# The Winds "what are you working on thread"



## OboeKnight

There seems to be one of these in every other instrument family but winds. This also seems to be the least active sub forum of the instruments D: this saddens me and I intend to change that.

So, what rep are you currently hashing out? I'm touching up the second movement of Bellini's Concerto in Eb for oboe. And also working on the second movement of Hindemith's Sonata for Oboe and Piano. I'm gearing up for my senior recital in the spring


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## Jaws

Long notes and lip flexibility. For lip flexibility I play bits of pieces by Pasculli.


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## Head_case

lol that's a good topic. 

usually it's just Jaws and I humourously arguing over which tooth we should pull out first. 

Not!

The Bellini I like a lot.....I can't read oboe music below alto A under middle C without getting the ruler out. Clarinet and oboe drive me potty that way. At least with alto flute its still on the ledger lines transposed a fourth. Even the bass recorder is read on the bass clef...

I'm working on Bach's flute sonata no. V. It runs for six pages long and I haven't learnt it off by heart so I have to turn my pages over by myself sob. The other problem is playing Bach makes me salivate like Pavlov's dog....not so good for flute playing. The rhythm is really messing me up. I had the complete set of sonatas edited by Marcel Moyse. I loved his editing and phrasings. Then I had to go and lose it and bought a cheaper replacement set by Bennett which has none of yhe delicate nuances of the French master editor.


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## OboeKnight

Working on the Saint-Saens oboe sonata and still working on Hindemith.

Got my clarinet out today for the first time this month. Working on Brahms Sonata No. 1. I must refrain from playing clarinet when I have a lot of heavy oboe playing going on because it confuses my embouchure. With my college auditions finished, I can play more often now  Sadly, I'll probably have to stop altogether when I go to college...oboe performance majors really shouldn't be messing around with clarinet  oh well, I'll miss it dearly.


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## Head_case

Hindemith....preceded by the emotionless Saints Saens oboe sonata? 

Started working on Benjamin Godard' Suite de Trois Morceaux. Some graceful lines soaring with emotion.


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## OboeKnight

Head_case said:


> Hindemith....preceded by the emotionless Saints Saens oboe sonata?
> 
> Started working on Benjamin Godard' Suite de Trois Morceaux. Some graceful lines soaring with emotion.


The first couple times I heard the Saint-Saens, I didn't connect with it at all. Its one of those that has to grow on you. There are parts in it that are very emotional, and I really enjoy it now.


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## Head_case

OboeKnight said:


> The first couple times I heard the Saint-Saens, I didn't connect with it at all. Its one of those that has to grow on you. There are parts in it that are very emotional, and I really enjoy it now.


the parts I connect with when hearing the Saint-Saens sonata ... is the ending when it's finally over 

I know I'm a salon siesta spoilsport - maybe the literature for oboe is more interesting than for flute, in the impressionist repertoire?

Are you a fan of Stamitz btw. His flute writing really bores me although friends love him and 'the lightness of being' that his music conveys.


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## OboeKnight

Head_case said:


> the parts I connect with when hearing the Saint-Saens sonata ... is the ending when it's finally over
> 
> I know I'm a salon siesta spoilsport - maybe the literature for oboe is more interesting than for flute, in the impressionist repertoire?
> 
> Are you a fan of Stamitz btw. His flute writing really bores me although friends love him and 'the lightness of being' that his music conveys.


 Actually never heard Stamitz. I shall look into him. I agree the Saint-Saens is not a hugely emotional piece, the last movement is really impressive if you crank the speed though  it'll be good for my recital haha


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## Head_case

I'll have to dig out more Saint-Saens other than his Romance for flute. 

At the moment I'm working on Bach's Partita in A minor .... in slow motion. 

I like playing it really hauntingly slow. It scares people


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## OboeKnight

Head_case said:


> I'll have to dig out more Saint-Saens other than his Romance for flute.
> 
> At the moment I'm working on Bach's Partita in A minor .... in slow motion.
> 
> I like playing it really hauntingly slow. It scares people


Also makes it easier lol


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## Head_case

OboeKnight said:


> Also makes it easier lol


What......scaring people? :lol:

I'm working on the phrasing in slo-mo. Some players make it sound like it's slow to the point of DEAD slow and it's almost painful waiting for the next note as the last one dies off.

That's what I'm trying to achieve 

Now playing some Ernesto Kohler 'Studies of Medium Difficulty'. He writes some gorgeous romantic music. The next volume must be entitled: "Studies of Exceptionally Painful Difficulty" followed by "Studies for the Three-Handed Flute Virtuoso"...


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## OboeKnight

Head_case said:


> What......scaring people? :lol:
> 
> I'm working on the phrasing in slo-mo. Some players make it sound like it's slow to the point of DEAD slow and it's almost painful waiting for the next note as the last one dies off.
> 
> That's what I'm trying to achieve
> 
> Now playing some Ernesto Kohler 'Studies of Medium Difficulty'. He writes some gorgeous romantic music. The next volume must be entitled: "Studies of Exceptionally Painful Difficulty" followed by "Studies for the Three-Handed Flute Virtuoso"...


Lol Three-Handed Flute Virtuoso you say?

Just finished practicing more Saint-Saens. The third movement is basically a technical exercise that requires you to have a third lung and blazing fingers...actually worked up a sweat.


