Author: vboboe
Date: 2008-09-18 04:08
... long term plans (5+ years from now) may be something to take into consideration when chosing oboe, is it going to be (1) tootling a bit in your spare time as a hobby, or (2) are you thinking doubler on clarinet / oboe in a local band, or (3) are you thinking local community orchestra, or some other 'good player' venue?
if you're seeing yourself still tootling at home in 5+ years time, then the ring-key oboe will probably give you many spare hours of satisfaction -- as long as it isn't a 'resistant' instrument -- one that needs a lot of strong blowing all the time -- you just wouldn't want to play it at all after the novelty wears off, too much effort needed -- and as long as your hands / fingers / fingerpads are sized big enough to easily seal the tone holes completely when moving rapidly -- the huge open low D tonehole could be especially problematic to seal properly
however, if you're thinking of finding public venues to play in later on, it would be better to get a 'plateau' oboe, with caps covering tone-holes, for greater ease of rapid fingering, and with that you'd also find the semi-automatic octave mechanism a boon (the Howarth is manual octaves), include the UK standard forked F vent, and add the Left F, which has several advantages in alternate fingering sequences involving F-D & F-C intervals around Eb Enatural & D combinations
If you end up playing with a band where brass is dominant, be prepared to play nearly everything in flats, which takes extra finger work than playing in sharps for orchestra with strings dominant
ChrisP mentions that the Howarth you're interested in only has the upper joint (left hand) C# and D trills. Personally i find the lower joint (right hand) D trill lever very handy, wouldn't want to be without it
Nice to note that the Howarth basic oboe comes with a reed case, over here that's often a pricey extra accessory
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