It`s nearly impossible for me to play a good A-flat. I`ve only been playing for 4 days, as I got my oboe on the day before Christmas, but I am determined to learn to play well. I was just wondering how the heck you play the notes above the staff. Every time I try to play them, my lips vibrate around the reed (I also play trumpet, so that might be why).

Also, are the notes supposed to be deathly high? It might just be my adaption to the trumpets lower pitches, but it seems like I`m playing too high.

well there is a chance you`re playing to high.. mayb theres a chance you`re sharp or sumfink! .. and the high notes.. it takes time to get those notes out.. and if you can control them and get the pitch right.. they can be the most amazing notes on the oboe..

Jaspie

Thanks. I may have figured out the problem. My reed is, well, dead. It only plays D`s and above when it wants to. I`ll mess with it some more and attempt to control my notes in a little while. Thanks!

I keep on saying this, but it`s essential to soak your reed about 2~3 minutes before playing, because it helps you to play low and high notes, keeps the reed from cracking easily, and gives you a way nicer sound... If you`re not soaking your reed, maybe that`ll be a nice thing to do.

hope you play well.

I`ve been soaking it, but for some reason my reed still ceases to play sometimes. I found out that when I hit the second octave key, my fingers slip off of the other keys occasionally, so that might be part of my problem. I won`t get a new reed until school starts, though, since my mom is making me get one from my band director. I`ll have to make due with this one.

Thanks a lot!

A NOTE!!

Your embouchure can also be killing the reed! *Doom sound.* Do NOT put an immense amount of pressure on the reed, else it WILL die. *Another doom sound.* Could be a reason as to why your reed is, well... dead.

Err, other than that, try opening the reed some - squeeze the bottom of the cane, right above where it meets the string - should help get the notes out a bit better.

And yeah, keep your fingers always on the holes - usually helps with the notes coming out as well. =D

Good luck in your Oboing endeavours!

~Chris

Okay, now I`m scared. What doesn`t kill the reed? I am totally going to ask my friend for help. He`s been playing for at least two years. Although, he`ll probably laugh at me and say I was dumb not to notice something, but oh well. Thanks for the tips, by the way. Happy New Year to anyone who looks at this!

Reeds die easily. I mean, professionals make 10-20 per week and it`s still not enough for them. Don`t expect too much from a few days of practise. You need to go slow and concentrate on the basics. Your embouchure can really kill a reed if you are not doing it right. Search this forum or http://test.woodwind.org/oboe/BBoard/list.html?f=10 on embouchure for more tips on how to form a good one. All the best!

MORE AIR!!!! lol Well it`s a good way on any instrument from mellophone to English horn to produce a clearer high note sound. I play oboe and brass instruments, but on oboe it`s a bit more tricky to product the crazy high notes. Usually more air, plus tighten your emborcure SIGHTLY should help....also harder reeds seem to help with this alittle >.<. But all oboist should learn to make their reeds to help "them" produce the sound they desire. After I got off the store reeds, and began making my own (blakes are wonderful people)my lower reg. and high notes cleared up. Harder Heather made reeds helped me.

Hope this helped alittle. Sorry for any errors, I`m being rushed. I`m not on my computer...it kinda is sick. (Typing is evil)

-Heather

Thanks everyone. It turns out that I (being the crazy person I am) cracked my reed. Horribly. First danger sign was that I ran down the stairs with my reed in my hand, then I accidentally threw it. Don`t ask. So, now I`m at a dilemma of whether I should ask my mom to take me to get a reed tomorrow or to ask my band teacher for one. any suggestions?

Thanks a lot for all this advice! It`s really helping!

practice with a tuner. there are notes on the oboe that are naturally out of tune. the notes in the upper register are especially sharp. the muscles in your mouth may not be strong enough yet, and thats why your lips vibrate. brass instruments use different muscles than oboes. itll get better with practice, trust me

You need to put more of the reed in your mouth to get the very top notes to come out. It doesn`t matter even if your lips are on the string. It does mean that you have less control over the sound and the notes don`t sound too great, but no-one (except for Ravel in Tombeau) has a right to expect you to play top Gs etc beautifully!

i think it has something to do with your oboe.. like that F use to be bad for my old Selmer too.. but now on my New Buffet.. its fine.. so yeah it might be the oboe.. but i have no advice but just to support your note..