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## Head_case

I might be prone to finding the Kohler three handed pieces difficult. Or maybe prone to a little exaggeration :lol:

Third lung - no sweat...! Now that I'm over my Russian whooping cough bronchitis season, I can hold passages like
there's no tommorrow. But tommorow comes anyway and I have to take a breath. Those cylindrical high resistance wooden romantic flutes take a lot of puff! And it doesn't help that my circular breathing technique is as good as my circular reasoning technique :lol:

Back to practicing Bohuslav Martinu's First Sonata for flute and piano. Since I don't like the piano, I'm trying to do away with all the rest breaks where the piano bits are supposed to come in. You gotta love a piece that starts off in second octave Bb rising to third octave Bb got C pitch concert flute. You'd think he'd written it for piccolo in mind.


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## OboeKnight

Haha what have you against the piano? I enjoy it in moderation, definitely not one of my favorite instruments. I prefer harp and harpsichord 

I'm actually listening to Martinu's second symphony lol. I'm enjoying quite a lot. What do you think of his flute sonata? Sounds painfully high lol. Saint-Saens goes up to high G, which is pushing the limits for oboe. Also have to tag a high F# out of nowhere....it usually sounds as a G though because it'sso out of tune haha.

In addition to S-S, I'm still having issues with the crazy rhythms in Hindemith second movement...ugh. Working on awful triplet passages in Hanson's Merry Mount Suite that I'm playing in my orchestra as well.


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## Head_case

I learnt piano in school for my grade exams .... it was one of those horrible double coffin black ones and my piano teacher, a benign smiling granny looking inoffensive with a plaid skirt pinafore and clasped hands with bottle coke glasses and dark brown hair split down the middle, would turn into a Hitchcock nightmare and threaten to dump the dead remains of my little body in the carcass of the piano and use my schoolboy shorts as a flag to warn other toddlers that if I didn't practice my Eb minor harmonic key backwards they could expect the same fate 

(j/k)

It's just the boring dunk dunk sound of it. Doesn't have the texture or the rich overtones; no nuanced portamento of the harp and harpsichord. If I had been taught on harpsichord, I wouldn't have wasted a crotchet of my time learning :lol:

Yes - Martinu's flute sonata really needs earplugs. I stick in a pair which blocks out -10dB, and that seems to allow me to play it. I'm not fluent in the piece at all; if anything, it seems to meander and goes a bit weird so it isn't a piece I play much of. 

Out of interest - how on earth did you get to major in oboe by the time you were 17? It's a rather niche (specialist) instrument. I had a generic music education listening to my parents vinyl pop LPs and then piano and recorder, then flute. But oboe? I don't think anyone I knew played oboe, so the school orchestra, in the absence of an oboeist, had to make do with extra orchestral triangles lol

Saint-Saens' music is better as a player, perhaps than a listener for me 
His music is fluid; graceful - no sudden surprises - and full of charm without sentimentality. Definitely not suffused with overwrought emotion. However I do like to play (in professional parlance, this is also known as "to wreck") his Romance that way 


I just got the score for Robert Muczynski's flute sonata. Yay!! It looks like a really exciting piece. A lot of start-stops and fascinating rhythmic variation.


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## OboeKnight

Lol sounds like that teacher of yours could have traumatized you, and now your subconscious repression of the memory causes an acute disdain for the piano 

I often wish I had earplugs at orchestra rehearsal....the first flute part is so obnoxiously high most of the time...its painful. Luckily the piccolo is seated at the end of the flute line, away from me 

Honestly, I still don't know how I became so advanced on the oboe in two and half years...its all a blur. I played clarinet for 5 years before I started oboe. Many people think that they are closely related because they look a bit similar...not the case in the slightest. Completely different set of fingerings, different embouchure, breath control, and the added complication of the double reed. It's funny how I came to play oboe. I had never heard one before, or even seen one. For some reason, I asked my mom if I could learn to play the oboe. She was enthusiastic about it so we rented one from a local music store. It was a student model, that I later learned was missing two vital keys, low Bb and side F. I played on that oboe for about a year and a half. I taught myself all the fingerings and somehow managed to get a pleasant tone from it. I began playing it in my high school concert band, along with clarinet. I just switched back and forth and oboe was like my auxiliary instrument. Then, I decided I was going to audition for a local youth orchestra. I auditioned on both oboe and clarinet, hoping to be accepted. I honestly thought my best bet was with clarinet since I had much more experience with it. To my surprise, the director was impressed with my oboe playing and made me the principal oboist of the orchestra. I had never had a lesson at this point, so the director got me in touch with a private teacher who I've been taking lessons with for a year. After that, I just kept improving with scary speed. I realized that I was born to be an oboist, and oboe became my primary instrument. Through all of this, I realized I had to be a music major, there was no other option. As I got more confident in my playing I won various awards and scholarships over the past year. I placed second in a concerto competition playing the first movement of Haydn's Oboe Concerto from memory this past October. There were also pre-screening rounds so this was a great accomplishment! Haha. I think my greatest accomplishment so far was making it into an insanely good and prestigious youth orchestra. I auditioned in August and was accepted as one of the principal oboists (the wind players are all so good, we rotate parts throughout the season). We only play the real deal, no arrangements! We played Capriccio Espagnol and Dvorak's Carnival Overture to name a couple. We are touring Chicago in May!! I'm really excited. And to sum up this really selfish autobiography, I auditioned for two colleges as an oboe performance major and was accepted to one (should be hearing back from the other this week). I get phone calls and emails weekly from one of the oboe professors asking me to come to their school . The other professor is the principal oboist of the Cleveland Orchestra, and he told me that he wanted me at his school as well. Wow, what an encouragement! So that's a brief-ish explanation of how I got where I am. It's been an amazing journey so far and I'm very, very blessed with this talent.


