 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: Zzgs
Date: 2015-09-06 07:26
I've been playing oboe for three years now and I'd say I'm quite good. In my first year I received a perfect score and exemplary performance award on my solo I performed at contest. I've grown since then too, and am now first oboe in my school's top band. All this time though I've had an issue that doesn't seem to be getting any better; I tire very (VERY) quickly! It's extremely frustrating because it's holding me back more than ever now; I want to join my local youth orchestra but I know their concerts are pretty long. I'm going to play oboe/eh in a pit orchestra this fall, and I am TERRIFIED because I know getting through it is going to be terribly difficult for me. I've been told that playing should be comfortable; it isn't for me. There's just so much pressure in my abdominal area, my lip and face muscles get devastatingly tired, and I get really warm and start to sweat. It's just so physically challenging! I have a beautiful tone but I feel like I'm working way harder than I should to achieve that sound. I don't think it's a reed strength issue; I'm using handmade, medium strength reeds (typical for someone of my level yes?) If someone could offer me any bit of advice it would be much appreciated. Thank you! c:
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Author: oboi
Date: 2015-09-06 08:10
Are your reeds too hard? Do you take breaks as often as you can? Even short little breaks will help. I can play for a long time as long as there are some breaks in the music and I put my oboe down any time that I can. Some of my reeds will cause me grief very quickly while others are free-blowing. If your embouchure is very tense, you may need to modify it. If you're feeling winded, are you breathing in/out enough? Learning how to breathe out was something that took me a while to get used to. Your instrument? Issues with the instrument may also cause issues.
There are possibly spots in the music where it is okay for you to skip an occasional note or two. Even pros do it. Even omitting a beat or two and giving yourself to relax and reset your embouchure will help. It is very easy to be hesitant to reform the embouchure and restart the airflow (due to wanting to stay in time or making a smooth note), but anytime you are tense will add up.
I haven't played in a band in years, but I do find that band music can be much more taxing than orchestral music, just because a lot of that music isn't really written optimally for oboe. Orchestral music less so and it is something you build up over time. I've been playing for many years many hours a day and I still need to work up endurance for very long slogs, especially very challenging etudes. EH also took a while to be very comfortable, so if you're somewhat new to it, it's normal.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2015-09-06 11:30
It seems like it would be good to take some lessons from a fine oboe player/teacher. Some persons who teach the oboe are not really players of the instrument.
Your reeds may be too hard or have too large an opening, needing to be closed down so that you can play on the very tip with little pressure. If so, try letting them dry in an ordinary paper clip. Some practice is good, but too much can be wearisome and counter productive.
Good luck!
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Author: mjfoboe
Date: 2015-09-06 19:13
Get yourself a good teacher ...before you develop bad habits from playing on "too hard" "unbalanced" reeds.
Mark
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Author: JRC
Date: 2015-09-06 21:50
Proper breathing may help.... a lot...
Find a way to make full and partial breathing in and out. The point is to learn how to empty your lung and fill it back with fresh air without compromising the music "too much". It may not be just your lips and embouchure that are tired but also lack of oxygen in your body system that make you unable to continue playing.
Perhaps learn how to properly breath while playing from a teacher who understand breathing. Not all teachers know this.
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Author: WoodwindOz
Date: 2015-09-07 15:35
I came from flute and found my endurance issues (as worked through with an oboe professor) were related to 2 key points - 1) reed strength and 2) breathing technique.
There is no such thing as a consistent 'medium strength' reed. They vary between makers, between individual pieces of cane. My husband is a clarinetist and I had dabbled on clarinet enough to teach beginners. The clarinet world, certainly in Australia, seems to have the 'harder is better' notion. It took me a long time to break that mindset in the oboe world. Harder is NOT better. Medium is not typical and no two players are likely to play on exactly the same strength reed. Once I started making my own reeds, I found that the way I do prefer them is as soft as I can get (admittedly short scrape, so this is still harder than most of my American friends) without sacrificing tone or support. My colleagues prefer their reeds a little harder to me.
My biggest issue for endurance was my ability to expel enough carbon dioxide before taking in enough oxygen. I had no idea simply how much I had to get rid of. If you don't, you will eventually hyperventilate and your muscles (particularly ones for fine motor, such as mouth) will tire. My own experience has made me realise the importance of teaching this skill as an absolute fundamental to successful oboe playing, and I introduce it and insist on it early on.
Good luck! My confidence to accept higher pressure gigs grew once I had sorted these issues out.
Rachel
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Author: Simonsky
Date: 2015-09-10 15:33
Sweating can be caused buy excessive effort which then translates into anxiety which leads to tension in the arms and hands. The more anxious and frustrated you get (oboes IS frustrating at times) the more you get into a vicious cycle.
get some advice about modifying reeds and how to scrape different areas to help loosen things up without thinning the tone too much. i think getting the breathing better, as others have said is a good thing - often teachers don't do enough work on this aspect.
I find playing long notes with a variety of hairpin dynamics helps rather than blasting through digitally active etudes all the time.
ekbainousi@gmail.com
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