Just to clarify- Soaking the reed in water overnight will not make a reed harder, the only way to do that is to put cane back on (impossible unfortunately :-P) or clipping the tip. The reason the reed SEEMED harder is that soaking the reed too long is going to make the opening of the reed huge, which means you`d have to use a lot more air to make the reed vibrate... so the reed didn`t get harder, the blades of the reed were seperated to much. Next time you leave your reeds in water too long, just try GENTLY squeezing the opening (tip) together, and it will greatly help your playing.

Oboist said:

" Just to clear things up, I have been playing for about 7 years and take private lessons from the principal oboist of the florida orchestra. "

Oooh. Where do you live, where you can get that kind of help from such a good player?? I live in SW Florida at the moment, but will be moving around shortly. Just wondering! I think some help from a good oboist (instead of the other not-so-great oboes in my class) would be a great help to me!

Meaghan-

Right now I live in New Tampa, but I will be moving to south Tampa sometime in the near future. I do give lessons, and would be glad to help you out.

Email me at indyjones387@yahoo.com.

-jim

hmmm I ran into the same problem in my town where there were no oboe specialists around or teachers. Well I suggest you listen to recordings of oboists like John Mack, John De Lancie, etc. and try and copy the tone or get close (still remaining in tune). I guess I suggest you get some hand-made reeds (Stuart Dunkel etc. surf online). And if you are 50 miles away from a professional oboist maybe get a lesson once a month from someone who is 50 miles away. It also depends where you live. If you live near a college you might be able to get lessons from a college professor. Hope this helps!

CHRIS

I have just started playing oboe and have A LOT of trouble getting out low notes. Any suggestions?

try playing an "e" or an "f" holding them...then stepping down to the next note after that one. make sure you slur them too.

hey, I have a lot of problems getting low notes too, especially C to Bb (lowest range). They keep sounding an octave higher, and I don`t bite onto the reed, so I can`t figure out the problem.

Corinne,
when you say CSO do you mean Colorado Symphony or Chicago Symphony?

Hello everyone,

I`m just puttin this up in case anyone wants/needs help, or just wants to chat. I`ve been playing the oboe for 8 yrs now, so I`ve got experience. Many other people have contacted me so i hope all of you would too..my AIM SN is Chrystie4067 and my email is Chrystie4067@yahoo.com if you`ve got any questions, I would love to try and help. I love the oboe its truly an amazing instrument!!

Peace,
Chrystie

Hey. I actually have the same exact problem with my tone as you do. I`ve been playing the clarinet for about 6 years and since my band is small I decided to switch to the oboe. My tone is just like your`s (dying duck). The worst area is my middle-C. I`m just wondering if someone could describe a professional oboe embochere to me. Keep in mind that I am a clarinet player, so I`m very used to a pro clarinet embochere. Please email me at JonTheClarinetGod@hotmail.com since I don`t have enough time to check the forums here. Thanks a lot.

I find that with some reeds I have trouble with the lower notes (E, D, C, and Bflat) and in other reeds I can get the lower notes. The reeds that I can get the low notes have a harsher sound but the reeds that I have more trouble on give me a way nicer sound. What should I do?

Ive only been playing the oboe for 4 years but I think that an overall good tone comes from both a good reed and the way your embouchure is. For me, I buy my reeds from my teacher who handmakes them. They are generally harder and lower sounding. As an oboe player, I believe you are trying to achieve a dark and "full" tone. I have been messing around with the amount of reed I put into my mouth as well as the amount of air I use. What works for me is to stay at the end of the reed and, Im still experimenting with this, drop your jaw. I find I get a darker tone that way. One of the most common reasons that an oboist sounds "reedy" is that he/she is taking in too much read. Try experimenting with how much reed you take in and the shape of your oral cavity.

Umm. . so many questions. . . i cant remember them all so i cant possibly try to answer them all but here`s the comments I had on what I read:
*Okay. . . the low notes will come with practice. My first couple years playing the oboe my low notes would roll, but now after much practice, they come out effortlessly.
*Okay, you said you switched from clarinet, which probably means that you`re gonna have bad habits. I switched from flute to oboe so I sometime find my self adjusting my embochure to play the high notes instead of fingering them correctly. One of my friends switched to the oboe from the clarinet and she has some bad habits too-- like biting down on the reed sometimes. Remember oboe and clarinet embouchures ARE different
*and "the secret to the C" is pratice. The middle C is probably the worst sounding not on oboe. Practing long tones will help you enormously.

i m from this small country called singapore n i just switched from the flute to oboe. My tone is like a dying duck n i heard that to darken the tone, u need to open the throat. how do u do that? And how do u run notes??? i m playing ross roy by jacob de haan and there are so many running notes!!!

The interesting thing about embrosure is that it looks tight, but shouldn`t BE tight. You should be controling the tone more with your diaphram than with your face, or the notes will come out pinched and tight. Drop your jaw as much as you can without air leaking around the edges of the reed. Of course you need a reed that is in tune to do this well, and need to have correct posture... Sigh. This is so hard over the internet. Your mouth should be holding the reed, not controling it.
I`m sorry, it`s hard to explain anything like this, and frustrating, because anything I say can be misunderstood.
Do the humming excercise to open your throat (humm while playing, its ahrd and is really more of a drone, and wont sound good while your doing it, but should after.)