Author: vboboe
Date: 2005-07-17 20:40
*** We l-o-v-e oboe ***
well, here's my two-bits worth, hope it helps in your decision process (isn't it fun, choosing your own oboe :-)
... if you really don't have enough moolah for your first oboe, why add too many extra bells and whistles to the starting price ... ?
on the other hand ... why settle for el cheapo anything if a bit more financial stretching will motivate you to *** l-o-v-e my oboe *** oh-so-much more ...?
If you want a good instrument to grow into over the next 5-plus years, with some bells and whistles, why not invest in a deluxe to premium make & model of STUDENT oboe with
-- low B-flat key and the B-flat vent (this really helps to bring up B awful flat to tuneful B-flat, and why not be able to play two full octaves in B-flat?
-- LHF (Left Hand F)
-- forked F resonance key
-- maybe also get the extra Ab/Bb trill key curled over the right G#, because it can be used for advanced alt fingerings other than just trills
... and pay for all this on credit terms if necessary, with that student part-time job at Mcdonalds ... ?
The general idea is to get the right make & model of student oboe with a good reputation for making a bore that's closer to even scale (more perfect in pitch, remember there's actually no such oboe, only oboes closer than others) ... this makes less work for your embouchure equals more playability equals *** more fun *** to play.
Also, you'll want to test-play any oboe in chromatics, to find out which notes are really "bright" and which are "stuffy" ... the stuffies challenge you to find a suitable extra key to resonate the note better, equals more fingering challenges. Sometimes you have to dampen down an excessively bright note too, so there's even more work for damper key fingering or embouchure adjustment, who needs more work? Oboe's already hard enough to play beautifully ...
Average older model oboes are more likely to have stuffy notes and extra-bright notes, modern younger oboes less likely. Both can be found second-hand. Be demanding and perfectionist in your SELECTION of any used oboe. Recognize junk oboes for what they are ... have to play them, have you got a good blown-in reed ready for that?
The split D-ring mechanism (advanced to semi-pro student feature) costs a lot more, also the extra alt C key, and adds more weight to rest on your thumb, these extras would be more frequently useful than 3rd octave in the time frame mentioned, and would motivate you to keep the oboe longer than that.
... although, 3rd octave certainly will make ultra high notes (above high E) easier to play much sooner ... but will they be beautiful crystalline ringing tones? Or nasally thin squeals of reedy protest? You'd be more likely to play these very high notes *** frequently *** on the flute. Let the flute twinkle up there!
Do you already have a fine-tuned and stable embouchure, and lungs capable of handling the "tight" high air pressure needed to resonate these high notes? (It's like the difference between a normal singing voice and that ringing quality in an operatic voice)
If not, work on building up your lung air pressure tolerance needed to fill up top A to high E, and develop the very stable embouchure needed to maintain high register *** in perfect pitch *** over next 5 years. You'll be playing those notes much more frequently, and you don't need 3rd octave for those.
Third octave key can be quite a tricky maintenance problem even for the experienced. It's bad enough when semi-automatic 1st & 2nd octaves get either sticky or bubbly, or the forked F resonance key keeps gurgling ... yes, adequate warm-up routine reduces these problems, eh?
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