 The Fingering Forum
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Author: oboe
Date: 2003-05-15 23:17
Hi~
I have done a few other topics but I was talking to someone today and this came to mind!!! When I play the oboe, I can most of the time play quite a while before needing to take any breaths at all. But, when we play really fast music, it just seems like I would need to take more breaths even though I don't. Anyways, what I'm saying is: when I play I get too much air in me and never actually run out! SO, I have to stop and let out air! I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or what but it gets annoying! Because I pretty much never actually run out of air.So, I really don't know why that happens or if that's natural. Because sometimes I can play up to 14 or more bars before I actually need to take a breath! I don't know!!! Please tell me what you think!!!
~Corinne
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Author: TorusTubarius
Date: 2003-05-15 23:40
Ah my young padewan, you have just discovered on your own one of the most fundamental aspects of playing the oboe. You will <i>always</i> have leftover air in your lungs that you will have to get rid of before taking another breath. This is completely natural, and no, you're not doing anything wrong.
Marcel Tabuteau said that before he would play any phrase, he would breathe in and then say "Ah ah ah ah aaaaah" before he played a note. That would clear out some of the air that he wouldn't be using as he was playing and would have to release later on before breathing again.
The reason you have leftover air in your lungs is quite simple if you think about it. Look at how small of an aperture you're blowing through. The average person can hold around 4 and 1/2 liters of air in his lungs, and there's no way you'd be able to blow out that much air through so small an opening before needing to take another breath from lack of oxygen in your blood. So with the oboe, unlike other wind instruments, you have all this stale air that needs to be evacuated from your lungs before bringing in fresh air to use. This happens whether you're playing fast or slow.
So don't worry; your lungs are just fine.
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Author: d-oboe
Date: 2003-05-16 03:44
hehe...I love the oboe, we always win at the "who can play the longest" contests! Anyways, to add to the above, when you get that feeling of needing to breathe, it is actually that there is too much carbon dioxide, rather than too little oxygen, so that's why you feel you need to push air out.
Now for a little physiology...
Try this:
1.Exhale naturally, without force
2.Forcibly exhale more air than the above
3.Inhale naturally, without force
4.Inhale forcefully (carefully), inhaling more air than above.
Numbers 1 and 3 are what are called your "vital volume" which means air that is comfortably exhaled, and inhaled.
Numbers 2 and 4 are you expiratory reserve, and inspiratory reserve respectively.
Moving on...as Torus said, the oboe uses almost no air compared to the tuba or trombone or something similar. So our lungs are usually at least 60% full. Therefore, if you don't get rid of any stale air, you can't take a refreshing, comfortable breath.
Whenever I breathe, while playing, I breathe out before I breathe in, and it seems to work quite well.
It sounds as though you are a less experienced player, and I must say one thing: don't believe your band teacher when he says "don't breathe." , but I still think that if I have to breathe, I will, because I need oxygenated air. That's in theory: there are places you just don't breathe like at the peak of a crescendo, or decrescendo, etc.
To practice this I do a funky little excercize:
I play a long tone for 3 whole notes, at quarter to 48
and at the end of that I actually exhale for 3 beats, and inhale on the fourth, and then do it again. It has greatly improved my breathing control, and I suggest you try it.
Good breathing!
D-oboe
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Author: oboe
Date: 2003-05-16 10:21
Thank you for your help!!! I feel much better about it now. Since this is only my 3rd year playing, I don't know that much; and my band director doesn't know squat, except whether I'm sharp or flat! Oh yes!, I was just wondering....it's never happened to me but.....is the too much air in your lungs one of the reasons that I've heard oboes will faint in concerts and stuff??? If not, what is??? B/c once I became a little light headed because of the heat, but that was about it. Again, thank you for your help and information.
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Author: musichick
Date: 2003-06-07 17:46
wow, i have the same problem--ive gotten so use to using a crazy amount of air for flute that oboe was really different. Thanks for the help everybody! I've never heard of oboes fainting. However, my old band director was a jerk and told me oboes go crazy from all the pressure. Im pretty sure he was just messing with me though (i hope).
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Author: bassoonery
Date: 2005-03-04 20:13
Actually, the bassoon can play for a long time also. Maybe it's just me, but I outplayed everyone in the band in the trio of A Santa Cecilia March. There were 33 measures and I played all of them and had enough air to repeat it for about 12 more!!!
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