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## Head_case

OboeKnight said:


> Lol sounds like that teacher of yours could have traumatized you, and now your subconscious repression of the memory causes an acute disdain for the piano


Haha. No subconscious repression. My dislike of the piano is very very conscious lol

Okay, enough about you. On to me (j/k). I performed the British classic "Three Blind Mice" in a marathon medley along with "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" followed by an encore of Dolly Parton's "And I will always love you" on flute in front of a massive institution which wowed the throng! Granted, they suffered from dementia and were mostly wheelchair bound and unable to listen without their hearing aids, but I had fans! I had groupies! And better than Justin Bieber - the average age of my female fans was somewhere between 88 - 98 years old...! 

But seriously ...get a pair of www.alpine.nl MusicSafe Pro Hearing Protecdtion System.  They really do not muffle or veil the clarity badly like the cheaper earplugs! The Gold ones are better for bottom end reduction; the white ones for low attentuation and silver in the middle. A pack gives you all three so that you can choose, if you have to move nearer the 'orrible piccolo section lol.

No one likes sitting next to piccolo players - they are the anti-social cheer leaders who lead the orchestra though. You can hear them through the cut, apart from when the cymbals section start to have compete with the hammer and machete throwers in the back.

Hey - that's really cool. I thought you probably started off on clarinet, since a single reed --> double reed oboe is much easier than from an aerophonic flute to an oboe. Oboes are just so expensive, that I figure that most average music departments, like in my school, which only ever garnered world class 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' players like me, would just not afford. I've never come across a single oboeist at your age, so maybe this great instrument isn't dying out after all?!

Are you going to apply for a conservatory then 

Your repertoire tastes are very classical era like my flute playing. I liked the more modern repertoire (Katchachurian and Poulenc, are modern, right!) as well as contemporary (Denisov flute works; Sariaaho's Couleurs du Vent; Paliashivili's flute sonata; McCabe's concerto and Gorecki'. I suppose for the classical era oboe literature - the oboe d'amore is a rather scare instrument, much like the flute' d'amore which plays in the key of A or Bb?

Somehow I like transposing from C down to Bb; it has a more sultry darkness depth to it. Same reason, why I like baroque traverso at A=400Hz or 415Hz over A=440Hz. Those screaming first flutes are hitting A=442, and some deliberately will tune up to A=448Hz, so that when they blow the third octave flat, they will still sound sharp, and make everyone else sound flat. It's mad playing orchestra with no standards, otherwise the piccolo players will then jump in, and start playing A=452Hz, and then the whole orchestra goes pear shaped :lol:

Anyway - kudos to you for playing oboe. You get all the younger babes:










The stud on the left is Vilhem, one of the Czech's leading solo oboeists. That's Englichova, an amazing harp player he's touching up (he's not really a doctor). That grumpy guy on the far right is a ....no surprise......piano player lol. No wonder he looks grumpy missing out all the action


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## OboeKnight

Wow, sounds like you are quite the heart breaker. With a fan base of such seasoned ladies, you must feel like a celebrity.

I should definitely invest in some of those earplugs. The first flute in one of my orchestras takes everything 8va for no apparent reason other than to be obnoxious.

Yeah no one in my high school had ever heard of an oboe before I started playing it. Double reeds aren't an option at my school. Usually only in the "richer" high schools. I'm so glad I discovered this mesmerizing instrument. Looking forward to a lifetime of oboe-ing :lol:

Yes, I enjoy the modern-sounding repertoire, but I also love baroque music. So many great baroque works for oboe! Flute as well  I'm really not a fan of the Haydn concerto I had to learn (just a thought)...it just feels so shallow, there's no depth to it. I perform it convincingly, but it doesn't really do anything for me. Basically a technical exercise. I feel like I should enjoy it, but I just don't have any emotional connection with it. I'm not very familiar with oboe d'amore other than the fact that it exists lol. I've been meaning to study it a bit but haven't gotten to it. I've been told that it feels much more natural to play than the modern oboe. I wonder if this is true. I'm sure I'll get to try one at some point. 

I'm playing an Easter gig with a church I play for and was just asked if I could learn a piece on Irish flute for the performance. Have you any experience with Irish flutes? Haha. I'm assuming (from what I've seen and heard) that they are somewhat related to the recorder. 

Yes, I applied to a conservatory. The other college is a university but has a great music program. So, either one should be good!

Worked on more Hindemith today...so tricky!


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## Feathers

I was also an oboe player back in high school, except now I no longer play the oboe () because the oboe I had used was a school oboe, and I didn't want to go buy my own oboe if I couldn't commit a fair amount of time, money, and efforts to it. Plus, it wouldn't be fair to my oboe for it to be left in a corner . 

