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Re: newbie

Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2004-11-12 02:41

Hi --

Welcome to the board! I'm glad to find another "older" newbie! I played my first oboe notes just a year and two oboes ago. The el cheapo that I started with didn't have left-hand F -- bad omission. Then I got a Yamaha 411, and did very well. More recently, I got a bad case of the "equipment upgrade virus", and have been playing on a nearly-new Covey for the past month.

You are very brave to attempt a community band concert already! I hope to play in the community band on oboe next summer. I can actually play pretty well when it's just me -- Handel, Telemann, and the Concert and Contest solos book -- but I am not so sure of myself in a larger ensemble whre I won't be able to hear myself as well yet. I tend to tighten up everything when I am under pressure, and when that happens, I fear everyone will wish I would have stayed on clarinet.

I like your "kiss the reed" analogy.

As far as the vocal sharpness issue goes, presuming that your musical "ear" is OK, my guess would be that the sharpness is a mechanical artefact of the way you are producing your tone -- probably a result of forcing or pushing the tone.

Try NOT hitting a pitch -- just vocalize on a big relaxed *sigh-* -- high to low -- and then after a few times, just hang onto a steady pitch in a comfortable range, and look at the tuner to see what you've got. It's that feeling of the sound "floating" on air that you're after -- like your whole chest is as open as your "hollow mouth". (Careful not to hyperventilate -- this feels so good you might not want to quit!)

As far as embouchure exercises that you can do at work, how about sucking lightly on a drinking straw? Works for me . . .

Susan

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