Where Are All The Oboists These Days? Options

[Stephie]

An interesting "masterclass" for the Youtube symphony orchestra.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EIgJvYx4AE&sns=em

That was pretty good - thanks for sharing! Though did you notice how his head moved a lot when the camera viewed him from the side? It looked like it was part of his vibrato technique. I've never seen that before.

[Arundodonuts]

An interesting "masterclass" for the Youtube symphony orchestra.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EIgJvYx4AE&sns=em

That was pretty good - thanks for sharing! Though did you notice how his head moved a lot when the camera viewed him from the side? It looked like it was part of his vibrato technique. I've never seen that before.

I hadn't initially spotted it but I read it in the comments to the video. It does look odd but I'm reluctant to think it is to do with vibrato.

[Stephie]

An interesting "masterclass" for the Youtube symphony orchestra.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EIgJvYx4AE&sns=em

That was pretty good - thanks for sharing! Though did you notice how his head moved a lot when the camera viewed him from the side? It looked like it was part of his vibrato technique. I've never seen that before.

I hadn't initially spotted it but I read it in the comments to the video. It does look odd but I'm reluctant to think it is to do with vibrato.

It just looked like it seemed to coincide with the longer notes, where he used most of his vibrato (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif) I'm probably wrong though!

[Arundodonuts]

I ordered two reeds from Howarth on Wednesday night at 23:00, got an e-mail on Thursday morning to say they'd been despatched and then I received them this morning. Compare that to the entire MONTH that I waited on reeds from Fortay! I think I know where I'll be purchasing my reeds from now on... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

The two that I ordered were a Wiggins professional reed and a Ke-Xun Ge professional reed to try. My new teacher recommended these, so I guess we'll see! She's also going to give me reed-making lessons, so I'll hopefully improve in that department.

So how do you find the Ke-Xun Ge reeds Stephie? I bought a couple from Howarth at the RNCM weekend and I'm very impressed. There are two issues however.

1. I had to try quite a few to find 2. Now I know reeds vary but some of them were simply unplayable. That would make me cautious about ordering them mail order without playing them (something which has never been an issue with Fortay).

2. I haven't got a clue what I've got!! The chap behind the stand asked his colleague what these reeds were and he said "Chinese Brown". Makes sense - they have a brown binding. Looking on Howarth's website after getting home, I can see only Black and Silver and what's more Ke-Xun Ge's website is the same - with the added complication of being able to specify the strength, type of scrape, shape, etc.

Ah well, long email to Howarth for clarification I guess. But I am concerned about future mail order (unseen, unplayed). Anyone have any experience of Ke-Xun Ge by mail order?

The Ke-Xun Ge reeds are the first reeds I have had that have actually needed to be blown in - they change quite considerably as you play on them. The "easy" reed I use for long orchestra rehearsals is a Ke-Xun Ge which is a couple of months old. They don't go sharp as they get older (which is what I found with Fortay reeds).

The ones I have just bought play generally a bit flatter than the Fortays I'm used to. I have to push harder for the top notes now, but at least they don't fly away. Without measuring them I think they have a slightly broader tip and bigger opening than the Fortays so I think that makes sense. Nice to hear they don't go sharp with age. Do you know what type yours are kerioboe?

[notmusimum]

We had a couple of the Ke-Xun Ge reeds, the silver thread as far as I can remember, they didn't last long. At the moment the preferred option is Wiggins. Wishes we could return to Fortay but the M/H are too soft and H to hard.

[Roseau]

Ah well, long email to Howarth for clarification I guess. But I am concerned about future mail order (unseen, unplayed). Anyone have any experience of Ke-Xun Ge by mail order?

All my Ke-Xun Ge have been mail order from Howarth and the ones I use are the black thread professional ones.

