Author: vboboe
Date: 2006-07-22 21:24
<<I guess with the hot weather I don't really need to warm up the oboe? Or how does that work exactly??? Do you just start playing and not worry about warming it up if it's not cold?>>
... think your plastic lined Buffet is probably more of a pick-up and play right away instrument in warm weather, great convenience of plastic, lovely resonance of wood -- don't really need to worry about serious warming up of the oboe itself until air temperatures are less than 20C / 70F -- but over 30F / 90+F -- staying moist enough seems to be the biggest challenge
... really though, warmups are for the *** player *** it's sensible to have a little 'sign on' routine to ensure oboe, reed/s and :-) you :-) are working OK, so just get into the habit of being a player who sets up, wets up, and tunes up a bit earlier than the last-minute crowd.
A routine could be as simple as blow testing wettened reeds to see which ones you'll use today (are they blowing easy or resistant, sharp, flat, just right, top-side? under-side!) and then sound G, low D, top D, top G to test communications are online, and a presto scale in two octaves a couple of times to hear everything is sounding properly.
Then you tune yourself to your tuner, and after you know you're in the ball-park, forget it, and listen with your ears, tune in to middle of the sound made by everybody else.
More elaborate player warmup routine might include anything you find really helps to lube your fingers, prime your air support, flex your tonguing technique, and settle you down comfortably and relaxed -- good to include friendly chit-chat with other players in the group
... point to remember -- grenadilla wood comes from torrid heat zones in the world, the wood itself can handle hot temperatures, but the real problem is what happens when metal fittings heat up rapidly and expand inside their sockets in the wood
... do everything possible to keep metal keys out of direct sunshine or out of very hot locations at all times, metal heats up ferociously and expands rapidly, this tightens up all moving parts and presses hard on the wood at all the posts and could cause sudden cracking in the wood; when cooling and contracting to normal temperature again, posts could be loosened
... of course never leave your 'oboe baby' in the car during sunny or warm weather, not even for 10 minutes -- get a car thermometer & check it everytime you get in, it's a real shock how hot a car can get inside, totally bad for oboe (ditto cold in the winter)
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