My D key has a leak, and I have an audition coming up shortly. I have no time to get professional repairs. Is there a way to fix it myself, or at least make it better? Thanks in advance

Look at the two screw that are right smack next to each other by the D key. Note their orgiginal positions so that you can screw them back if you want. With oboe held bell side down... the upper screw adjusts the D`s vent key... too tight and D won`t deal, too losse and it`s vent key won`t seal.

Use cigarette paper or tissue if you don`t have cigarette paper to test that the keys have "pull", that they`re sealing.

If that turns out to be the problem and not just a pad going bad... you can use clear nail polish to keep the screw from moving out of place once adjusted correctly.

oh wow. turns out i`ve been dealing with the wrong screw lol. thank you so much!

actualyyy..it turned out the the screw on the top of the bottom joint was sticking wayyyy up. i wonder how that happened

Screws are just screwy

I`ve had screws that were so loose that they would move out of adjustment with just a few minutes of playing. Thank goodness for nail polish. lol.

A good tech should get an instrument in shape and take care of overly-loose screws, but sadly not too many have good Oboe skills in my area so I had to learn to cope and do self adjusting where I can.