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Re: Oboe Difficult to play???

Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-06-04 21:21

The reeds are the biggest headache for me - I can get away with a duff reed on cor anglais, but on oboe - if the reed isn't right then forget it!

I've almost snapped my oboe over my knee in frustration when the reed just decides to pack up on it's own accord, if it's too hard, if the aperture opens or closes up, if the blades leak, if it's too wet or dry... there are too many determining factors about reeds and I'm only just beginning to understand how to turn a bad reed situation into a good one.

And it's amazing if you get a reed working just how you want it to one day, then come the next day and it doesn't want to know!

I do buy my reeds for the fact that a good maker can make them pretty much to my own requirements, though there's no such thing as the prefect reed. I know how and where to scrape the reed to alter the strength, tuning and response and tone quality of it - but it really is one of the blackest of black arts to get them exactly how you want them.

My favourite reed right now (Torda) has a split running down the length of one blade, but it's still working almost exactly how I want it to in terms of strength, response and tone, and I'll make sure I can get as much life out of it that I possibly can. I have several more and a Ke-Xun Ge as a backup which still needs fettling to make it as good as this one and several others in various stages of fettle.

But definitely having a good oboe with a good bore is also a factor in how easy or difficult a time you'll have when learning. I began with a plastic B&H Regent which was a pig to play - leaking pads, sloppy keywork and the bore wasn't of a good design. The top joint bore was all distorted and probably way oversize as the low notes were uncontrollable below E - they'd bubble and roll like mad.

The best thing I did was knock it over and it snapped in half (and it was a genuine accident!) and I later swap it for a Wurlitzer (US) C Melody sax, but that was on condition the middle tenon was replaced.

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