 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: Vallemar2
Date: 2009-01-30 20:11
Hope it's okay for another beginner type question; on my current oboe I have a left hand F key that I did not have on my student oboe. I am getting used to using it instead of forked F but to me it still feels easier to go to forked F after playing E flat with the LEFT E flat key than to either the standard or L hand F fingering. I am practicing using the L hand F in all other situations where I would have used forked F but this one area has me a bit stuck on forked F.
Is this wrong? Do I need to undo another bad habit?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-01-30 20:21
You still need to use forked F if it makes certain passages and scales easier. Get used to using all the alternative fingerings and where to apply them.
Forked F is important for the Eb-F trill in both 8ves, though play the upper register Eb with the 1st 8ve key open instead of lifting LH1, and trill RH finger 2 for the F while keeping the Eb key open throughout as this helps voice the forked F.
Anywhere you get Eb-F, you're best using the forked F fingering and you can keep the Eb key open (either LH or RH Eb) as this does free up the upper register forked F.
Doesn't work so well keeping the Eb key open in the lower register (makes the lower register forked F too sharp) but the F vent does the job adequately here.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Vallemar2
Date: 2009-01-30 22:47
Great; I read it had been "rendered all but obsolete" by the advent of L hand F but I certainly don't see myself retiring it any time soon.
Must have found the "but"
Thanks; I didn't realize I should lay off the E flat for the lower octave forked F
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Author: Dutchy
Date: 2009-01-31 14:29
I went through the exact same thought process; hearing that the Left Hand F ought to make the Fork F obsolete, so I went through all my (beginner) pieces at the time and happily penciled in "Left" instead of "Fork". And it didn't work--Left F just plain works better sometimes, not only in passages involving Eb but also with D, sometimes it's easier to use Fork than Left.
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Author: mschmidt
Date: 2009-01-31 15:21
Of course, anything involving D flat - E flat - F is going to work best with the forked F, as coming from the D flat to the E flat, you'll be using the left E flat, and left F won't be convenient.
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
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Author: wrowand
Date: 2009-01-31 19:58
I think you should generally avoid forked-F, and you should not use the Eb key with forked F if your oboe has an F resonance key (the vent under the key cluster for the right hand little finger). To do so makes the F too sharp on most oboes and the voicing too bright compared to the notes around it.
Use forked F in keys like Ab major where you can't use left-hand F.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-01-31 20:52
How would you do an Eb-F trill without keeping the Eb key held down?
Even though the forked F vent is there to free things up (it compensates for RH32 being closed), sometimes when playing loud adding the Eb key to the forked F fingering will make things much clearer and the timbre of the forked F will match the Eb and G either side of it.
Oboes are FAR from perfect in their design, and we should all find out and use alternative fingerings that give more venting to stuffy notes or shading to bright notes which can work to our benefit under certain conditions.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2009-02-01 06:00
Chris, I can trill quite adequately by holding RH Eb, 1st Octave key, and trilling on the LH F key. Sounds perfect. I find it easier than trilling the forked F (probably, I haven't worked on that finger sufficiently).
J.
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Author: hautbois
Date: 2009-02-02 22:09
The somewhat foggy timbre of the forked F can be an asset in certain situations. If it is in tune and its timbre does not jar the musical line, use it whenever it is convenient. Instruments vary greatly on this.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2009-02-03 21:36
Remember that Tabuteau used oboes without an F resonance key and that he said that the forked F is the most beautiful note on the oboe. He had the left key on his instruments, however. There is a great book now about him by Laila Storch.
I like the forked F and use the left key only when it is really needed. It keeps the movement in the right hand only rather than cross over to the left hand. In the fast passages in Italian in Algiers, I worked on both fingerings and felt I liked the forked F fingering better. To each his own!
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