Like OboeKnight (at least at first), I taught myself how to play the oboe, initially because I wanted to fill the gap in my school band. I had played flute since I was 7, and even though I loved it (and still play it sometimes), I wanted to try something new. Within a year I was recommended by my band teacher to play in a regional band, and I also auditioned and became the solo oboist for our provincial honour band. I enjoyed these experiences, but because music wasn't my career choice, I had limited time and commitment that I could put into the oboe (on top of piano and flute). 

But anyways, enough about me. :lol: I was getting off-topic . I am hoping and planning on picking up the oboe again someday, and I'm wondering, for you double reed players, what are some good brands of reeds? (And it would be great if you could elaborate on why you like them.) I know handmade reeds are better, but if I just want to have some fun teaching myself to play the oboe, what reeds do you recommend? Furthermore, what are some basic technical/studies books/pieces that you would recommend?

Edit: Oops, sorry, I realized this was kind of off-topic (in terms of responding to the thread's title). For some reason I felt like I as following the direction of the discussion, somewhat.


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## OboeKnight

Welcome Feathers! Don't worry about being off topic because Head_case and I just ramble back and forth...no one ever posts in this forum. 

That's really cool that you played the oboe! We need more of us in the world haha. As for reeds, I suggest Jones Double Reeds. I tried a few brands before I started buying handmade ones and these seemed to cooperate the most. For exercises, maybe a book of Ferling etudes? They will look scary at first but just take them really slow. They've really built up my range and breath support.


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## Feathers

Thanks for the recommendations! I think I've tried the Jones reeds before, but for some reason, I ended up using Emerald as the main brand that I used. Perhaps it was because of my horrific experience with the plastic reeds (which were the first reedsmthat I ever tried on the oboe! I'm surprised they didn't forever ruin my impression of double reeds as a whole), and since Emerald was the first brand that I tried after the plastic reeds, Emerald seemed much better so I stuck with it. :lol:

Man, even talking about the oboe is making me want to play it again. Hopefully I will soon!


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## Head_case

OboeKnight said:


> Wow, sounds like you are quite the heart breaker. With a fan base of such seasoned ladies, you must feel like a celebrity.


Oh no no no...not at all. I'm very modest. I'm taking it all in my stride. 
Besides, being a celebrity is what I do in my day job :tiphat:

Haha...yes...being principal flute is a real_case of narcissistic everyone love me! Lots! If you don't, you'll hear me anyway :lol:

I'm playing Irish flute at the moment - but the term is so loose, it can refer to anything. I guess you're referring to Irish (penny) whistle, which is a fipple flute (no embouchure learning, well not much) played vertically in front of the player?

This is dead easy to play - there are no semitones and it plays a straight forward diatonic key with a two octave range. Second octave is achieved by overblowing. If you can play the recorder, you should find the Irish penny whistle very natural.

The Irish 'conical' flute is a totally different ball game. It's much harder to define this, since it generally refers to the 19th century wooden romantic conical flute. I have one (or two lol) and they are a pleasure to play: sweet toned and very flute like, without the obnoxious shrillness of the orchestra's first flute  Other Irish flutes, can be unkeyed; so they are just 6 holes played side-ways, and requires a flute embouchure.

Good luck with the church playing and conservatory! :cheers:

Hindemith is annoying to play - have you got Acht Stucke? I look at it and it tires me out just trying to read it lol.


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## Head_case

Feathers said:


> I was also an oboe player back in high school, except now I no longer play the oboe () because the oboe I had used was a school oboe, and I didn't want to go buy my own oboe if I couldn't commit a fair amount of time, money, and efforts to it. Plus, it wouldn't be fair to my oboe for it to be left in a corner .


Hey ...welcome! :cheers:

And welcome to being in the "I'm broke - I can't afford my own oboe category" :lol:


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## OboeKnight

Head_case said:


> Oh no no no...not at all. I'm very modest. I'm taking it all in my stride.
> Besides, being a celebrity is what I do in my day job :tiphat:
> 
> Haha...yes...being principal flute is a real_case of narcissistic everyone love me! Lots! If you don't, you'll hear me anyway :lol:
> 
> I'm playing Irish flute at the moment - but the term is so loose, it can refer to anything. I guess you're referring to Irish (penny) whistle, which is a fipple flute (no embouchure learning, well not much) played vertically in front of the player?
> 
> This is dead easy to play - there are no semitones and it plays a straight forward diatonic key with a two octave range. Second octave is achieved by overblowing. If you can play the recorder, you should find the Irish penny whistle very natural.
> 
> The Irish 'conical' flute is a totally different ball game. It's much harder to define this, since it generally refers to the 19th century wooden romantic conical flute. I have one (or two lol) and they are a pleasure to play: sweet toned and very flute like, without the obnoxious shrillness of the orchestra's first flute  Other Irish flutes, can be unkeyed; so they are just 6 holes played side-ways, and requires a flute embouchure.
> 
> Good luck with the church playing and conservatory! :cheers:
> 
> Hindemith is annoying to play - have you got Acht Stucke? I look at it and it tires me out just trying to read it lol.


Thank you!

I think it is the recorder-type Irish flute but I suppose I will find out shortly haha. If its one that requires a legitimate flute embouchure I'm screwed. Can't get a sound out of a flute to save my life -.- it makes me so mad because it looks like it should be easy and random clarinet players and such just pick up flutes and play them...not me lol.


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## Head_case

that' be the penny whistle!

