Author: oboist2
Date: 2018-03-11 01:22
Barry, there are plenty of later oboe concertos that do go higher than the Haydn or Mozart, and the mechanism and construction of oboes has advanced to make these high notes easier. There are also quite a few pieces in the orchestral repertoire that go higher too. If you are faced in a professional orchestra with such a piece, or for that matter a piece that requires double or triple tonguing and you cant do it, you will not remain in your position very long. An oboist who wishes to remain gainfully employed, especially in today's very competitive professional music world, needs to equip himself with as many of these skills and techniques as he can. Whilst those tutor books can be useful, especially in the early days of oboe playing, ( personally I never used them or taught with them) there are a lot of studies that assist in the study of advanced fingerings, high notes, tonguing etc, eg Eugene Bozza Studies in Karnatic modes, the Silvestrini etc. Even The George Gillet ones reguarly use top F#s and G and even the occasional G#. I am now, after nearly 50 years of playing just coming to grips with double tonguing - I was fortunate, in the times where I was playing semi professionally, not to have works that required me to use it put in front of me. I used to possess a very fast single tongue, but that would not have got me out of the woods. My current teacher worked in a pit orchestra early on in his career, and had to learn to single tongue very quickly. For oldies like you and I, playing and practising the high notes probably would be a waste of time, unless we wanted to play some of the more modern works, but for an aspiring professional oboist, these tools are essential.
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