 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: MikeC855
Date: 2018-05-04 00:18
...especially in close anticipation of end-of-life.
It happened *again* - everything is fine warming-up in the practice room. I go to the stage with two or three playable reeds, continue the pre-rehearsal warm-up, rehearsal starts, and... and... what the heck? Come to the exposed tutti in the second piece for the night and suddenly I'm a half-step sharp! Daggers from the conductor, of course.
He stops the ensemble. I fidget with a reed change (with tuner), and the backup reed is just as bad. I fear the worst, upper joint crack, muttering "Something is really wrong here." "No kidding", says the director. He resumes practice without me, and once I get to the third reed, everything is suddenly kosher. In tune, more or less, but given the weak tone there was a reason it was my #3 for the night.
Like I said, I've had this before, and once in a concert - everything copacetic in warm-up, come to the point where it really counts and it's a disaster. One reed died completely in mid-solo. Not a peep from then on.
It's the worst in concerts. 2-300 warm bodies in the auditorium changes the climate. How do you anticipate the effect? Or can you?
Any pointers? I keep 3-6 reeds with me on stage, but once something goes south "live" there's no rewind button for a reed change. Or will this remain as I have become accustomed, the hard life of an oboist?
[Paraphrasing a friend's assessment, "Playing the oboe is an ongoing series of frustrations, punctuated rarely by moments of mild satisfaction."]
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Confounding band directors since 1964.
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Author: Jim22
Date: 2018-05-04 01:33
I'm right there with you! You sound more experienced than me, but it seems like oboe is really all about the reeds, and the amount of real control is not very much. Concerts are frequently a bit of a different environment.
Jim C.
CT, USA
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Author: oboist2
Date: 2018-05-04 05:14
Do you get nervous when rehearsing or performing? It could possibly be due to lip pressure or jaw tension, particularly if you are anticipating failure. Try not to fluster or panic. Take a few deep breaths, concentrate and you probably will be OK. I tend to make reeds with a fair bit of flexibility in them, and adjust my pitch as I need to and according to other key players around me - especially in tutti work or picking up a solo where another instrument has left off.
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Author: MikeC855
Date: 2018-05-04 08:27
No nervousness here, I'm a long-time semi-pro on several instruments (tuba my main horn), oboe/cor/bassoon my latest haunt mostly because we have plenty of tuba players to go around and nobody else in the local area is crazy enough to mess with double reeds. Speaking of which, no problem on bassoon or cor - just oboe.
The issue I'm fighting seems to be reed condition versus environment changes. Warm-up room to stage is normally good until the reed is (apparently) close to being worn-out. A hint about it being an environment change issue was a recent pit gig where we had no choice but to warm up in the pit with the audience entering. No surprises in four rehearsals and four performances... all on the same two reeds. Cor was cranky in a couple of spots, but that's SOP. ;-)
I guess what I'm looking for is "crystal ball" tips - indicators that the reed is going to up and quit when the "weather" changes, either indoor or outdoor. F'rinstance, a bassoon reed is fairly predictable. Bottom notes (Eb on down - any note in the long joint) stop speaking clearly when a reed is about gone. Plenty of notice there.
This may well be a YMMV and a live-with. Maybe the solution is one I've tried before with mixed results, excercising newer reeds as we get close to a concert rather than making one or two "good ones" try to last the entire run-up. But I thought I'd throw my challenging situation out there to fish for other ideas.
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Confounding band directors since 1964.
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Author: rgombine
Date: 2018-05-07 10:48
I don’t think heat alone could account for what you describe. It’s not normal!
A reed that is too old could behave in this fashion. Similarly a reed that is too soft/collapsed might feel ok when initially soaked but then give up the ghost as it returns to a normal turgor. Even a newer reed of appropriate strength and opening can still turn on you if you construct (or test) your reeds in a space that is more humid than where you perform. Finally, all of these issues will be exacerbated the longer you play: You may be more able to hold such a reed open with your embouchure when you are fresh but be less able to do so when you are a little more fatigued.
Good luck!
Post Edited (2018-05-07 20:06)
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2018-05-07 15:42
You sound very experienced so I hesitate to give playing advice! If this is all trivial stuff for you just ignore it. However from your description it may be an embouchure problem, or a combination of nerves and embouchure.
A data point - even on old reeds I don't have pitch problems. Attack problems? Sure. Volume? of course - but almost never problems of pitch.
There is often an unconcious tendency to bite when we are nervous. with an older reed, this can be enough to deform the reed cavity significantly, and I believe that the volume of air in the reed cavity is extremely important for intonation. Older reeds don't have the reslilience to return to their regular play-state.