First few seconds of this clip:






then she puts it down and takes up her US $15K wooden Yamaha flute 

Yup.....I.ve never ever heard a decent flute player who has only a year experience on the transverse flute no matter how good they think they are.! I.ve been playing since I was 12 but put it down for ages and only picked it up two or so years ago.  I don't know how anyone can play flute sonatas, like the BWV1033 and not drool or salivate so intensely without risk choking during the piece...! Could be having a wooden lip plate stimulates salivation for me (but then so does metal silver).

Maybe I'm just hungry all the time lol

Playing some Danse de la chèvre (Honegger) now......


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## OboeKnight

Got it today! It's in the key of D (thankfully that's the key of the piece I'm playing). It plays very nicely, and I can already play the piece, not very difficult. However I've discovered the true purpose for it: Aggravating the hell out of everyone lol. It can reach piccolo pitches  bwahahahaha 
I actually do find myself salivating more than usual when I play it haha. Maybe we are both just really hungry lol.

I discovered today that Bohuslav Martinu wrote an oboe sonata! I'm really eager to try it out, but sadly I can't rip it off the internet for free because I'll be long dead before it becomes public domain haha. I did print out Schumann's Three Romances for oboe. Lovely little piece. I'm thinking about playing the first romance for my recital.


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## Head_case

What a pretty little high D Irish penny whistle! 

What brand is it? 

I have a high D piccolo flute (above the usual C piccolo). This really is earplug heaven :lol:

Not owned a penny whistle in some time now. They're great fun for messing around with. I used to enjoy going to
the Irish pub sessions and hearing it live. Penny whistles feature a lot! Enjoy playing the piece - most pieces for folk music rely on the key of D and you can play C major and its its associated major and minor pentatonic scales too. Does your fipple/windway clog up after a few minutes playing? This used to happen to me...I used to think it was because I was salivating (...like....Mr Gross!!!) but it was actually the condensation of the vapour in the breath from the heat difference between between body temp. breath air at 37.4C going into a whistle about 17 degrees. For this reason, if you can, try and warm it up before playing, by keeping it in a felt pouch and blast it with a hairdryer :lol: 

Martinu is an amazing composer. I love his 7 string quartet cycle the most, followed by his chamber music for winds/harpischord. 

Today I missed out practicing the flute. I left it behind but took my sheet music with me, so I was gutted to find I didn't have my flute with me grrrrr....


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## OboeKnight

I hate when I forget things like that! I usually always remember my instrument, but forget my music...but I can normally make due because of my tendency to memorize everything haha. I think what aggravates me the most is forgetting my tuner/metronome. As an oboist, I habitually practice in front of a tuner, so I feel lost without it lol.

The brand of the whistle is *Clarke. *it has a nice darkness in the low register, which I find quite remarkable for such a brightly pitched instrument.
I haven't noticed it clogging up yet, but that could change  its so much fun to play. My family is pretty annoyed by it, so that means I must be doing something right, right? Lol

I've practiced a lot today. Probably close to 4 hours. Youth orchestra music (two concerts this weekend performing Vaughn Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem and Jennifer Higdon's SkyLine), Marcello, Saint-Saens, and Bellini. Productive day.


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## Head_case

I was looking at the young musician awards in the plafe where i work. none of the kids are conservatory material at your age....! and they play boring coffin shaped instruments *cough* *cough*

I.ve just seen a photo of my cracked flute which i sent in for repair. its looing good...! we have snowfall here so i.m looking for the long afternoons playing Tulou and Danzi flute concertos 

Do you have someone to do duets with? I do but he.s a guitarist and he's nowhere near as pretty as Englichova :lol: 

A high D whistle does not win family friends! nice tk hear the Clarke make good ones. I had a Guinness one. Looked the part and that was all


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## OboeKnight

Head_case said:


> I was looking at the young musician awards in the plafe where i work. none of the kids are conservatory material at your age....! and they play boring coffin shaped instruments *cough* *cough*
> 
> I.ve just seen a photo of my cracked flute which i sent in for repair. its looing good...! we have snowfall here so i.m looking for the long afternoons playing Tulou and Danzi flute concertos
> 
> Do you have someone to do duets with? I do but he.s a guitarist and he's nowhere near as pretty as Englichova :lol:
> 
> A high D whistle does not win family friends! nice tk hear the Clarke make good ones. I had a Guinness one. Looked the part and that was all


One of my best friends is a bassoonist and she's very advanced. We play duets together  We're actually getting together next weekend to play stuff. My best friend is a guitarist and sometimes we play jazz together. I usually play clarinet or sax for these jam sessions because let's face it, oboe kind of destroys the jazz mood haha. I also play with my friends at school in the jazz band. We had a concert Thursday night and the lead alto and I had an improv duel on the last number we played. Really fun.


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## Head_case

My goodness. A bassoonist...and an oboeist. I'm hanging out with posh company on this thread :lol:


Funny that ...never imagined you'd be into jazz. Yes ...oboe and jazz are like mixing decaff with Kopi Luwak :/ 

If you can play sax....how come you can't play flute lol. Are you familiar with James Rae's work for the English Youth Orchestra? I like playing his pieces on alto flute but my jazz rhythm is rather dodgy. I just don't understand jazz. 

Where would I start learning jazz rhythm? 