Jaspie

Hi Meep,
I`m assuming that since you have had your oboe for such a short time, that you are speaking about the Ab with 2 ledger lines, not the one above that. I`m still working on High Eb through High F after 2+ years.

Since your reed is now toast, it may be hard to say what your problem was, however, I would suspect that your reed could have either been too soft (closed off itself) too hard (wouldn`t vibrate - so your lips did instead because you tried to squeeze it) or too open (same symptoms as too hard - visible in that the reed has a very round opening instead of a narrow slit) or it could have had a leak (the reed won`t hold suction when you put a finger over the bottom of the reed and try to suck air out of it fromt he tip).

If the reed is too open, gently squeeze the blades together at the base - but only when soaked for a few minutes (let`s not crack another reed!). If it doesn`t hold suction, you can use some fishskin or teflon tape (about 1.5-2 inches) to wrap tightly around the reed to seal the leak, nail polish works to, but usually seperates from the cane after a short while.

To play above the staff on oboe takes much less air than the trumpet, you could be overblowing the reed closed as well. The air you would use for a 4th line D on trumpet is sufficient to play notes with the 1st octave key, and the G over the staff for the second octave key, the 3rd octave starts requing a lot more air - but not nearly the same air as you would to play the same written note on trumpet (here you are overblowing into a higher harmonic - overblowing a G turns into a D just another key to tune). It`s all about airspeed!

For now, I`d suggest sitting down with a tuner and play some long tone scales, stick with some fairly easy keys, C, D, F, possibly Bb (you`ll need forked F or Left F with this one because of D & Eb) Stick with the low octave, and only play into the upper once you are playing the lower octave in tune and consistently. I hope you have a low Bb...

The trumpet is in Bb and the oboe is in C, they are only a step apart in pitch so you`re probably just hearing the higher/brighter partials (your reed could have also been way out of tune - too short/narrow and was way sharp) and you`re thinking it`s way higher than the trumpet when it`s the same pitch range. If you play a G (second line) on trumpet and play a F (first space) on oboe, the notes should match in pitch. This is also why Bb-Concert = C for the trumpet/clarinet section.

Speaking as someone who played trumpet for over 10 years and then oboe for the last 2+ years, here`s an embrochure tip: start with a very firm trumpet embrochure, keep your chin flat & lips tight - briefly try to buzz without a mouthpiece, then, give yourself a slight overbite & let your lips roll over your teeth a bit - enough that you can slide your reed in and out of the center of your lips - but without leaking air around the reed. Your lips should seal over the very tip of the reed - you should never take more than the very tip of the reed onto your lips (never, never, never!!!) Your lips should never squish the reed, just seal it.

Now, take your reed out and just blow through the center part of your lips, don`t let them buzz (this is kinda flute like), you should keep your teeth seperated, and blow a focused stream of air. Now try this with your reed in your mouth (when you have one that is not all torn up). The reed should crow about C if it`s a decent reed.

I`ve been making my reeds since day one (self taught from the Jay Light book, my teacher has given me tricks every so often), so I can`t really recomend a good store bought one, however, I did find that Lesher, Jones, and Gower weren`t too bad, Gower is probably the best of those, though in each case I did have to work the tip with a reed knife to get the tip better. I`d suggest finding a double reed shop online and get some hand made student reeds for $7-$10 a pop & move up to the intermediate or entry level pro ones in a few months, rather than the $5-$7 in store store bought reeds, they are more likely to play in tune & be pitch stable (as well as sound better).

Always handle your reeds carefully (they`re expensive or they took you 3 hours to make and time = money), don`t run with them (would you run with scissors?) Unless you are working on the reed, you should almost never handle anything other than the thread or cork, you shouldn`t squish or squeeze a reed unless it has been soaked and has not dried out.

Another tip would be to get a good reed knife, some razorblades, a chopping block and a plaque & get some Hard/Med Hard store bought reeds and then thin down the tip & back (this saves you from tying the reed and the initial profiling of the reed areas)

When mailordering, get 3-4 reeds at a time (you can save on shipping & you`re set for a month or two) & definitely get a teacher involved! He may either make/sell/include reeds for your lessons or have a recomendation on store bought & can help you adjust them.