Author: Loliver
Date: 2012-11-17 16:09
Sorry to resurrect an old-ish thread...
Hi all,
need some help with Cor Anglais reeds (still)...
Anyone know what I can do about Cor Anglais reeds in general, as I've tried about 5 or 6 makes, and have not got on with any of them at all. Everyone seems to be under the impression that Cor reeds are much more forgiving, but I find them the worst I've ever come across, beating Oboe and even Eb clarinet in terms of sheer anguish...
Problems- If the reeds are too open, I have to bite ridiculously hard to close them, and I can't sustain this for very long, and tuning becomes wild as my lips tire.
Sharpness- If a reed looks alright, it never is, as it starts off ok, then gradually rises in pitch until all notes are sharp, even with the softest embouchure I can make, which verges on the ridiculous
Reed collapse- Again reed looks ok, then just fails completely after a matter of minutes...
Breath resistance- The ultimate killer for me.... I thin the tip as I would an oboe reed, and whereas on the oboe reed it works 80%+ of the time, it has never worked on Cor reeds, and it has no effect at all, and only causes the reed to collapse. I did try a slightly softer reed, but could never get any of the 3 up to pitch at all, so I'm kinda stuck between reeds that I can play, but are very sharp and some that are very flat...
Upper register impossible- Essentially any note from G# upwards is impossible without biting massively, resulting in me having to finger the note a semitone lower (i.e fingering thumbplate+1st finger+2nd octave key to get C# etc...)
Warbling on low notes- normally I could get away with this, but in orchestra I have several entries on low D or C# at pp, and I just get evil stares from the conductor everytime...
Tone quality- I would say...dull, murky, cloudy...any negative adjective really...
Anyway, sorry for the long post, and essentially a long rant, but it's just...infuriating...particularly when the other 3 oboes chime in with 'Cor Anglais is so much easier than oboe', although one doesn't anymore as I let her try it, and now she has sympathy for me...
Also, I should point out that I have none of these problems on oboe, and its not the instrument, as I have exactly the same problem on the 3 Cor Anglais' I've ever played (B&H Imperial, Howarth S40 and S5).
I don't know if my technique is wrong, it probably is to be honest due to having to compensate for too hard reeds, but someone said that your Cor Anglais embouchure should be as soft, if not slightly softer, than yours on oboe.
If anyone could recommend a make that I could try that may be a bit easier to use, that would be awesome (preferrably from somewhere where I can order them and get them quickly rather than having to get them made in 3 weeks or something, and yes I know this is asking a lot)
Thanks for reading it....
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