Author: HautboisJJ
Date: 2011-01-04 19:00
Thank you Craig for your video!
Great to know that i am not alone in the ballpark here. For many years i tried to search for what i call a "string tuning position". We all know how string players tune their instruments. If the 'A' string for example is tuned too low, all fingerings that are used on that particular string will naturally be lower, which results in a need to compensate fingering wise (finger sharper). Of course it makes no sense to intentionally do that because there has to be consistency in technique; so string players always make sure that the strings in open position are in tune.
With the oboe, i believe the difficulty is in having to achieve the same amount of consistency as a violinist. We have the variable of the reed's built, the pitch that results from the way we approach the reed, and the oboe's natural tendencies. I am beginning to believe more and more that the oboe's 'open string position'/playing position is really a 'b' natural in the middle register, an 'a' at the bottom, a 'c#'starting from about the 2nd octave 'a', and a 'd' for high 'g' and above. Of course, this cannot be strictly defined but is a gradual 'feeling'. With a consistent sound production technique which i have described in my video, i am able to find these pitches immediately even on 2 distinctly different reeds fairly quickly, provided that they are not too badly made (which for me means simply that it crows vibrantly and crows a 'b' at the thread).
The ideal oboe/oboist would then have an intonation where naturally, one 'open string position' would be sufficient and no adjustments are then required. I believe this is the core of the long scrape style of playing and reed making. Ease is then achieved through having the reed crow as high as necessary (a c-c# as many would agree) so that the lips can then relax as much as possible for optimum resonance and stamina in any register (no need to roll in and out as much as possible). The possible down side to this is that when the player is not sensitive enough to necessary changes of color in music, the embouchure is then spoiled to do nothing at all, hindering many expressive possibilities. But when done well, we all know how amazing the results can be with the most famous long scrape players around. As Elaine Douvas once told me:"Try playing a 3 hour opera on those flat reeds of yours !" Indeed it comes to a matter of practicality, priorities, and tastes!
With my version of the short scrape style, i try to achieve as close as possible to the ideal of what i interpret to be the strong points of the long scrape (ease being most important), but due to my formal training (and i keep what i am taught, mostly!) retain the possibilities that i can perform on a short scrape reed. So my method as described above seems to work best for me, providing that my reeds stay consistent and vibrant. But today while working with a student, i realize that one can only work that hard with a reed that does not achieve the right pitch, i.e. even when i could crow in normal playing position a 'b' on a flatter reed when i worked harder, it would become even more work to get it up to pitch in the middle register when i put it inside the oboe, despite retaining the same position; in other words, for some acoustical reason this does not always correspond. Maestro Douvas immediately pops up somewhere in my brain!
A flat monotone thread crow that is lower than 'B' natural is IMPOSSIBLE for anyone on earth! Haha!
Regards,
Howard
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