The Oboe BBoard

The Oboe BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Re: Do you roll your thumb onto the octave key, or do you pick it up?

Author: vboboe
Date: 2005-07-14 06:56

Hi Dutchy
... former thumb-plate user here, let me see if i remember correctly, been awhile ... had similar problem on Conservatory working 1st 8ve key as you're having on it ... however, it's a lot easier and more comfortable working 1st 8ve key on Conservatory oboes with a round end 1st 8ve key design not the pointed end style

strange you should ask ... I just asked my summer oboe teachr about this today ... answer, apparently pretty much everybody finds Conservatory 1st 8ve key a real pain in the thumb joint

Thumb-plate is el-weirdo English system and Conservatory used almost everywhere else, that's consequences for crashed tea party ... onnyhoo the noo ... the Tplate has two awesome, stupendous, wunnerful advantages that adds a lot of physical comfort to playing the top joint of pipe
*** Tplate mechanism raises up the thumb, level with the octave key *** and, Tplate system gives you opportunities to let go of the pipe to play certain notes, which really helps relax the thumb on a frequent basis during play ... Conservatory, no such luck

Rothwell's Rollover is therefore s-o-o-o easy ... on thumb-plate oboes

BUT ... on Tplate oboes, just wait until you play 2nd octave high C

... which is Tplate open, half-hole closed, no F# key, 2nd 8ve key only, 1st 8ve key untouched, right thumb not actually holding the oboe at all ... very insecure position until get used to it, you actually have to fine tune the oboe's balance on right thumb when lightly pressing on the half-hole finger position ... which explains some weird microtonal reed effects made by eccentric early learner Brit players (and a high C that has more in common tonally with the higher harmonic notes)

... when playing drops from high C to top G, F, etc. left thumb has to press back onto Tplate and 1st 8ve in rolled-over position ... clear as mud, eh?

YEAH, so CANCEL all that info on Rothwell Rollover from Tplate to 1st 8ve, that method only works on Tplate oboes in England (well, maybe a few in Canada eh?) ... unless, read on ...

Rollover method DOESN'T work on Conservatory, as is

However, like you, I couldn't leverage my thumb on it, pipe's too small up there to keep a grip and cock 1st joint up and down ... didn't work for me, thought I was handicapped here with thumb tendon injury I have from my heydays, so I was desperate to find the mother of a solution because I thought it was a personal problem sort of thing

The first thing I tried was making a brace for my 2nd thumb-joint (closer to palm) to give it support and bandaging the thumb-nail as I was developing a seriously inflamed callous on the side of thumb-nail -- remember, my own thumb tendon previous injury was the problem that needed solving in my mind, not learning how to (beep beep) play Conservatory's 1st 8ve

... then I got more creative ... I made myself an ergonomic prosthesis ... taped on a carefully folded wad of paper *** level with 1st 8ve key *** with some of that nice black fabric tape used to wrap handles of ice hockey sticks, so it's made a nice black thumb-rest, detachable, on rental oboe. Have to tuck some of the tape under 1st 8ve, but squeeze it down in place a couple of times, fits like a glove ... not great in hot humid climes, as tape adhesive gets softer and stickier, but I don't live there

This makes the pipe wider for holding, and now ... rollover onto 1st 8ve key is wunnerful, and the added bonus ... I don't hafta play high C (or B-flat) by letting go anymore

Hope this helps

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics