 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: gazster
Date: 2014-02-01 23:31
is oboe as hard as many say to play? I like the oboe sound, it stands out yeah, like in an orchestra it cuts right threw the rest. when I think of oboe it reminds me gabriels oboe theme and tomb raider theme. would u say it would be easier to start on clarinet then move on to oboe at a later stage. I wonder what's so hard about oboe as I feel any instrument is hard in a way yeah like where I play guitar, that can be tricky at times. thanks for the aadvice.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-02-02 00:16
The reed is the biggest headache - it's never 'just right' but will always be from nearly right to unplayable.
Best thing is to give it a go and get the best teacher from square one - the best teacher being an oboist as opposed to a Jack or Jill of all trades woodwind teacher (who is probably a flute or clarinet player) or a band instructor with no real knowledge about woodwinds in general.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: gazster
Date: 2014-02-02 01:44
thanks, at the moment I'm deciding on which woodwind to play, I seem drawn to oboe for the sound but the clarinet for easier playability and more range yeah. I'm totally new to woodwind but still researching about it all.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-02-02 01:55
You'll get more playing opportunity with oboe as far fewer people play them compared to flutes, clarinets and saxes.
You can always add clarinet (or flute or sax) later on if you want and further your chances as a woodwind doubler. There aren't many people who play both double and single reeds, so that's something to consider.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: gazster
Date: 2014-02-02 03:12
when I went from piano to guitar, it was awful, took months to get smooth sound yeah, so I know practice will counter attack any problems, I feel I got the right mind set to give it ago. I'm long distanced runner aswel so I might manage the air flow a bit better and woodwinds should improve my running yeah.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-02-01 22:21
Oboe has the highest breath resistance of all orchestral woodwinds, but you still need plenty of breath and breath support to help with tone production. With oboe, you have to exhale the remaining breath before taking in a fresh breath which will become instinctive after a short while (on flute, clarinet and sax you generally lose all your breath through playing).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: WoodwindOz
Date: 2014-02-02 13:26
...and you'd need to re-mortgage every time you wanted to upgrade your instrument.
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Author: darryoboe
Date: 2014-02-02 22:30
Then you'd love playing the contrabassoon.
I was married to a bassoonist back in the old days and she had a contra reed that was over 50 years old and had been passed down from teacher to student many times.
And of course getting the contra to fit in a regular car is quite a feat.
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Author: ptarmiganfeather
Date: 2014-02-03 18:31
Oboe is worth all of the trouble. You just have to put in the time and find an oboe teacher. That's not to mention the never ending search for a perfect instrument that matches your needs once you are established...
I am trying to talk my little boy into playing the bassoon. Bassoon reeds are ridiculously easy to play. He loves the "elbow" too much.
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Author: oboi
Date: 2014-02-05 04:12
I honestly would love to play the bassoon and if I ever get my hands on one, I will! Yes, I get jealous at the bassoonist when he tells me how long his reeds last. He makes reasons seasonally and I do mine almost daily. Arrgh!
For me, I didn't it find it hard to learn. But if you play it bad, it can sound really bad. :-P I think I progressed way faster on oboe than I did flute, but I did the latter as a kid and had no lessons so maybe that's why I didn't really progress much.
The issue with oboe is that you stay with it beyond the beginner level, you will have to learn about reeds. You have to deal with them however they behave and if you get really advanced then you probably want to make your own. But if you just want to learn for kicks and, you can sort of ignore it, and I don't see it particularly harder than anything else.
What I DO find hard is the damn trombone. I am trying to learn how to play it and it sounds horrible!!! :-D Actually, if I tried, I think I would sound okay, but it's soooo loud and annoying! :-D
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Author: Oboe Craig
Date: 2014-02-05 18:38
Oboe is easy to play.... easy, EASY, when done right with a well adjusted oboe and a few decent reeds.
When it is hard, you or the oboe need some serious adjustments.
Reeds are a royal PITA. That will never change.
But when it is done right, oboe is as easy as breathing.
That should be a goal.
Get a really good teachers, a good oboe and one in great shape/ adjustment.
Learn about the suction test for the top joint.
Mine hold 20+ seconds and then good things happen. Ask your teacher WTH I mean by a good suction test. It is very important.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-02-05 22:29
Also do the suction test on a well wetted reed as a leaky reed will be unresponsive and hard work. If the binding hasn't been varnished to seal it, then you can coat it with clear nail varnish and also wrap PTFE tape around the lower part of the reed to be sure there aren't any leaks from the sides where the edges of the cane meet.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Oboe Craig
Date: 2014-02-07 02:44
Chris,
Last 10+ years I live by the tape.
I tie very long and then in the dry Colorado place I live some small leaks tend to creep in. Tape solves it. Very reliably.
And tying long ( to close) for me helps intonation and ease of response all across the oboe.
I dig the tape thing.
Good point.
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Author: darryoboe
Date: 2014-02-07 03:08
I will have to try that.