I'm trying to remember if I've had five or six. Of these one has been disappointing. It plays in tune and is no harder than the others but it is virtually impossible to get any sort of dynamics out of it. I've tried scraping it a bit but it hasn't made any difference and I can't visually see what is wrong with it. I suppose I could ask my teacher to have a look at it for me but since September I have been successfully adjusting my own reeds and have enjoyed having lessons entirely devoted to playing. I am a bit reluctant to spend lesson time fiddling with a reed which may never be much good. Maybe I'll take it along one week when I haven't had time for much practice (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

As I said in an earlier post, they do change as you play them and become more free-blowing. Unlike Notmusimum, I have found them to be very long lasting (more so than the Fortays)

The ones I have just bought play generally a bit flatter than the Fortays I'm used to. I have to push harder for the top notes now, but at least they don't fly away. Without measuring them I think they have a slightly broader tip and bigger opening than the Fortays so I think that makes sense. Nice to hear they don't go sharp with age. Do you know what type yours are kerioboe?

I haven't measured them either to compare them but I think the Ke Gun Xe reeds have a more marked hump behind the tip and a more marked spine than the Fortay reeds.

[notmusimum]

As I said in an earlier post, they do change as you play them and become more free-blowing. Unlike Notmusimum, I have found them to be very long lasting (more so than the Fortays)

Sorry for the confusion (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) I meant Emsoboe didn't get on with them so chose not to play them after a short while. I can't comment on whether they have staying power or not. They were the silver rather than the black thread ones which we keep meaning ot try.

[Arundodonuts]

Ah well, long email to Howarth for clarification I guess. But I am concerned about future mail order (unseen, unplayed). Anyone have any experience of Ke-Xun Ge by mail order?

All my Ke-Xun Ge have been mail order from Howarth and the ones I use are the black thread professional ones.

OK teacher has seen said reeds now and says the binding is black (this colour thing seems to be an issue with me!). So why did "the man from Howarth" he say brown?

[Roseau]

Ah well, long email to Howarth for clarification I guess. But I am concerned about future mail order (unseen, unplayed). Anyone have any experience of Ke-Xun Ge by mail order?

All my Ke-Xun Ge have been mail order from Howarth and the ones I use are the black thread professional ones.

OK teacher has seen said reeds now and says the binding is black (this colour thing seems to be an issue with me!). So why did "the man from Howarth" he say brown?

No idea (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
Do you think they are more brown than black? My "black" ones are dark rather than a bright black (if that's not a contradiction in terms) and in poor light I suppose they could be any dark colour. Since I bought them as "black" reeds I hadn't really thought much about how black they are.

What did your teacher think of them? One of the tutors on a course I went over the summer (who plays full time in a professional orchestra) thought they were much too hard (when he tried my oboe with the reed in he could only get a note out with difficulty). My French teacher said he can see why I like them but thinks they don't have enough resistance and encourages me to alternate them with something harder.

[Arundodonuts]

No idea (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
Do you think they are more brown than black? My "black" ones are dark rather than a bright black (if that's not a contradiction in terms) and in poor light I suppose they could be any dark colour. Since I bought them as "black" reeds I hadn't really thought much about how black they are.

What did your teacher think of them? One of the tutors on a course I went over the summer (who plays full time in a professional orchestra) thought they were much too hard (when he tried my oboe with the reed in he could only get a note out with difficulty). My French teacher said he can see why I like them but thinks they don't have enough resistance and encourages me to alternate them with something harder.

Hmm. Dark black. I'll have to think about that one. Being "shrink wrapped" makes it a bit difficult to tell. But I guess they are black.

I didn't tell teacher until the end of the lesson but she seemed pleasantly surprised at the tone I had today and the way I attacked the top notes (with these I seem to be able to really push the upper notes without them going really sharp). She had earlier spotted a couple of times when slurring up to the 2nd octave there was a hint of the 1st octave note speaking before the correct one came out. Having been told about the new reed she reckoned that made sense and I just needed to be aware that more support was needed.