Also, closing up the tip can make it much harder for the reed to vibrate. We compensate with more air, and more compression - and there you have it. 60 cents sharp and puffing for all you're worth.
Start with reed exercises. hold the reed using only your lips, and practice rolling the reed in and out while peeping the reed. Corners tight, centre cushioning and supporting, but not sqeezing the reed. Practice changing pitch using only your air-speed/support - can you do a siren?
Practice playing the oboe with a light embouchure as close to the tip of your reed as you can. How close? Well, if you roll the reed out the tiniest bit you choke the reed. That is too far, so roll back in until it speaks easily. There. That is where you should be playing.
Now, any time you start clamping down you will immediately choke the reed! But you will also realize it immediately, and relax your embouchure. This is great training, and you will rapidly get used to the new feeling. The only time you will need to roll the reed in further is to keep your 2nd Octave key notes in tune. Do it gently!
Hope this helps,
J.
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Author: oboist2
Date: 2018-05-08 01:28
Very sound advice to all oboe players. How easy it is to forget. Thank you.
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Author: Hotboy
Date: 2018-05-09 02:23
Professional player and teacher here for 40+ years. It sounds like you are playing concerts on reeds that are too old.
In general, I classify my reeds into the following categories:
1. NEW - Just starting out, often too open, stiff, bright, resistant, and/or unstable, need to be played in and adjusted.
2. YOUNG - Somewhat played in, stable, good sound but still not flexible enough for long playing, need to be played in more and adjusted.
3. PRIME - Nicely played in, stable, flexible, can play a reasonable amount of time without tiring. My 20-capacity reed case usually has 4-5 of these in it.
4. OLD - Very played in, starting to get darker sound, lose volume and stability, but still decent tone and very flexible.
5. DEAD - Past its prime, sounds fine for a few minutes but unstable and collapses under hard playing.
Reeds progress through the five stages through a combination of play time and micro adjusting at each practice session.
For concerts, I play almost exclusively on PRIME reeds except when playing marathon works or programs, in which case I will play on OLD and have several of them ready in case one chooses that particular time to become DEAD.
For rehearsals, I often play YOUNG reeds, switching off with PRIME and OLD depending on how demanding the program is.
95% of my home practice is on NEW and YOUNG reeds.
For chamber playing, I often prefer OLD so I don't have to work so hard to control volume in a small ensemble.
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MikeC855 wrote:
> ...especially in close anticipation of end-of-life.
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I am guessing that your situation involves playing on reeds that are often DEAD. That is likely because the younger reeds you have are too resistant, open, or bright, such that you only feel comfortable playing on OLD and DEAD reeds for concerts.
I find that reeds go from stage 1 to stage 5 in 10 to 20 hours of playing time. If you are playing on your reeds longer than 20 hours, you are playing on dead reeds.
Here are four possible solutions:
1. Adjust (scrape) your reeds so that they blow more easily when younger. You will be able to play these reeds in concerts when they are in PRIME condition. If you don't know how to adjust reeds, you need instruction and practice.
2. When they are newish, close your reeds by squeezing them a bit near the string (only when soaked) so that the reed opening is more closed up. This makes the reed easier to blow. Don't overdo it, or you won't be able to play loud or in the low register.
3. Practice at home on NEW and YOUNG reeds until you are FULLY fatigued at the end of each practice session to build your facial musculature. When your muscles are stronger, you will be able to play concerts on younger reeds that will not collapse. You must practice until fully fatigued to get any improvement in strength and endurance. "Fully fatigued" means that you force yourself to play until your face feels like rubber and you have difficulty articulating words clearly. Do this every time you practice, and you will soon have greater strength and endurance.
4. I assume that you buy your reeds. You can buy reeds that are darker in tone so that you can order them with less resistance to start. RDG has a large selection of reeds, many of them quite dark in tone.
The wild card in all of this is that concerts are often in an unfavorable environment, that is, hotter and more humid than normal. Humidity will make your reeds more open and resistant, and heat will use up your endurance at a faster rate. in addition, your adrenaline can cause you to bite down, which closes the reed and raises the pitch.
When this hot environment is likely, I make sure to have a PRIME reed ready that is slightly more closed or easier to blow in case my other reeds start to stiffen up due to the humidity.
There are no easy solutions...they all take work and commitment.
Somebody once said that "playing the oboe is like running a marathon while lifting weights," and I find this to be generally true.
Dane
Dane
Bay Area, California
Post Edited (2018-05-09 03:06)
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