What is the comfortable range for an amateur oboe player?
I am trying to write a piece for oboe and don't want to go too high or low.
Thanks,
Cecilia
xxxxxx

Bb below middle C is the lowest note on the oboe, and I'm happiest playing playing to the D above the C two octaves higher, though you can go higher still. I't just a bit thin in tone unless you have a really good instrument and good reed.

It also depends how you define amateur....

Good luck with it.

thanks emma... its going OK I think!

C is as low as I like going and I am about grade 5

Cat

Hi Cat, good to have another oboist here! I've never taken grades, but I am playing pieces up to about Grade 8 standard when I work hard on them.

How long have you been playing?

Hi Emma - bit of a delay replying sorry! I have been playing for about four years but I am mostly clarinet/piano, and most of my oboeing is in orchestras.

As I'm already a good woodwind player (post-grd 8) I find my fingers are much better than my tone - my fingers are grade 7 to 8 but my tone is still a bit ducky and definitely only grade 5! Which is just a question of practice, I know . . .

Cat

Which reeds do you use?

That is probably the source of the problem as all the orchestras I play in have older people who are better than me and they all assure me that the reeds *they* use are the best and they make some up for me - so I have about eight different ones. I would love to be able to make my own but at the moment I don't have time to learn. I was told never to buy branded reeds as they're rubbish - I don't know if this is true! Any ideas?

Cat

HELLO FELLOW OBOISTS!!!

For a early beginner I would say low D ~ High G (2nd G). I find that pupils are most comfortable within this note range. Also think about technique perhaps some F#~A slurred, B~C# slurred etc?

It's great to talk to other oboists!

QUOTE

I would love to be able to make my own but at the moment I don't have time to learn.

Life is too short to make your own reeds!!!

I've been playing for 15 ish years (although with a bit of a break in the middle), inc. doing music at university, and personally I tend to think that unless you're a pro, the whole thing about making your own reeds is overdone. If you find a reed maker you like, stick with them - you'll save an awful lot of time and money. The tools you need to make your own are horrendously expensive, and even buying ready-shaped cane from Howarths is fairly pricey. Then you'll spend months scraping and scraping your first reeds and they'll sound rubbish. It's not worth it! Why sound awful on your own reed when you can sound fantastic on a bought one? As long as you can scrape and adjust your bought reeds, that's all you need to know.

QUOTE (Claire21 @ Sep 23 2004, 08:13 PM)

As long as you can scrape and adjust your bought reeds, that's all you need to know.

I can't even do that.

I have got into the habit of buying expensive reeds and hoping that they will be OK. I had lessons for a couple of years, and reed maintenance was never on the agenda. My teacher always made my reeds and did the odd bit of scraping....

I've played the oboe for about 7 years (as an amateur) and can cope with most grade 8+ pieces - although I'm also lucky enough to have the advantage of reaching post-grade 8 on the clarinet back in the 1980's and play the violin for a living.

From my own experience Nick Winfield makes excellent reeds. Whenever I go to Howarth's in London they are usually in short supply of his reeds; so they are obviously popular with a lot of players.

You can order them through his website though. Apart from the reed strength it's also possible to specify the type of scrape (standard or continental), plus the cane (Aliaud or Ghys) that you want the reeds made from.

http://www.winfieldreeds.co.uk/index.html

I tried Winfield reeds once and hated them! They were awful. Can't understand why they're so popular, myself.

A teacher friend of mine also bought a lot of Winfield reeds at a conference, and only havd about two or three she thought were playable. I'd heard they were good, but she didn't recommend them to me.

I tried one of the Chinese reeds (forget the name - I think Alison recommended them somewhere in another thread) and it is really good. Have also tried the Stray reed recently and that was good. It's sold as a recommended replacement for the Wiggins reeds which are not being made any more.

Reeds are a very personal thing - very much like the preference for strings on a violin.

No two oboes are alike (even of the same make and model) so I think a lot depends on what reed suits the instrument too.

Even the music/style you are playing and the register it's predominantly in can affect reed choice.

I sometimes get my reeds made for me by a well known player from a London orchestra, but he's really busy so I don't like to bother him all of the time.