Today I've been playing folk music. A week late for St Patricks Day :lol:


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## OboeKnight

...I'm just awful at flute. I think if i really put forth the effort to learn it, I could, but I haven't yet lol. And I can play sax easily because it's very similar to clarinet. Tenor is even in the same key haha. It seems that sax players have a worse time switching to clarinet than the other way around. I guess clarinet has a more focused embouchure (still very lax compared to oboe). 

Hmm...are you referring to "swing" rhythm?? In that case, just look at it as a "dotted-eighth" rhythm. Practice "swinging" scales or anything really. Just relax...that is the main difficulty for classical players. I really enjoy jazz after a lot of stressful classical concerts...I can just relax lol. 

I was playing Riverdance on the penny whistle the other day haha. I could actually play along with the recording I have. I felt so Irish lol


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## Head_case

OboeKnight said:


> ...I'm just awful at flute.


Don't worry - not everyone can be perfect at 17 

I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing...I seem to know more musicians and artists who off-load some rather nice instruments onto me. I feel bad if I don't try and make the most of it. Now if I had to go out and buy my own instrument, then I would be really upset :lol:

The buzzing embouchure of the clarinet destroys my flute embouchure ... maybe after a few weeks, it eases up and I don't feel like I'm walking around with clarinet rubber lips. I thought the alto sax was in the same key as the alto flute, although saxes seem to come in Bb and Eb as well? Personally I'm not so keen on brass coloured instruments. I noticed, that I like dark wood instruments mostly.

I don't understand swing rhythm. Trying to teach me the difference between jazz; latin, tango, salsa, or anything contemporary .... I'm screwf'd.



> was playing Riverdance on the penny whistle the other day haha. I could actually play along with the recording I have. I felt so Irish lol


It's probably a good piece to play - popular and easy on a D key. Hey - maybe you could go busking with that penny whistle 

I'm trying to learn the system of guitar fret for classical guitar. The way the notes repeat up the six strings are very different from a lute. I learnt flute in school, unlike the 'pop' crowd who learnt guitar off the back of a cigarette back - I never liked the guitar.

Only in the past few years, did I understand the difference between a folk guitar and a classical guitar


----------



## Jaws

Head_case said:


> My goodness. A bassoonist...and an oboeist. I'm hanging out with posh company on this thread :lol:
> 
> Funny that ...never imagined you'd be into jazz. Yes ...oboe and jazz are like mixing decaff with Kopi Luwak :/
> 
> If you can play sax....how come you can't play flute lol. Are you familiar with James Rae's work for the English Youth Orchestra? I like playing his pieces on alto flute but my jazz rhythm is rather dodgy. I just don't understand jazz.
> 
> Where would I start learning jazz rhythm?
> 
> Today I've been playing folk music. A week late for St Patricks Day :lol:


Just remember this about oboists and then you can decide about the posh company or not?

There is a lot of carbon dioxide generated in the brain of an oboist. (Due to pressure) This builds up over the years of practise and eventually an oboists brain shrinks down and down until it is the size of a pickled walnut.


----------



## OboeKnight

Jaws said:


> Just remember this about oboists and then you can decide about the posh company or not?
> 
> There is a lot of carbon dioxide generated in the brain of an oboist. (Due to pressure) This builds up over the years of practise and eventually an oboists brain shrinks down and down until it is the size of a pickled walnut.


Hmm...I feel as if I should be offended by this. It takes a very intelligent person to play the oboe well, so perhaps by the time my brain has shrunk I'll have already mastered the instrument


----------



## Head_case

It's okay .... that research doesn't take into account the size of a flute player's brain, which starts off the size of a pickled walnut so oboe players start off with a size advantage :tiphat:

It does raise a good point though: does breath holding, and exercising, like athletics undergoing anaerobic exercise, lead to significant brain damage, if they are starving their brain of oxygen for repetitively stressful events?

Flute playing, I find the embouchure as natural as speaking. Well I know I should engage brain before opening mouth, but then, does talking too much also contribute to brain decline, since it stops us from taking a breath in between 

Playing Ivana Loudova's piece for flute. I think I've managed to work out what the first note above the stave is :cheers:


----------



## Jaws

Head_case said:


> It's okay .... that research doesn't take into account the size of a flute player's brain, which starts off the size of a pickled walnut so oboe players start off with a size advantage :tiphat:
> 
> It does raise a good point though: does breath holding, and exercising, like athletics undergoing anaerobic exercise, lead to significant brain damage, if they are starving their brain of oxygen for repetitively stressful events?
> 
> Flute playing, I find the embouchure as natural as speaking. Well I know I should engage brain before opening mouth, but then, does talking too much also contribute to brain decline, since it stops us from taking a breath in between
> 
> Playing Ivana Loudova's piece for flute. I think I've managed to work out what the first note above the stave is :cheers:


Regarding the oboe, no it doesn't cause brain damage because you aren't actually holding your breath and you get rid of the carbon dioxide by breathing out at different times to breathing in. Also it is surprising how much air you can get down an oboe if you push it through fast enough. In the band that I play in I take deeper breaths than the flute players. My last oboe teacher used to complain about elementary oboe players who didn't put enough air through their oboes and consequently made some pretty peculiar noises.

There appear to be an awful lot of not very good amateur oboists who make a terrible noise and aren't clever enough to realise that for everyone else to benefit it might be a good time for them to try a different instrument......


