 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Ken
Date: 2003-10-17 03:00
Hello I am an oboe player and I come here a lot to read posts. I have question. Does any body have any tips or suggestions in playing in a large oboe section? At my college, symphonic band will start up next semester and there will be 6 (possibly 7) oboes in our section. Many of them are very talented, but all you oboe players can attest to the problems we might run in too with seven playing altogether. Does any one have any suggestions as to making us sound as GREAT as possible as a group? I am fairly confident that we will sound fine in the end. Thanx
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Author: guy
Date: 2003-10-17 03:38
That's going to sound horrible. 7 oboes at once? It doesn't matter if they're good. Don't let more than 3 play at once.
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Author: oboe
Date: 2003-10-17 03:46
I don't know how good/bad it would sound, I don't think people are dumb enough to try and find out....maybe just certain oboes for certain music'll play. But I don't think that everyone will play at once. heh, good luck!
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Author: sömeone
Date: 2003-10-17 13:23
Hard to say though.
You might wanna try sleeping together for 6 months then try to start to think of a solution or a way to work together. Just kidding.
Well......sounds like balance will be a problem. How about the rest of the symphonic band? Is it like a 100 member band. Well, in our concert band, we have like around 50 playing members and there is only 1 oboist in the band - me, AND still i have a problem balancing and tuning with the rest of the band.
Not trying to spil the whole show but i've never seen such a large oboe section b4.
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Author: richard
Date: 2003-10-17 14:10
I haven't seen 7 oboes playing at one time too. In a symphony orchestra of 100 players, there are only 2-3 oboes. In a wind band of 50-70, there are 3 -4 oboes at the most. I am not an expert on oboe but there must be some reasons behind of not having too many oboes at a time.
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Author: TorusTubarius
Date: 2003-10-17 17:47
Why on earth did your director leave 6 possibly 7 spots open for oboe players in his band? That is insane. You guys must be literally bursting at the seams with oboe players. If someone told me that I had to play in a section with 6 other oboe players, I'm not sure I would be as optimistic about our sound as you are.
The most obvious problem is going to be pitch, but even if you guys played like 7 professional players, there's something about the oboe that after about 3 players, the sound starts taking on this raucous, grating quality that I would describe as at best unpleasant.
Oboes don't mix together like flutes or clarinets do, which is incidentally why you most often find "sectional loyalty" to be very low among oboists playing in bands.
For instance, in most bands I've ever seen you could go up to the clarinet section and ask any one of them, "Who's your section leader?" And you'll get an immediate response as to who it is.
In bands with <i>good</i> oboe players in them (I deliberately emphasize the word "good"), you can go ask the same question, and most of the time the response you'll get is "Oh, well, I guess so-and-so is." I think this is due to the fact that a) most of the time there's only two or three of them in the first place, and b) oboists as a general rule are a lot more independently-minded about their music, being the finicky, high-strung primadonnas that we all are.
If I were playing in your band, I would probably suggest to the rest of the section that you all alternate who's playing the part(s) at any given time. Seven oboes playing at once is never going to blend into the sound of the band.
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Author: Ken
Date: 2003-10-19 03:27
Thanks for the suggestions. I don't know the make up of our band this year b/c I am a freshman but from what I here there are usually a lot of flutes. # of Clarinets and other stuff? Don't know. I am actually looking forward to it. I think it will turn out to be and "interesting" experience. Too bad concert literature doesn't include 3-4 oboes parts. Then I think it will work. But it doesn't. Thanx for the suggestions.
Ken
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