 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Kiwi
Date: 2004-03-31 20:32
hello~
i have been playing the oboe for about 2 years now and would like to progress onto the english horn. i would like to know some similarities and differences between them and things about the reeds..such as what is the difference? are english horn reeds really more expensive? has anyone had any past experiences with the english horn that you know, and what did they find easy, enjoyable and challenging about it? i would like to learn this info before actually taking on this instrument. thanks
~KIWI~~
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Author: Kyle Jubenville
Date: 2004-04-08 22:43
I'm a flute player..but I also have played/performed on oboe and english horn. The english horn is identical to the oboe as far as fingering..but everything about the embechoure is completely opposite about the two. to get a good tone on oboe, you need a firm embechoure. for english horn, it must be very relaxed or you will just squeak or the instrument will keep playing in the middle register. The reeds tend to be a little more expensive depending on who you go to. The reeds are also a LITTLE bit bigger. not a whole lot..but a little. it feels a lot bigger, but it really isn't. Also, since a relaxed embechoure is needed for English horn, they are really hard to tune(if you thought oboe was hard to tune..you're in for a big surprise). The only way to really tune them drastically is to have bocals(the necks that the reed sits on) but other than that you can finely adjust by pulling on the bocal..but like oboe..if you pull too much, you will gurgle. And the C# key will be quite a new stretch for your hands. it feels very unnatural to finger..just to warn you..it's supposed to feel that way. :-)
Good luck!
Kyle
Fluteboiwonder@aol.com
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Author: TorusTubarius
Date: 2004-04-15 04:01
Well, in my experience I found the English horn to be on the whole easier to play than the oboe. If you can find a good horn with some decent reeds, I doubt you will find the transition very troublesome.
As far as playing the instruments, the major difference between the oboe and the English horn is the amount of air required. Since the opening of the reed is larger for an English horn, and since the bore of the English horn is a fair amount larger than the oboe, you will find you will end up using more air in making it sound. Also due to the larger opening, you will probably not feel quite as much back pressure as you do when blowing through the oboe, but it is important to nevertheless keep up a solid, intense air stream moving through the instrument just like on the oboe. Just as on the oboe and every other member of the oboe family, it is this high-intensity air stream, derived from appropriate activiation of the abdominal muscles, a good "internal resistance" to your air, and proper focusing of the air stream as it leaves the body, that provides depth and richness to the tone while simultaneously allowing maximum control over response and intonation.
Even with the best English horns, you will have to pay a little more attention to your intonation compared to the oboe. A lot of this can be relieved by having the good, focused air stream I just mentioned, but on the whole English horns tend to be harder to keep in tune, especially up high.
The good thing about playing English horn is that it is much easier to get a good tone on one than it is on the oboe. You can thank the bulbous bell for that. This, combined with the lower back pressure from the larger reed, is really what makes English horn easier to play than oboe to me. I just never feel like I'm having to work as hard to really make it sing.
The fingerings are exactly the same of course between oboe and English horn, except for some of the more esoteric fingerings in the high-high register, which you'll never need playing English horn anyway. I assume you know that the English horn is pitched in F, which means that although the fingerings are the same as the oboe, the actual pitch that the instrument produces is a fifth lower.
Both English horn reeds and English horns themselves are more expensive than their oboe counterparts. As far as where you go to get English horn reeds, I would suggest you either learn to make your own, or buy them from your teacher or someone he knows who makes them. If you don't have a teacher, then find a professional to buy from. I can't really point you in any direction other than that since I have no experience with store-bought stuff, other than to tell you that they will in fact be a few dollars more expensive in the store and most likely harder to come by.
There are a few differences between English horn reeds and oboe reeds other than price. In America, English horn reeds have a wire while oboe reeds do not. The tube is obviously different (i.e. no cork) since it has to fit onto a bocal rather than into the instrument itself. English horn reeds are slightly larger, and the most of the features of the reed tend to be a little less rigidly defined than on an oboe reed. Thus while on an oboe reed you may have a very defined blend area on the edges and have carefully and precisely thinned areas on the sides and corners of the tip, English horn reeds may be a little smoother, a little less punctiliously scraped, and on the whole easier to make. I find that I personally prefer my English horn reeds to be ever-so-slightly more resistant than a comparable oboe reed. I think this is because it creates the illusion of more a oboe-like back pressure to which I am accustomed, and forces me not to get lazy about the intensity of my air stream. That's just me though.
The last time I played English horn was in an opera a few months ago. It's truly a beautiful instrument and quite effective when you have a somber, flowing melody line that allows the English horn to do what it does best: melancholy and pastoral. Of course while this is the English horn's greatest strength, it is also to me the reason why it is a more limited instrument than the oboe. The English horn does melancholy and pastoral great, but to play in any other mood, it just never seems to be as effective as the oboe playing in the same style; I think the oboe is ultimately more versatile.
Anyway, that's my two cents on the English horn. Enjoy.
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