Author: vboboe
Date: 2008-03-07 04:35
1. were should my pinkies be placed while not pushing something
short answer, already given = 'hovering'
Where they should be is the GOAL, but my experience is that 2 year old beginner fingers are awkward and can't co-operate with should's and must do's right away, and need to be trained in that direction over a period of time, just keep practising, your fingers will get more co-operative eventually
2.If my reed is under length, but is crowing at a C. will it make my oboe sound sharp
i've used Jones reeds, and most Jones reeds played flat for me, so clipping them a little bit shorter than 70mm (their standard length) was often an improvement
shorter here means clipped down to maybe 69mm if it's crowing at B and maybe 68mm if it's crowing at B-flat. 67mm is borderline but if the reed's flatter than B-flat, try it, sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn't
if your reed is crowing at C but playing sharp in oboe, you're probably crowing it with less lip pressure than you're using when it's in oboe, you need to crow it with the same embouchure you use when playing to be sure it's really crowing C -- and in any case, it's what you're actually playing in oboe that counts, not the crowing in C before you put the reed in the instrument
reeds blow sharper with age, once you can't adjust it down anymore, it's time to get rid of it permanently. Shortened reeds tend to blow sharp much faster as they age.
3.My reed slips farther into my mouth when i play... what should i do
Yes, check head, neck, back and arm posture -- the most common problem seems to be slouching forward with tummy caved in and back bowed out, especially seated. The oboe student must practice elegantly graceful erect posture and muscles have to be trained for that too
You may be unconsciously trying to make sure you don't drop your oboe by holding onto it by the reed
balance weight of oboe on your right thumb only, don't hold onto oboe with left thumb, it just rests there at the back ready to use the octave key when needed
if you grip oboe with left thumb, this often ends up pushing oboe in your mouth, because when you've got two thumbs balancing and rebalancing themselves around all your finger movements, they push & pull the pipe in different directions doing that, so hello lips, hold this thing steady will ya?
Lips can only oblige by taking more reed in, because you should be just blowing the tip, so you're barely holding the reed at all
4.how do i play louder, it seems that my sound is at mf to ppp anything louder and it cracks, sound nasty or sometimes goes extremly flat
cracks = too much air all at once at the reed -- solution is more air control
sounds nasty = the reed aperture has opened up too wide in the blast of air -- solution is more embouchure control
extremely flat = air pressure's gone down in the oboe itself, probably because you're leaking air through the lips, or losing air in bulging air pockets around your gumline -- solution is more face muscle control that can 'seal' easily
never knew you had so many muscles to train for playing oboe, did you?
Are you physically ready to play louder yet? Try these 2 tests. Blow out a candle from 26" away. No cheating, don't lean forward, blow at 26" away. Next, blow the flame down level, and hold it down in a steady stream of air, same distance away, for as long as you can
Can you do it?
If not, your body's not conditioned enough, yet, to play f on oboe
to get conditioned, practice fp's. Play every note in any scale 4 times each, up and down, and fp every single note
Always reserve some fairly young and fresh Jones reeds for loud music.
Older reeds have softer voices
Here's a sneaky tip for band -- IF oboe music says ff or fff, and all the loud instruments such as trumpets and saxophones and electric guitars are blaring away at the same time, and oboe notes are written in mid register and they're completely lost in the scrum, go up on 1st 8ve. Oboe cuts through very well up there and you don't have to bust a gut to play ff, f is loud enough. Up on 2nd 8ve though, it's a lot harder to stay loud.
5.When i adjust my Store bought Jones reeds i find that they have no heart, spine, or channels, when i add them in, my reed goes flat(it crows a B and even a Bb)
I've had experience with Jones reeds. Only try thinning a bit to make them more responsive if they're a 'hard blow' for you, or clip the tips to sharpen a flat reed up to pitch. Don't bother trying to structure them. They're not meant to be structured reeds. They're designed to be an easy blow for beginners. When you try to structure them you're taking off too much wood already, makes reed flat, and you can't put wood back on.
6. anyone know any good places to get free oboe recordings
all your friends and family and relatives at Christmas & birthdays
youtube -- the gorgeous, good, bad and ugly
short clip samples at recording supplier websites
7. is a barington a good oboe for the tiny price tag
don't know barrington myself, but for my money if any octave key doesn't glide under my thumb smooth as silk, or the oboe's scale doesn't intone easily (meaning more work lipping into tune), then that oboe's not for me
so maybe you have some preferences already, such as lighter in weight? or the clicking of the semi-automatic octave mechanism drives you crazy when they switch over? or the pinky keys are heavy and slow to respond? Or the thumb-rest hurts your thumb right away? Crappy stuff like that can really spoil the honeymoon with a tiny price tag oboe.
|
|
The Oboe BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
