 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-08-31 11:52
I have a plastic Selmer Signet oboe specifically for outdoors playing (or in freezing cold churches as is always the case here in the UK!), but they're not without their problems due to cold weather as the plastic exhibits far more thermal expansion/contraction than wood does (which is affected mostly by humidity) so you have to be sure there's plenty of end play (lateral motion) in between keys and pillars in order for things not to bind up solid when cold.
A good way to check this on your plastic oboe is to put it in the fridge for around half an hour, then check which keys have tightened up or bound up solid between their pillars. The usual culprits are the longest keys - the top joint trill beam and the feather keys, so they will need to have the most free play between their pillars at normal room temperature, then the amount of end play gets progressively smaller as the key barrels get shorter, so the amount of end play is relative to the length of the key barrels. Even moreso if you have a plastic cor anglais due to the lengths of the key barrels on them.
Just as an idea of how much end play to expect, I have around 1mm minimum of end play between the pillars of the top jont trill beam to ensure that doesnt bind up and hold the D trill key open. When playing outdoors in winter on Southampton docks, that had pulled in so there wasn't any end play, but was still working. As the key barrels get shorter, the gaps get smaller in relation to the length of the key barrels.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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EaubeauHorn |
2013-08-30 04:13 |
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Oboe Craig |
2013-08-30 18:57 |
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oboi |
2013-08-31 01:40 |
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Re: cold weather playing new |
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Chris P |
2013-08-31 11:52 |
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The Clarinet Pages
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