Author: HautboisJJ
Date: 2007-02-04 13:35
"First and foremost the oboe reed must v-i-b-r-a-t-e." D-Oboe.
May i add that it MUST VIBRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE.
K Ges are very popular because they vibrate so well. And when there is no vibration (which is usually the case with under scraped reeds that SEEM to sound dark), nothing can be controlled and nothing can sing, exactly like how D-Oboe puts it.
The air gives the reed 'fuel' to produce the sound! Just like the bow of a string player! The speed of the bow and the way the bow touches the string determines how the sound would be produced, same applies to the air we use to play our WIND instruments. =)
Ironically, i had the opposite problem, i never could play softly and 'nicely' at first, and was always nasal and strident, now the following were taught to me by some reputable teachers, and i play on a slightly longer than usual Dutch scrape, and it worked out for me and my Loree DM. (testing the same reeds on my teacher's Marigaux and my Loree proved that our reeds had to be different in order to sound good!)
All the advise given before hand has been perfect, in fact, it has been long since i have read a thread here where i absolutely agree on all the points which EVERYONE mentioned before me, and to add my 2 cents on embouchure:
- The tightness/looseness (did i spell it correctly?) comes from the corners of the lips, not the up and down pressure.
- DON'T THINK ABOUT IT AND BLOW!
Make sure that you don't produce an overbite from either upper or lower lip though a little bit is inevitable for us as the natural position of the jaw does not permit any 'perfect equalibrum' of the 'lip to reed position' on both blades of the reed.
Don't try anything that feels unnatural to you. (for e.g. i had an upper lip overbite, i tried pushing out my jaw, big mistake, it worked for 2 hours, then came the pain and sorrow, i worked towards pulling down the upperlip and asking myself to 'use' it more, following advise from various teachers, and it worked, thank God!)
It is also advisable that when breathing in, try not to produce a hiss sound, because as it may SEEM to inform you that you breathed, it is in fact friction in the throat which leads to tension and that tension is NEVER good. Instead, breath in, feeling what i call a cold sensation, like when you say ahhh and breath in the same way, feeling cold air rush into your oral cavity, and blowing out without a pause in between! (it helped my soft attacks tremendously that way.) Of course when you have to lead an ensemble or vice versa, breathing in that nature is inevitable but try not to pause in between breathing in and out anyways.
If nothing seems to sound logical or rational to you, try it anyhow and PRACTISE it first, if it still doesnt work, FORGET ABOUT IT! It is best to seek advise from someone who can really see and hear you play.
Regards,
Howard
Post Edited (2007-02-04 13:46)
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