I taught a lesson today to a friend's student (her regular teacher is sick with pneumonia just a week before district solo contest) and all her reeds had fishskin on them. I hadn't seen fishskin in YEARS!!!!
EDIT: I just realized what PTFE tape IS!!! I have some in the garage from when I repaired a faucet a while back.
Post Edited (2014-02-07 03:13)
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Author: WoodwindOz
Date: 2014-02-07 16:42
We call it plumber's tape...I think it is also known as telfon tape.
Coincidentally, I saw this on Charles' site the other day...has anyone used it? Experiences?
http://www.charlesmusic.com/cgi-bin/theo?action=product&product_number=4-6-260
Sorry to aid in derailing the original thread. For what it's worth, as a flute player who learnt clarinet in order to get a teaching job and then moved to oboe, I think the clarinet is harder than the oboe. Maybe not initially, but certainly long term for me that has been the case. I have a sax-playing friend who calls clarinet the 'black stick of death'.
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Author: darryoboe
Date: 2014-02-07 19:21
My Mom used to work in a blood bank and they used small sheets of parafilm to seal the tops of test tubes.
I stole a few pieces and tried to seal reeds with them. It didn't work very well for me - since the film is made of paraffin it's very sticky.
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Author: ptarmiganfeather
Date: 2014-02-07 23:20
A couple years ago on the auction site I saw some really really expensive short scrape reeds that had what appeared to be shrink wrap on the thread and leaky part of cane. The same stuff that is put on eggs. The shrink wrap had pretty flower designs and a bead or something embedded in the cork. Probably compressed the cane too much and broke easily. Sure was pretty.
I use PFTE tape but have not had many leaky reeds. PFTE tape is also useful for wrapping the metal part of a pull through swab if the rubber coating has come off.
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Author: Oboe Craig
Date: 2014-02-08 00:55
And it is good for adding diameter to a reed's cork if you have 2 oboes with differently sized sockets.
My backup oboe has a larger socket and even thought both are Covey oboes, not the same.
I asked Paul about that a long time ago, and he agreed he should standardize.
anyway, the tape helps me through that problem now and then as well as for reed sealing.
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Author: WoodwindOz
Date: 2014-02-08 19:40
Yes, I use plumbers tape for all of the above applications. It is definitely my top method for expanding corks.
I don't remember the last time I had to seal a leaking reed, but I did think it would be nice to have a clear tape for that application. For $4, maybe I will order some in my next Charles order and have a go.
K.Ge has a clear film as well, which they call 'oboe reed skin', and described as a form of cling wrap (and is excessively expensive). I know they wrap all of their reeds in it, and it does come undone after a time, especially if you regularly soak to the thread.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-02-08 20:30
Cling film is useless once it gets wet whereas PTFE/plumbers' tape will stay on.
I've heard there is such a thing as clear PTFE tape which would look much better on reeds than standard PTFE tape.
Although normal white PTFE tape will turn clear after it's been soaking.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2014-02-09 10:59
If you want to try cling-film you can do what I do - buy some bog-standard cling-film from the supermarket, then slice off rolls with a stanley-knife. It takes a while to do, and as always you should be careful when handling sharp knives! But one roll of cling-film turns into about 10 little 2cm-wide rolls that will last you a couple of lifetimes.
Yes, cling-film loses its clinginess when wet. But it is invisible, lighter and more flexible than teflon tape, and you can wrap and pull a section directly from the roll. I find that if I do that with the teflon tape I end up choking the reed, so I have to wrap and then cut to length with a razor. If the cling-film comes off from particularly deep soaking, I just wrap again on in 3 seconds.
J.
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2014-02-09 11:26
Boy - have we gone off topic!
Yes - it is. It is exactly as hard as they say - probably harder.
But if you get hooked - well, then you're hooked. It doesn't matter HOW hard it is, you just keep going, searching for that perfect phrase, that elusive tone, the floating, evocative sweetness that is entirely, exclusively oboe.
Take the plunge, my friend.
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Author: ptarmiganfeather
Date: 2014-02-15 00:02
I save my easy playing well broken in reeds. If I take a break for longer than two or three days or am sick I will use my easiest playing reed to regain and embouchure. I also have a small collection of music that has lots of high and low notes with minimal rests (Telemann oboe fantasies). These songs give your mouth a real work out without a lip exhaustion if you take it easy and use the broken in reed. High notes may sag a little, but the idea is to regain strength in a "hurry" not for perfect sound production. Not that my amateur sound is perfect by any means.
So would it be really outlandish to recommend a sterilized well broken in reed from a teacher to learn on?
Does anyone else do this or is this technique totally wrong?
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Author: ceri
Date: 2014-02-15 15:14
Occasionally my teacher gives me a reed he has used to play in a concert (he never uses the same reed in two concerts) and these have been some of the nicest I've ever had. Unfortunately they don't last as long as new reeds.
I'm not sure they would be any good for a beginner though as, even though they're broken in, they are still professional reeds and behave as such.
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