 The Oboe BBoard
|
Author: ceri
Date: 2009-01-30 18:30
I have a thumbplate English Horn which I bought second-hand about 18 months ago and it had been serviced by the shop I bought it from. The E (ie fingering for note E which sounds as an A) has always been very slightly sharp in both octaves. However it has recently got very sharp, much too sharp to be able to do anything about it by changing my embouchure alone.
I am assuming that it needs adjusting but am wary of making things worse. Two keys close when I play the E, whereas on my conservatoire oboe there is only one. I have tested with cigarette paper and tension seems about equal on both but both seem to me not to have a very tight seal.
Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-01-30 19:21
What make and model is your thumbplate cor (I'm guessing it's either a Howarth or Louis)? Is it an open hole thumbplate system with a ring key and tonehole chimney for RH finger 3?
If that's the case, the tonehole chimney can be filled with wax to flatten the E - and with wax you can add or remove as much or as little to get the tuning right.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: ceri
Date: 2009-01-30 20:13
It's a Ward and Winterbourne and has covered keys.
I am intending to get both it and my oboe serviced over the summer (can't get access to a specialised repairer before then) but need to do something about it now as I am playing a piece in orchestra which has a long E (over several bars) and it sounds awful.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-01-30 20:25
Can you flatten the E enough by adding the low B key (xxxB|xxo)? If that works (provided it's not fitted with a low B-C link), do that for the time being until you can get it tuned, or maybe even play E but add the C# key (xxx|xxoC#). See which of those fingerings works best.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: ceri
Date: 2009-01-30 21:03
Thanks Chris, I'll try the B key tomorrow. (I find the stretch to the C# key rather awkward and am not over keen to use it more than I have too).
Can I ask you another question?
Is there an ideal height (or a way of determining the ideal height) for the thumb rest on the Cor anglais? I have just unscrewed the original one and put an adjustable one on because I had the impression that the thumb rest was too high - after playing for a while the outside of my wrist was painful. However, lowering the thumb rest merely moves the pain to the thumb joint itself. I am considering having the thumb rest moved when I have the cor serviced - if only I knew where to move it too.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-01-30 22:21
If you are having trouble with your thumb and wrist, I can only recommend you use a sling as cors do weigh a lot, and all that weight on your right thumb transferring up to your wrist and forearm isn't going to do you any good especially if you're playing cor for long periods.
My oboe teacher used to play cor a lot (she had a Buffet cor) and was never advised to use a sling (this was in the '70s and '80s), and she can only attribute playing cor without a sling has given her arthritis.
But cor slings do have to be fairly long, around the same length as a bassoon sling. Personally I'd steer clear of stretchy or elastic slings as I tried these but found them annoying - braided cord slings with a wide leather or fabric neck band are much better as they don't stretch. You could have your eye out with the elastic ones!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2009-01-30 22:23)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: ceri
Date: 2009-01-31 12:15
I already use a non-stretchy sling and sometimes when I'm home and sitting down cross my legs and rest it against my knee so I think it's more a stretch problem than a weight problem and probably to do with the angle at which my thumb is.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jhoyla
Date: 2009-02-01 05:50
If you feel that the tension is roughly the same for both your middle finger, and the small key above it (the F# tone-hole), and that neither of them seem to be sealing well; it could be that the mechanism is closing the forked-F vent rather agressively.
Use only your ring finger to open the forked vent and see if your ciggie paper is held tight when you press your middle finger down. If so, you may want to back off that screw ever so slightly, and then adjust the tension of the two main keys again. The middle-finger pad should seal fully, then next adjust the little vent between index and middle fingers, and finally the forked F should just close, gripping the paper lightly. Use the thinnest paper you can buy!
J.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
