Author: d-oboe
Date: 2005-03-30 04:21
The most important thing to develop on oboe is pitch flexibility. I spend a good portion of my practice time focusing on long tones, and embouchure strengthening/shaping.
Flat reeds on oboe are generally a no-no: when making reeds, I might leave a working, but otherwise flat, reed to sit and age for a few days, and the pitch usually evens out. Otherwise, a flat reed is impossible to play on. You have to crunch the pitch up with embouchure, or squish your air, thus compromising resonance, and response.
Sharp reeds are better than nothing. A sharp reed requires you to really open up, and loosen up: something we all need to do anyways. I wouldn't recommend playing a super-sharp reed for a rehearsal, BUT it's still entirely managable.
Now back to pitch flexibility. Learn to be able to bend notes in both directions. Be able to finger a B-flat, but lip down to an A-flat. It is such a valuable skill! Albeit the tuner is good for doing long tones, making sure pitch doesn't wobble and such, but ultimately, we have to play in tune with whatever. And being an oboe is no excuse. We are very much able to change pitch. We tune with our embouchure, not the cork staple, so it makes sense to become flexible.
Also, practice using different combinations of air and embouchure position. Here's a short little excercise I do.
--Play a center D
Roll out to drop the pitch about 40 cents.
Increase air to bring the D back to pitch.
You can repeat this with any note that seems to always be sharp.
--Play a center C
Roll in (NOT BITING!) to raise the pitch 20 cents.
Loosen air support to return pitch to normal
You can repeat this on any note that might sag.
Just a note about rolling in and out: It doesn't involve any "chewing" in the jaw. It is only the lips being drawn in or out.
Good luck!
D
|
|
The Oboe BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