----------



## Head_case

Then oboeists are posh company after all :cheers:

I can't even afford to hold one, let alone try to see if I can make a sound out of it. 

Hmm....maybe the oboe teacher could try teaching those students better lol. I'm fortunate (?) in that I'm not surrounded by hoards of oboe players .... I'm surrounded by wannabe guitar heroes who can barely figure out an arpeggio beyond their statutory 5 chords to become a rockstar and can't tell one end of a D.C al fine from another :lol:

ANYWAY.

I've just hooked up my classical guitar to an electric amp. It's refusing to play at all for me now. Doesn't like cheap company.


----------



## OboeKnight

Jaws said:


> Regarding the oboe, no it doesn't cause brain damage because you aren't actually holding your breath and you get rid of the carbon dioxide by breathing out at different times to breathing in. Also it is surprising how much air you can get down an oboe if you push it through fast enough. In the band that I play in I take deeper breaths than the flute players. My last oboe teacher used to complain about elementary oboe players who didn't put enough air through their oboes and consequently made some pretty peculiar noises.
> 
> There appear to be an awful lot of not very good amateur oboists who make a terrible noise and aren't clever enough to realise that for everyone else to benefit it might be a good time for them to try a different instrument......


Brain aneurisms are apparently very common in oboists because of the pressure with the reed...but that's only if the oboe is played incorrectly. The world would be a much better place if some "oboists" decided to pick something else up haha. If you aren't willing to put in lots of practice, you are never going to sound good. Its not one of those no-effort-needed instruments, that's for sure.

Head_case, what do you think of Emmanuel Pahud?? A friend found some classical CDs that were about to be thrown in the trash and he brought them to me. To my surprise, they were flute recordings! I have no knowledge of flute repertoire or who is considered the best flautists. 







It includes sonatas by french composers Poulenc, Dutilleux, Sancan, Ibert, Milhaud, Messiaen, and Jolivet. I've really enjoyed it so far. One of the CDs was also Mozart's 1st and 2nd Flute concertos.

Yesterday, I worked strictly on music for the three orchestras I'm playing in. Today going to work on the Marcello concerto and possibly Hindemith...the rhythms in Hindemith are still aggravating me lol.


----------



## OboeKnight

Head_case said:


> The buzzing embouchure of the clarinet destroys my flute embouchure ... maybe after a few weeks, it eases up and I don't feel like I'm walking around with clarinet rubber lips. I thought the alto sax was in the same key as the alto flute, although saxes seem to come in Bb and Eb as well? Personally I'm not so keen on brass coloured instruments. I noticed, that I like dark wood instruments mostly.
> 
> I don't understand swing rhythm. Trying to teach me the difference between jazz; latin, tango, salsa, or anything contemporary .... I'm screwf'd.


The alto and baritone sax are in Eb, and the tenor and soprano is in Bb. By the way, did you mention that you played the lute?? Where did you acquire a lute? Haha


----------



## TwoFourPianist

I started learning oboe in October last year, and now I'm working towards my grade 5 to be sat in summer. Already I have broken about £75 worth of reeds! (Oh the joys of woodwind instruments). Also the other day part of my oboe just fell off in my hands. Fun...!  

Being a beginner, I have not encountered much oboe music. My favourite to play so far is the Ciramosa Concerto. Any reccommendations for intermediate-standard pieces?


----------



## OboeKnight

TwoFourPianist said:


> I started learning oboe in October last year, and now I'm working towards my grade 5 to be sat in summer. Already I have broken about £75 worth of reeds! (Oh the joys of woodwind instruments). Also the other day part of my oboe just fell off in my hands. Fun...!
> 
> Being a beginner, I have not encountered much oboe music. My favourite to play so far is the Ciramosa Concerto. Any reccommendations for intermediate-standard pieces?


How are you breaking your reeds?? Breaking as in just wearing out, or actually breaking them?

Hmm...I'd recommend Handel's Oboe Sonatas. Sonata in C minor is a good place to start. Not too difficult, but challenging. Really works your breath control in the first movement, and the second movement has some fun little technical passages that'll keep you busy for a while


----------



## Head_case

OboeKnight said:


> Brain aneurisms are apparently very common in oboists because of the pressure with the reed...but that's only if the oboe is played incorrectly. The world would be a much better place if some "oboists" decided to pick something else up haha. If you aren't willing to put in lots of practice, you are never going to sound good. Its not one of those no-effort-needed instruments, that's for sure.
> 
> Head_case, what do you think of Emmanuel Pahud?? A friend found some classical CDs that were about to be thrown in the trash and he brought them to me. To my surprise, they were flute recordings! I have no knowledge of flute repertoire or who is considered the best flautists.


I'm hoping to avoid brain aneurysms so I'm breathing very gently as I type.

Emmanuel Pahud is one of the most popular contemporary flute players and he is much more famous than Adam Walker whom I do like, but doesn't have his marketing commerce behind him. Pahud plays Boehm, and has a distinctive Boehm sound - pretty much up there in terms of the popularity stakes as James Galway, although not as long in the tooth. He ran some masterclasses which made him very popular with flutists although his tone has never appealed to me. If you listen to his contemporary repertoire, it seems to work well with his tone. However he is more famous for Bach's sonatas and the classics, like Jolivet and Mozart - works which sound more authentic and richer on the baroque traverso flute (wooden 1 key flute). Jed Wentz is my favourite flute player, only because he has really mastered the baroque traverso. Can't go wrong with Pahud's recordings - he's an interesting flute player if you like to listen to flute CDs. As an amateur flute player, I don't enjoy listening to flute recordings very much...I much prefer playing and being on the torturing end, rather than the receiving end :lol:

wow...you're playing for 3 orchestras? 

