 The Oboe BBoard
|
Author: jhoyla
Date: 2017-06-22 10:00
You may be obsessing over something that is inherent in the instrument and not over-obvious to a non-oboist listener. C# is one of those notes that never sounds brilliant.
C# is just a lousy note, generally, in all registers. Bottom register can be horribly flat (although David Webber has an expensive bell-modification for that), middle C# fizzes and top-C# is a bummer of a note with intonation and voicing issues. I wouldn't fret too much about getting it to sound like either of the adjacent notes, C or D. That said, here are a bunch of things for you to try.
Try raising your LH 1st finger instead of half-holing it (or vice versa, if you usually raise it). This may make c# a little bit sharper - you'll need to accommodate.
An alternative C# is to raise ALL your fingers apart from RH 1st finger (or without your thumb, if you are a thumbplate player). This can sound really raucus but you can decide if it sounds worse than your fizzy C#.
Hope this helps.
BTW, If you don't know what you are doing I would refrain from adjusting screws on the instrument. The two exceptions are the LH 1st finger and the screw on the RH pinkie C touch. Adjusting these screws doesn't affect much else.
To adjust the LH 1st finger; slowly close all the way, until you can't hear it tap when you tap it, then back off between 1/4 and 1/2 a turn while trying top C#, top D etc. to see when they speak easily and clearly. Ease of attack in the top-register is elusive, but achievable.
To regulate intonation of top C#, use the RH pinkie C touch screw to adjust the middle-finger key height - oxx|xooC. Do this AFTER you have adjusted LH 1st finger.
Just FYI, The hole in the LH half-hole should actually be a diamond shape vertical slit at the bottom of the well, and oboe-repair specialists have a special diamond-shaped prong that they use to adjust the opening (again, don't try this yourself!). Perhaps this has been drilled out by an over-zealous repairer?
J.
|
|
|
SarahC |
2017-06-21 08:41 |
|
ckoboe777 |
2017-06-21 23:39 |
   |
Re: Oboe rattles on every c sharp new |
|
jhoyla |
2017-06-22 10:00 |
|
SarahC |
2017-06-22 11:15 |
|
Chris P |
2017-06-22 12:07 |
|
SarahC |
2017-06-22 13:54 |
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
