ) is that the reed halfs are even, some tend to be off set, some may have one half more curved then the other..... just make sure you inspect each reed you buy.....
we are using Jones reeds.... so far, I have found those to be pretty consistant for the price...... inspecting them, I have found a higher percentage of good to bad reeds ( now other people may have different out comes. ) the quality of sound seems to be more consistant also..... they also seem to be consistant one their durability, and playibility ( length of time playing priorto having to switch them out for a fresh reed )
the emerald reeds are iffy... have gone thru a whole box of them, and not found one that I would purchase.....
benard reeds seem to be ok..... I stil prefer the Jones...
have purchased a Selmer reed, went thru 3 reeds to find one that I thought was suitible... I do not know how that one is playing.... my son has it.... and have not had it long enough to really know..... He says it seems to be a lot better tone then the Jones, but the Jones reeds are lasting longer.....
there are Higher Priced reeds out there.... and I have looked at some, but for a 20.00 reed, was not impressed with the workmanship of them.... did not buy, cause was not sure about how it would work... we are gettign ours for about 12.00 each....
when my son has a performance, he usually has three reeds ready for use, ( depending on the length of the performance......
oh... something else to look for is the way the cork is made to the reed...
if it is a composit cork, you will need to ensure there is plenty of cork grease on it, or it will tend to be dry and be hard to remove from the oboe..... the sheet cork does not have quite the problem with this.....
as with any reed, if you just ask for a reed, you may end up with the Cheap reeds, that are low grade, pieces of wood that would be better for fire starter...
Mike
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Author: Wes
Date: 2001-05-11 07:02
Good luck on the oboe. As a person who has studied and played the oboe in many situations for a lot of years, I respectfully offer the following comments:
Sometimes it seems like every clarinet player I talk to has attempted the oboe and given up.
I believe that for any serious interest in the oboe, it is impossible to be self taught. Maybe you just want to try it for a while to see if a serious interest develops later, which is great. If a self-taught person tries to play the oboe in a group, they will surely get some negative feedback from the group, which can be very discouraging. The oboe is a significant challenge for several reasons, the complex instrument, the reed, the culture of it's players, the fingering system, the special fingerings for special situations, etc. It also is very time consuming because of the need to practice and, for the serious player, the need to make your own reeds. However, there is a great satisfaction when you can finally play it in a musical way.
If I could find a commercial reed that would meet my needs and last a while, I would probably buy it. As it is, I have to make reeds that satisfy me, especially for stability. Since I reuse the staples, my reeds cost me about $1.10 each to make, the cost of a piece of gouged cane. However, there is about 1/2 to 1 hour of labor in each reed.
Best wishes!
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