As I brought my bowl of eaten fruitloops and a glass of juice to the sink,
I pondered on the thought of all of the oboe knick-knacks we have. So I
quickly raced past the carpet cleaning man and down stairs to my "Baby Blue"(my mac).
I sat here for awhile thinking of what i had upstairs in my oboe case.

*Ponders*

Ok, so here is a list of some stuff I find weird that I use (it is short)

Ok so in my reed box I carry a thinned down broom fragment. You know the old straw brooms, how dry their
bristles are! WELL, I use that to clean my octave keys when they get water in them. Simply pop off the octave key
and stick the straw down inside, and viola (yes the string instrument not the italian/latin (who knows anymore) word)
the water is soaked up by the drynessness...of it.

I also carry a feather to clean out the top joint of my horn

Cigarette paper (Goes very well with my reputation at school! Heh....)

Tooth Paste/Tooth Brush (only person in school who brushes their teeth before playing. *raises hands and shuts eyes "oh yeah"*

Ok so I also carry a piece of underwear. Yes! I said underwear. After conforming to society and being forced to wear boxers, i cut up
my underwear and now use one piece as a "key wiper downer" you know, to get all of the fingerprints off.

A clothes pin works really well on those reeds that are way too open! Just put it on the tip for awhile and let it sit. There you go, closed
as new!


Ok so out of curiosity I was just wondering how many people out there use really weird things or have found out some tricks of the trade?

Well this is brandon saying have a good day and don`t throw away your underwear, it could save your life one day!

Heh...

My teacher uses a piece of rubber that harp players use (she got it from--where else--a friend who plays the harp) as her thumb saver and it`s the most comfortable thing you`ve ever felt. It`s ugly, but hey--who`s looking at the back of your oboe?

My reed case is a modified Altoids case that I got from Oboeworks in Arlington, VA. When and if the mint case gets beaten up or rusty, the inside padding can be coaxed out of the box and put in a new mint box. It was cheap too!

I also have a small Tupperware container from Oboeworks that is just perfect for soaking reeds. It`s about the size of a film canister but unlike a film canister lid, the lid on this sucker isn`t coming off for anything! I can throw it in my case or whatever without abandon and know my water isn`t going to leak or evaporate. They`re called "Midgets" by Tupperware and supposedly they were designed for storing spices and cookie sprinkles and stuff.

Very cool, so where is this oboeworks and do they have a website?

brandon

Oboeworks is in Arlington, VA, right outside of Washington DC. They`re my local friendly double reed specialists:

www.oboeworks.com

At www.charlesmusic.com you can get a brandy cask reed case, metal art deco cases, or send them a case and they`ll make it a reed case. I don`t currently own any funny oboe knick-knacks (just a plain leather reed case, a flute polishing cloth for the keys...no underwear lol, and the usual oboe accessories that my beautiful Fox can`t do without) but I thought that was noteworthy!

*peers into the cave that is her oboe case* Well.. Mostly the usual. A tuning fork named Bob, a bloodied screwdriver (used to tighten keys, seriously), my beloved reeds, and other items. *pokes* Uh.. Sunflower seed, pencil, a tight fitting tuner and metronome, nutcracker, and candlewick. Eh, that`s about it. *closes case* Underwear would make a nice addition! Mind if I steal your idea?