Author: Jaysne
Date: 2008-12-19 19:03
What's worse than playing oboe in a concert with a head cold?
Playing oboe in a concert with a head cold--and then getting your swab stuck in the upper joint!
This happened to me last weekend. After the first two measures of the concert, I thought I was going to pass out due to the congestion. Somehow I made it to the end of the first half, when, as I pulled my swab through just prior to the last piece, it got stuck and would not come out. So I had to fake play it.
I knew there was a carpenter's shop under the stage, so as soon as intermission began, I raced down there looking for long, slim, sturdy implements with which to push the swab out. Finding none, I found an electric drill, and with the stage manager's assistance, was able, through the top of the oboe, to reverse-drill out most of the fabric, shredding it in the process. Of course, there was the danger of harming the oboe, but I couldn't worry about that--I had a show to play!
We got all the fabric out we could based on the length of the drill bit, and then we found some thick steel wire which I used to push the rest of it out through the bottom of the joint. I slapped on a reed, and--boom--thankfully the horn played okay. I went back on stage and a few minutes later began the second half. Whew!
Post Edited (2008-12-19 21:02)
|
|
The Oboe BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
