 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-02-27 14:38
Without the low Bb vent, the low Bb will be too flat with the current 435Hz length bell.
Ok, so why not just shorten the bell to sharpen the low Bb?
That has been done on some older Lorees to sharpen it by 5Hz to 440Hz, but it caused problems with the E. So to stabilise that note, the old 435Hz bell was reinstated and the low Bb was flat, but players put up with it for so long and something had to be done to correct this. So to counteract the flatness of the low Bb but keep the E sweet, the closed bell vent was added which only opens when low Bb is played. Hooray! Problem solved.
Marigaux have for a long time had the bell vent on their 901 oboes open for low B as well as Bb and has found its way onto the other pro models since. The bell vent on their oboes is located much lower down the bell and as a result is much larger in diameter.
Other oboes have since followed suit with the Marigaux style double bell key, but it is a more difficult key to make and is at risk of a lot of damage if the bell isn't assembled or removed correctly. You have to make sure you hold both the bell key closed and the bell vent key open - this is made easy as the bell vent has a small stopper foot soldered to the key barrel which can be held down raising the linkage between the bell and the linkages on the lower joint.
The double bell key has the bell vent open much earlier than for just low Bb, so it will add some resonance to the low B as well. The only way you can check this for certain is to disengage the bell linkage and play low B. Then open the bell vent and see what difference it makes. Also it may have some influence on the altissimo notes and others where the low B key is used to add resonance, to help with the tuning or help the response of certain notes
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Lux |
2017-02-27 14:08 |
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Re: What does the double resonance key on the bell do? new |
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Chris P |
2017-02-27 14:38 |
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Chris P |
2017-02-27 14:47 |
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The Clarinet Pages
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