Hey y'all, I've been struggling with playing legato from any tone up to e'''. So for example any exercise like this wouldn't work https://www.jupiter.info/fileadmin/user_upload/High-Notes---UEbungsbeispiel-I---E___.jpg

Does anyone have any tips? With f''', it's sometimes a bit easier to do a legato but not always.

Thanks in advance :)

Hey everyone,

I'm about to buy my first (second hand) oboe, there are 2 F. Lorée oboes available in my area for around €1300, but they are built in 1980 and the other one in 1985. Both are used as a second oboe for professional oboists, and have not been played a lot. They've had their maintenance. But I have 2 questions to you guys:

- Are these oboes to old to buy for that price?

- They are both fully automatic oboes, is that a problem? I hear most are semi-automatic.....

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Hope to hear from you, kind regards from the Netherlands!

Im honestly really good at playing the flute but my band needs an oboe. Me being first chair my band director switched me. Any tips?

I want to play oboe but I want to know if anyone here would recommend, let's say sax more. I think I'm pretty intermediate with clarinet. Like I can easily play concert Bb scale one octave higher consistently, though the exact positions of the notes mess me up when reading music. I want to play oboe because it's different but it doesn't seem completely different different at the same time. also hopefully it was wise of me to post this on both subs.

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Hi, I was wondering if anyone is willing to sell or getting rid of their small black cork grease container? Like, the one that comes with the case that sits in that certain round spot made for it? I know it’s a weird thing to ask, but I’ve always wanted one but never knew where to get one from. I thought I saw it on the Lorée website, but couldn’t find it since.

One of my teacher's had me try his Bodybeat metronome which worked great, sometimes a little finicky but like the concept. I just didn't like all the wires going everywhere. I came across Pulse by Soundbrenner and wanted to give it a try. I have seen reviews from string and drummers but not so much from wind players. Has anyone tried this device?

Why is there different fingering mechanisms in oboe and flute? There is obviously a difference in the bore shape and consequently the harmonic series produced, but the fundamental note for the same length of the pipe should be roughly the same, and they both overblow at the octave. It would seem logical that the same fingerings should apply for both instruments, and therefore the same mechanisms. To an extent it is so, but some notes should be fingered differently, e.g. F and F#. Or, another example, all fingers up produces correct C# tone on flute but not on oboe. The question is, why? I assume it cannot be due to tradition only, there must be some acoustical explanation.

Picking the oboe back up after twenty+ years 😅 Dont have the skills (or patience) to make my own… Would prefer handmade ones, though! Any recommendations on where to buy reeds online would be appreciated :) European style reeds

My daughter has been playing oboe for over a year, and I just can't understand her current situation with reeds. We found out she's got 1 reed that works "ok" but another we recently bought "doesn't work." I just went to the local music shop and bought almost $100 worth of reeds, mostly Jones (4) med and hard, but 1 Marlin Lesher brand (med) and my daughter says NONE work. The only one that works is a plastic reed I got (Emerald) because she's playing with the high school band on Friday outside (and the last time she did this, her perfectly good reed went from fine to cracked, waste of money, because thin little double reeds cannot just be sat outside for any amount of time or they just split obviously).

How do people even learn to play oboe if you buy 5 reeds and none work? What are we doing wrong here so my kid can play her instrument lol. Like do I need to buy $400 of reeds to get 1 or 2 that work?

Sorry I'm just trying to help my kiddo who loves oboe but can't seem to get functioning reeds. That's like owning drums but no drum skins work...absolutely frustrating. It's a constant revolving effort of reeds and stores and I can't understand how anyone ever created let alone played an oboe right now.

Is it the instrument somehow? Poor instruction with how to even get a new oboe reed useful? I just feel terrible for her and would really appreciate any support. It just doesn't seem right to buy 5 reeds and have none working properly. The shop we buy from has been around in our town forever and has so many student instruments and the staff seem knowledgable, but how can i just keep buying reeds that don't work (they do take them back within 60 days but man...5/5 failures?).

UPDATE 9/22/2023 - Last night our daughter got SO many of her reeds to come alive and be functional, good sounding reeds at last! Even ones she had dismissed sometime ago as "bad." None of us had simply searched online for how to prep a reed properly, and her knowledge/instruction was to "soak it" or "put it in your mouth." No real details.

We found many online recommendations to soak the reed precisely for 30s to 1min...let rest 1min...blow out the excess water and test it. I watched as she went from having 1 useful reed to 6 or 7. She was SO thrilled her oboe was alive and making GOOD sounds finally, loud and strong. And she was so happy to have an abundance of usable reeds now. Also she learned that after playing, she should do a quick soak as saliva can break down the reed as well and make it fail faster, which she didn't know.

I sincerely thank all for your insight and thoughts. We will be getting her private lessons so she can take her next big step in her oboe journey. And we've got her onboard to really embrace her part in playing her oboe - note which reeds you like (or don't) and which last longer (or don't). A reed journal, basically. Then as she starts making her own she can have an idea what to go for.

Disclaimer: I'm learning violin, know nothing about oboe, and English is not my first language.

