Author: Dutchy
Date: 2007-03-21 21:44
I got it in the mail from WWBW today, rushed it upstairs, stuck it in the oboe, played a quick scale--and my husband, who had the misfortune to be standing six feet away, blurted out, "It sounds like a kazoo!"
"No," I corrected him. "It sounds like a crumhorn. A really, really loud crumhorn." Back in high school I played recorder a lot, and was into Early Music, which is how I know what a crumhorn sounds like.
Although, I have to admit, there is a certain degree of kazoo-ness to it...
He beat a hasty retreat downstairs, and I resumed experimentation.
It's shrill, and piercing--"Essence Of Oboe" and not in a good way--and buzzy, and LOUD, and FLAT. Oh man, is it ever flat. I can't get it to play on pitch above low G without ferocious biting, and anything higher than mid-C is simply impossible to play in tune, even choking up on the reed right down at the thread. It just won't go there. The problem is that it's really soft, so there's no resistance, and no way to bite it up to pitch.
I can't think of a possible use for it other than to give some sort of "Introduction to the Oboe" course for very young children who just can't manage even a Soft cane reed. It's really easy to get a sound out of, which would be a plus for young children, the way that the recorder is easy for kids because no embouchure is required, but it's not for young children who are going to be expected to learn how to match a pitch (or for anybody who has to listen to them) because it's just impossible.
I will see if I can get a Youtube video posted. Brace yourselves. ![[grin]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie5.gif)
Post Edited (2007-03-21 21:45)
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