 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Marcee
Date: 1999-10-22 01:57
I Have played oboe since 6th grade (Currently in 9th) Last year, I was told if I wanted to be in marching band (which I did) I either had to be in the pit (gag) or play alto sax. So I went with sax. The time has come of concert band season, steadily aproching us, and I have have my oboe back now, but My my mouth hurts really badly afterwards, I know its how sax has 1 reed, and oboe is 2, but I was wondering if anyone had any tips on improving and getting more ajustedt to the oboe again. Thanks!
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Author: KEN
Date: 1999-10-24 23:38
Hi, I am glad to see that someone else is in my same situation. I started oboe in the 7th grade (i am also currently in 9th grade). I decided near the end of my eighth grade year I wanted to be on the marching band so in about 2 weeks time my middle school band director taught me as much about alto saxophone as possible before I went to high school. As you probably already know the fingerings are very close to the oboe but the embouchure is very different.
What I had to do in the time when I was playing saxophone was to keep practicing my oboe whenever possible. I also practiced the saxophone. This ensured that I could change the pressure of my mouth when I needed to.
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Author: KEN
Date: 1999-10-24 23:44
Hi, I am glad to see that someone else is in my same situation. I started oboe in the 7th grade (i am also currently in 9th grade). I decided near the end of my eighth grade year I wanted to be on the marching band so in about 2 weeks time my middle school band director taught me as much about alto saxophone as possible before I went to high school. As you probably already know the fingerings are very close to the oboe but the embouchure is very different.
What I had to do in the time when I was playing saxophone was to keep practicing my oboe whenever possible. I also practiced the saxophone. This ensured that I could change the pressure of my mouth when I needed to.
In your case, I recommend that you play just your oboe reed in front of a mirror until you can going again. Don't panic. It will all come back to you with practice. Also don't forget to practice your saxophone
Good luck.
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Author: Patti
Date: 1999-11-02 02:20
I am a woodwind teacher who has to help many students like yourself. My college professor taught both oboe and sax, and I successfully followed in his footsteps. You can become a better oboist when playing the sax because you develop a better breathing technique. Unfortunately, you do lose the sensitivity required for oboe playing. Remember to moisten your reed with warm water for a minutes instead of putting it in your mouth like a sax reed. You will need to practice your embouchure in front of a mirror while practicing scales at home. Most important, keep your embouchure on the tip of the reed, and don't "chomp" down to get the upper octaves.
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Author: Eva
Date: 2000-01-30 19:59
I used to have that problem too, except I was scheduled for jazz band, and no saxophone players were. About switching back: I didn't have a whole lot of problem w/ this, but I think what little problem I was having had to do with the tension of the muscles in my mouth. When I was playing sax, I had to tense my muscles more to adapt to the embouchure and because the mouthpiece was bigger and not as adaptable as an oboe reed. It sounds to me like you are still trying to keep your muscles too stiff. My suggestion: work on relaxing your mouth muscles. Making yourself yawn a little before you play the oboe is good for this, as it forces you to stretch the mouth muscles out. Also, I would talk to your band director and ask if you could please switch to some sort of percussion instrument or color guard, or even try for drum major. I played bass drum on the field during the marching season this year. While pit might not be your favorite thing, it's pretty well harmless to your oboe playing. While some people argue that the saxophone helps in breathing, I found that it doesn't because it is so completely different; you have a ton of back pressure to release on oboe and almost none on saxophone, which could be contributing to the pain. In fact, my breathing became worse: I had to gasp to release the back pressure on oboe, the result being excessively noisy and annoying. I have just recently gotten rid of that. You might also be still trying to put your teeth down on the top reed blade instead of pulling your lip under.
In my 5 1/2 years of playing the oboe, I made the absolute least amount of progress the 4 months I played sax. It made my tone regress some, and it caused posture problems and a lot more problems than it was worth. I have now been principal oboe in 2 youth orchestras, U of I's All State Music Camp Orchestra, and a junior symphony (my first orchestral ensemble), and this was no thanks to the saxophone. I am in 11th grade.
Happy oboe playing!
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Author: Sean S
Date: 2001-11-08 00:06
In my sister's marching band at her high school the oboes march!!
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