Opinions on how reeds should be vary hugely don't they? Last week in a workshop a (highly regarded, certainly in my book) professional suggested we should play on the lightest reed possible. But what does that mean? These new ones seem "more resistant" than my old ones but I'm not sure that equates to harder. It does mean I can really lean on those top notes (possibly for the first time) but if I don't rigorously maintain support the bottom notes can go very flat. It could be that in reality, this is my "lightest reed possible" in terms of achieving good intonation and dynamics. I reckon once I get better and have more subtlety in my control of the reed, I might actually be able to manage a lighter reed, but just now I need something to push against. I do, actually, quite like the physicality.

[Roseau]

Opinions on how reeds should be vary hugely don't they? Last week in a workshop a (highly regarded, certainly in my book) professional suggested we should play on the lightest reed possible. But what does that mean? These new ones seem "more resistant" than my old ones but I'm not sure that equates to harder. It does mean I can really lean on those top notes (possibly for the first time) but if I don't rigorously maintain support the bottom notes can go very flat. It could be that in reality, this is my "lightest reed possible" in terms of achieving good intonation and dynamics. I reckon once I get better and have more subtlety in my control of the reed, I might actually be able to manage a lighter reed, but just now I need something to push against. I do, actually, quite like the physicality.

I think you raise several interesting issues here.

First there is the question of vocabulary. How do you describe something which is to do with both a physical sensation and an audible sound? As you say is "harder" the same thing as "more resistant"? I am perhaps particularly sensitive to this as I have to do it in two different languages (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

Then there is the question of the "ideal" reed. My favourite definition of an ideal reed is one that enables you to obtain the sound you want with the least effort. And, as you say, having something to push against is often less tiring than having to hold back air, particularly when the oboe uses up so little air anyway.

Since my daughter has taken up the oboe I have, on occasion, tried out her very easy reeds. Not only do they lack the dark overtones that I like in my own reeds (so I'm not overkeen on the sound) but they use up so little breath that if I'm not careful I can make myself light-headed because I can't get rid of all the stale air in a 'normal' quick breath.

On the other hand they have a very forgiving scrape and I have taken to adjusting for her the reeds that I have made that haven't quite turned out the way I intended (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) The thing she cares about most is the colour of the binding!

[katica]

...

What did your teacher think of them? One of the tutors on a course I went over the summer (who plays full time in a professional orchestra) thought they were much too hard (when he tried my oboe with the reed in he could only get a note out with difficulty). My French teacher said he can see why I like them but thinks they don't have enough resistance and encourages me to alternate them with something harder.

I can't decide whether this is consoling (even professionals have difficulty producing notes sometimes) or concerning (it's never going to get easy)! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

I find these reed discussions really fascinating but also frustrating. I wish we could just get together to see and try out each other's reeds to get more of a feel of what we're really talking about. It might help us resolve the semantics too. By the way, pushpull, what is a "light" reed? Is it the same as kerioboe's ideal reed that produces the right sound with the least effort?

I myself am not quite sure either that 'hard' and 'resistant' are quite the same thing.

I wonder how you folk would find my reeds? I have a delicious one at the moment, made with Roseau Chantant cane and one of those newfangled Winfield metal staples (this one is nickel but I think I like brass better). It produces a nice closed (focused?), darkish, resonant sound. Except when I'm biting (all too often unfortunately (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)). Knowing my luck it will die soon. I try not to think about what I would do for reeds if I returned to the UK or my teacher disappeared off the scene - it makes me hyper-anxious imagining such a horrible scenario. Sometimes I can hardly explain what I think might be wrong with a reed (and even unsure if it's more me than the reed that is the problem) but my teacher seems to understand whatever I mean / is needed and with a few knife strokes hey presto all is resolved. Whatever would I do without him? I know the best solution is to learn myself but I never seem to want to sacrifice precious lesson or practice time to reedmaking.

