 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: robertargoe
Date: 2015-03-04 21:25
Is there any way of softening or darkening the tone quality of Middle C when using 1 and 4 tone hole fingering? To my ears, it almost sounds as if it were coming from a Scottish bagpipe when compared to the tone quality of the other notes in the scale.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2015-03-04 22:01
That C is always a bright note with regular (conservatoire) fingering on the majority of oboes. I recently played an older Dupin oboe where this C had real character and quality that I've never experienced on any other oboe I've played.
Have you also added more right hand fingers to soften the bright C?
Just as an experiment, play B and then hold down the linkage bar on the right side down at the top end to get C and see if that's less bright. If that works, then consider having a thumbplate fitted so you can lift off the left thumb for C as you'd do on a flute. But the Bb with this fingering isn't as good as conservatoire Bb fingering and it'll be slightly on the sharp side.
Fairly often over here in the UK with dual system oboes (conservatoire with added thumbplate for Bb and C), players of this system will use the thumbplate fingering for C and the conservatoire fingering for Bb as the thumbplate fingering for C isn't as bright as the conservatoire fingering.
I've seen a Marigaux oboe fitted with a special mechanism to give the thumbplate system venting for C while still using the conservatoire system fingering.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2015-03-05 08:28
Not sure what the acoustical engineers will say, but these are my thoughts.
The C note is the "shortest" note, that is, the oboe has its shortest effective length for this note (not including trill-keys, obviously).
Reed "artifacts" such as buzz or tippiness will be most obvious in the b-c range, and any damage to the upper bore will show up on this note as well.
I think that this is also the reason that an out of tune reed is most obvious for the 2nd octave b note unless you control it with your embouchure (a total no-no for American scrape players, but pretty common in the rest of the world)
Not a solution to your problem, I know, but food for thought.
J.
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Author: WoodwindOz
Date: 2015-03-05 18:24
I find that the 'perfect' reed for me often has a beautiful C as a by product. I think, like J said, that note is really susceptible to tip issues, especially a slightly too long tip, and as a short scrape player, if the point just beyond the tip is ever so slightly overscraped, the thin, bright C will occur. I would assume a similar thing would happen on long scrape reeds in the heart/blend as well.
Whenever I descend to a C from notes with more fingers, I always leave RH 2 and 3 on as well, seem to help blend the sonorities between the registers.
Rachel
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Author: robertargoe
Date: 2015-03-06 02:39
I have been trying to add extra right hand fingers and the tone qualities are no different from the 2 fingered C. However, if I finger the C as if it were the low C and use a split finger on the top tone hole, there is a noticeable softening in tone quality, but somewhat muffled and not as rich as I would like it to be.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2015-03-06 02:47
If it was possible to play C as oxo|ooo as on Baroque and Classical era oboes, then that would have a much better tone quality compared to the openness of the C on modern oboes.
I've never tried it as I know it won't work on my oboes as the top plates are screwed down almost closed on them (as I lift LH1 off completely for C#, D and Eb), but on oboes where the top plate opens fully, will the oxo|ooo fingering give C natural?
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: rgombine
Date: 2015-03-06 22:17
For my setup, (American scrape) this note definitely requires a little embouchure adjustment, accompanied by a slight roll out of reed. This essentially allows my lips to slightly dampen the tip while the embouchure change supports/counterbalances the drop in pitch associated with the change in reed position.
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Author: matt_lin18
Date: 2015-10-18 04:46
I always play middle C with all the right hand fingers down, it helps to dampen and make it warmer but it's still a very slight difference. With my Yamaha oboe, I can finger low C and overblow to create a very very sweet sounding middle C. But with my Fox, which is my main instrument, won't do it. But give it a try.
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Author: MikeC855
Date: 2015-10-30 05:35
Like Matt, I fight this particular fight on a Yamaha and a Fox. The only way I've been able to consistently corral this issue is with embouchure, and reed condition. Frankly, I usually judge how "usable" a reed is on the amount of effort it takes to voice that C in tune and with minimum "bagpiping" (there - I invented a word ;-) ).
Right hand pinky keys help me sometimes, but the timbre difference versus the D is hard to conceal. Fortunately I have had *some* success on my Fox (Sayen) with the closed C to soften it in certain solo passages where timbre changes spoil everything.
-----
Confounding band directors since 1964.
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2015-10-31 04:11
As mentioned above. and as a Dual System player, I use the Thumb Plate fingering for C but the Conservatoire fingering for Bb (mostly).
I also like using the harmonic fingerings for C and B occasionally as they are so rich sounding on my Oboe.
These are for C :- XOX / XXXC and for B (natural) XOXBb / XXXC and these blend in nicely with the D above.
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Author: veggiemusician
Date: 2015-11-01 13:56
The Staple can greatly affect the quality of the C so try some different options. I'm dual system player, but my Marigaux M2 C sounds basically the same if fingered Con or Thumplate and only the pitch is affected between the two fingerings.
Jerome Broun
Principal Oboe UAE NSO Symphony Orchestra
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