The oboe thread

[cowtime]

It's a love hate relationship.

[Denny]

wrong forum

[cowtime]

wrong forum

Please don't send me to the rubber room.
and the reeds sure ain't free.

[Denny]

no doubt.....

I wouldn't think the oboe was controversial.

you know how Dale likes to sort things.....
and then post in the wrong place

[Thomaston]

I was a tenor sax player in my high school band. My girlfriend junior year was a flute player, but we had a competition piece that required a long oboe solo. She was given the task of learning to play it, since oboe was not one of our regular instruments.
It had a nice sound to it once she finally mastered it, but there was a lot of screeching to get to that point. I gotta say I respect anyone that can get a good sound out of it, after seeing all the work she had to put into it.

[Cork]

...and the reeds sure ain't free.

I've known a few oboe players, and it seems they inevitably learn how to make their own double reed assemblies, including cutting the reeds into shape, which calls for a number of special tools including a razor sharp knife, and then wrapping the reeds onto their mounting tube with thread.

Here's a source: How to make oboe reeds

Google: oboe reed making

[hyldemoer]

The closest I ever got to playing an oboe was being loaned a crumhorn. I sort of liked the part about seeing stars midway through a tune
but it took hours for my eyebrows to go back down to where they belonged
and my lips were still a mess the next morning.

[FJohnSharp]

I was a tenor sax player in my high school band. My girlfriend junior year was a flute player, but we had a competition piece that required a long oboe solo. She was given the task of learning to play it, since oboe was not one of our regular instruments.
It had a nice sound to it once she finally mastered it, but there was a lot of screeching to get to that point. I gotta say I respect anyone that can get a good sound out of it, after seeing all the work she had to put into it.

My best friend is an oboe player and after listening to him describe the trials and tribulations of oboe playing I'm amazed that anyone could/would learn an oboe that quickly and that well for just the one piece.

[peeplj]

Well, this isn't a player's perspective...

As a hobby, I work on woodwind instruments.

I won't work on piccolos or oboes. I can do the work, but it's just not fun on either of these instruments.

That said, I love the sound of the oboe, when it's played well. It's fun to watch, too: I always love watching people's faces go brick-red.

--James

[Thomaston]

I was a tenor sax player in my high school band. My girlfriend junior year was a flute player, but we had a competition piece that required a long oboe solo. She was given the task of learning to play it, since oboe was not one of our regular instruments.
It had a nice sound to it once she finally mastered it, but there was a lot of screeching to get to that point. I gotta say I respect anyone that can get a good sound out of it, after seeing all the work she had to put into it.

My best friend is an oboe player and after listening to him describe the trials and tribulations of oboe playing I'm amazed that anyone could/would learn an oboe that quickly and that well for just the one piece.

Yeah, she was actually throwing out horrendous squeaks up until the last practice before the competition. The entire band seemed to be collectively holding it's breath during the solo part, but she actually played it flawlessly, and better than she had ever played it before. I wish I could remember what the name of that piece was.

[highwood]

What no other hautbois players?
And what is the point of this thread?

You have questions? I may have an answer!

[Denny]

And what is the point of this thread?

they were gettin' tired of hijacking the "I resolve to" thread....

[jsluder]

I've known a few oboe players, and it seems they inevitably learn how to make their own double reed assemblies, including cutting the reeds into shape, which calls for a number of special tools including a razor sharp knife, and then wrapping the reeds onto their mounting tube with thread.

I had a friend in college (roommate of my then-girlfriend/now-wife) who was a multiple woodwinds major: flute, oboe & sax. (Very good piano player and singer, too.) She made her own reed assemblies. Drove her roommates batty by leaving bits of reed and thread all over the place. She called the oboe her "problem child", but it was really her favorite.

[brewerpaul]

My wife played oboe until the severe headaches it gave her forced her to quit. She took up recorder, which is a good thing since I met her by selling her a bass recorder on eBay.

[Cork]

...She called the oboe her "problem child", but it was really her favorite.

lol...I can believe that!

I've never played an oboe, and I have very little experience with single reed instruments. The reason for my lack of such participation all comes down to reeds, and the incredible amount of work they call for, a long list of things to know and to do.

For instance, after all of what it takes to make a reed (!), the reed must then be "broken in" before any extensive use, and then, because reeds wear out and need to be replaced (all too frequently), a serious player might also have new reeds in the process of being made, while also having another reed or two in the process of being broken in, altogether as something of an ongoing cycle. Make --> Break in --> Play --> Replace

That is, a serious reed player necessarily must set up a small scale reed making factory!