My daughter started learning oboe last week. She practiced yesterday after her lesson, and her reed broke. I don't know exactly what happened, maybe she broke it with her teeth? or maybe it touched the music stand (not hit it, just touched)? She was very sad and discouraged. And this reed is now useless, it doesn't make a sound.

Are reeds this fragile? What did she do wrong? Should she soak it more in water before practice? Or should I accept that we have to buy reeds for her every week in the first few months?

She'll have her next lesson this Friday, we'll ask her teacher then.

https://preview.redd.it/c9523t46s5pb1.jpg?width=1096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4f54ba1997a8015a5f858a35ee620a79052acb9

It was the $300 Yamaha 211. It came with a hard shell case, two reeds, and cork grease. It plays great, the only issue is the key to play a low D(third finger in the right hand) is missing the cork. Other than that, my first time playing I was able to play from an E to a C.

Does anyone know what happened to Boston Records and its catalog, which includes Marcel Tabuteau’s Lessons? The site is gone, the phone number is no longer in service, and copies seem to be scattered new old stock or used, and prices are climbing. I use these lessons all time time, as Tabuteau's number system is one of the primary tools in my study, and referring back to the primary source is very important. If anyone knows why, or how I can get a cheap copy, let me know. I have been trying to get one ever since they took the website down.

Has someone ever played oboe with braces? What was your experience?

I've had some difficulty iwth my knots lately. I use double/triple overhand knots and it tends to untie or loosen a bit. I've put a bit of glue on them to be sure it stay put for now. I'm looking for better way to tie them so I don't need the glue anymore. Any advice?

Since winter is coming up, it’s going to be cold and dry. Are there any precautions that I shoukd take to prevent my oboe from cracking?

Edit: i took my oboe into my local repair shop and turns out a just had a leaky vent key where the screw was in too tight and they just had to unscrew it a little. sorry for the dramatics, thank you all for your advice!! i think i’ve learned more about the oboe this week than in the last year of playing lol.

Ok so i was adjusting the my oboes screws because it wouldn’t register my lower notes and i’ve done it before, and now my oboe only plays c, Bb, a, Ab and g? i won’t let me play any other fingering/note and if sound does come out it’s an A that’s really sharp. I don’t know what to do and my local music shop is closed tomorrow.

Thank u - sincerely a girl on the verge a breakdown.

Recently, I got a bad cold and wasn’t able to practice for a few days due to being in bed all day. I still have some shortness of breath and light headedness, but otherwise I’m fine. Should I start practicing or give myself a few days?

edit: I played(flute) at my school and felt fine until the last 15 minutes when I suddenly got lightheaded, and had to stop. I will practice lightly until the lightheadedness goes away :/

Now I’m getting into the professional world, and I have this new teacher that wants me to study a pretty difficult method called “ 24 etudes for oboe or saxophone “ So it’s been hard for me since my teacher wants and believes that I can start reading Strauss oboe concerto the next year around this months, but since today he was expecting me to present first 2 studies and I played them with several pauses and wasn’t really clean. So he told me that either I play them almost perfect in 1 week from now or we’ll go with another method called wiedemann 48 oboe etudes.

So i really need to be more effective when it comes to study because now I feel like im taking to much time to play something clean. So what advice could someone give me in order to have my study session more effective and not wasting time.

Should I stop as soon as I play something wrong? Play really slow, or just the dirty phrase,etc Any tips that u feel helped u to study the most effective way so you can advance faster in less time will be appreciated

Hello! I don't know anything about oboes so please forgive my ignorance. My grandma who is in her early 70s told me recently that she's always wanted to learn to play the oboe, but she's worried she wouldn't have the breath support for it now. For context, she's in good health, does mild exercise, is able to work, etc. Do you think she can still learn? Also, is there any type of oboe that requires less air pressure?

I’ve been making my own reeds for a year now and use them whenever I play. My reeds work ok but can be better because I feel like the problem with the reeds is that the opening is too small and it makes me not be able to get good response and the sound is quiet when I try to play loudly. Was wondering how do I adjust my reed to make it louder/have the opening bigger.

I’ve recently noticed that my A flat key isn’t working- it’s just playing G. Any ideas as to what’s causing this issue?

Hello! I have been recently practicing a new piece that has a flatterzunge indication…. I have tried many ways to achieve that effect with no sucess :( If someone has tips or knows this technique please give me some help!! thank you!

How do I develop different tone colors or timbres on the oboe? What should I practice and change for each tone color?

I am currently studying Marina Dranishnikova's Poem and did some reading behind the piece, or whatever I could find from a Russian double reed forum. On this particular post, it mentioned that she wrote an oboe concerto and another piece titled "Impromptu Scherzo". These were placed along other works that have been deemed lost and/or unpublished. Although this was posted in 2018, has there been any leads for the undiscovered pieces by oboists or other musicians in the US or elsewhere? I know it sounds absolutely nuts to even think if something was found but just out of curiosity.

I also just want to know more about this composer.

What do you do for a living to finance this very expensive hobby?