Off to Bolivia at the weekend. On Monday (my birthday!) I shall be travelling to one of the World Heritage villages out in the old Jesuit/Franciscan Mission region where they hold quite a famous baroque and renaissance festival every couple of years. I plan to do something absolutely corny - take my oboe with me and play Gabriel's Oboe in situ (more or less). For those who don't know it (unlikely, I imagine), this is a pseudo baroque oboe solo written by Ennio Morricone for the film The Mission.

I'm sure that's letting down you more serious, intellectual oboists but I just can't resist...

[notmusimum]

Opinions on how reeds should be vary hugely don't they? Last week in a workshop a (highly regarded, certainly in my book) professional suggested we should play on the lightest reed possible. But what does that mean?

Emsoboes teacher often adjusts her reeds to take off the harsh edges. I'd guess this refers more to how the reed sounds rather than strength.

[Arundodonuts]

Then there is the question of the "ideal" reed. My favourite definition of an ideal reed is one that enables you to obtain the sound you want with the least effort.

Yes I think that was the basis of my question "what IS the lightest reed possible?" Of course at a professional level that will depend on things other than ones ability. What repertoire (Bach or Berio? Handel or Holliger?). Where are you performing - recital room or concert hall? Are you playing chamber music or orchestral? At least I don't have to think about that stuff.

The thing she cares about most is the colour of the binding!

I have seen photos of a Facebook friend of a Facebook friend whose bindings match her concert dress (whatever that might be) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Roseau]

I can't decide whether this is consoling (even professionals have difficulty producing notes sometimes) or concerning (it's never going to get easy)! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

I find it consoling - it shows their "human" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
What I find depressing is the rapidity with which professionals can adjust to the situation. For example, on occasions my teacher makes a mistake in a piece I have brought in that he doesn't know but he only makes the mistake once and then plays it perfectly whereas I can have spent weeks practising it and it's still not right (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

Sometimes I can hardly explain what I think might be wrong with a reed (and even unsure if it's more me than the reed that is the problem) but my teacher seems to understand whatever I mean / is needed and with a few knife strokes hey presto all is resolved.

My teacher has always made a point of making me say precisely what I don't like about a reed before he will do anything to it. (On the days when my brain is not functionning in French he will reforumlate my gibberish into something corrrect). He would always check my judgement before scraping and correct it if necessary. He also always says because X is wrong I'm going to do Y. Eventually this has meant that I am fairly confident about what I ought to be doing even if I would rather he did it because he never slips with the knife takes the ears off by mistake (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

Off to Bolivia at the weekend. On Monday (my birthday!) I shall be travelling to one of the World Heritage villages out in the old Jesuit/Franciscan Mission region where they hold quite a famous baroque and renaissance festival every couple of years. I plan to do something absolutely corny - take my oboe with me and play Gabriel's Oboe in situ (more or less). For those who don't know it (unlikely, I imagine), this is a pseudo baroque oboe solo written by Ennio Morricone for the film The Mission.

I hope you enjoy Bolivia. And I will think of you playing in a forest (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Emsoboes teacher often adjusts her reeds to take off the harsh edges. I'd guess this refers more to how the reed sounds rather than strength.

Could be either really. You can adjust not just for tone and amount of breath pressure needed but also for responsiveness (dynamics), ease of detached notes...

Then there is the question of the "ideal" reed. My favourite definition of an ideal reed is one that enables you to obtain the sound you want with the least effort.

Yes I think that was the basis of my question "what IS the lightest reed possible?"

I still don't like the term "light" though.

The thing she cares about most is the colour of the binding!

I have seen photos of a Facebook friend of a Facebook friend whose bindings match her concert dress (whatever that might be) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

We have major drama before concerts when she insists that she should be playing on the prettiest reed rather than the reed which plays the best (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif) .
Our teacher is a lot more patient about it than I am about it. He said that all his little girl pupils are like that and that they grow out of it.