You must enjoy performing and your dedication is impressive! When I was 17, it was a hard arduous call and nights of serious soul searching and I couldn't decide what to do when I grew up.

I finally decided, that when I grew up, I wanted to be an adult :tiphat:


----------



## Head_case

OboeKnight said:


> The alto and baritone sax are in Eb, and the tenor and soprano is in Bb. By the way, did you mention that you played the lute?? Where did you acquire a lute? Haha


Thanks that would explain it. a friend of mine plays alto sax and found the weight on her hands too much so used a harness. Then she got back ache so she went back to playing piano.

Yup! I've had a few lute playing lessons in order to get the fundamentals - then mostly I've been watching video clips and primers to learn how to play when I am drinking tea/coffee/wolfberry/maté etc and don't wish to destroy my flute. I like the sound of the lute - it is more alien if not defamiliarising: everyone around me plays guitars, but lutes? Haha....most are bewildered when they see it. It sounds special too, even though it only cost me £40 in an antiques fleamarket. Although I live in a city hub, there are plenty of antique stores around, even further afield.

Here's one:

www.pamelasmusic.co.uk

Just browse through some of their wacky and weird instruments!

My latest experiments in adapting the lute for contemporary play is to feed it through a pick-up and electrify it, so I'm doing the equivalent of heavy metal (Bat out of Hell) on an electric lute. Definitely not classical, nor for purists


----------



## OboeKnight

I think I'm in posh company now. A lute player! Haha. Now I've met my very first lute player. That's really interesting.
I think you should learn this next


----------



## Head_case

That's scarey! Is that an archlute or archmandoguitar? 

i'm definitely not posh lol. I paid peanuts for my lute. My next one will cost a heck of a lot more, but still only 1/5th of your oboe :lol:

Haha ...I wouldn't be brave enough to call myself a lute player. I can mess around with it and create some interesting 5 second snaps but still far from consistent  I still consider, that in the short life span we have on this planet, it's a real pleasure to develop the skill and experience to touch or make a sound from any instrument, especially ones to get our hands on. 

I definitely play the flute more convincingly - but it records terribly on my smartphone. 

Have you made recordings on oboe at all? Wonder what mic set up you have if you are. I've tried about 4 or 5 and none really capture the nuance of the flute properly.


----------



## TwoFourPianist

Mainly just breaking them. I have braces, so along with embrouchure being difficult to master I keep on smashing the tips of the reeds against them! Also I'm just a clumsy person  However, my newest reeds are a lot tougher (the others were cheap beginner reeds).

Thanks for the recommendations. I will take a look at them


----------



## OboeKnight

Ahhh braces. I played oboe for over a year with braces..no fun. When you get them off it'll feel amazing  I've never really had any trouble with breaking my reeds....I just practice so much that I wear them out quickly. But rotating reeds really helps with that. 

No problem. Handel's sonatas were the first actual classical pieces I learned on oboe. Also won my first few auditions and scholarships with the Sonata in C minor...so it has a special place in my heart lol. If you do choose to work on those, make sure you do the proper ornamentation for the trills. Makes it sound "authentic." People will appreciate that


----------



## OboeKnight

Head_case said:


> That's scarey! Is that an archlute or archmandoguitar?
> 
> i'm definitely not posh lol. I paid peanuts for my lute. My next one will cost a heck of a lot more, but still only 1/5th of your oboe :lol:
> 
> Haha ...I wouldn't be brave enough to call myself a lute player. I can mess around with it and create some interesting 5 second snaps but still far from consistent  I still consider, that in the short life span we have on this planet, it's a real pleasure to develop the skill and experience to touch or make a sound from any instrument, especially ones to get our hands on.
> 
> I definitely play the flute more convincingly - but it records terribly on my smartphone.
> 
> Have you made recordings on oboe at all? Wonder what mic set up you have if you are. I've tried about 4 or 5 and none really capture the nuance of the flute properly.


The website said it was a harp-guitar thing. Or harp-lute. Can't remember :lol:
I mess around with any instrument I can get my hands on. And if they are annoying to the general public, that's even better! This is why I like the penny whistle lol.

My old phone recorded oboe pretty well, but my new one is terrible. I put a few videos up on YouTube back when I was just teaching myself..mainly to see if anyone could help me out with my playing. I just got compliments instead  haha. Oh well. I haven't put anything on there since I "got good." However, your lute video has inspired me to do a recording, so I'll let you know when I put a new video up. I have a digital camera that picks oboe up really well. I don't have any fancy recording equipment though. I only had to make a good quality recording once, and I used my church's recording studio. I couldn't stand having to wear the headphones while playing though...it really messed with me lol.


----------



## TwoFourPianist

I can't wait to get these damn things off lol!  Thanks for the tips!


----------



## Jaws

Head_case said:


> I'm hoping to avoid brain aneurysms so I'm breathing very gently as I type.
> 
> Emmanuel Pahud is one of the most popular contemporary flute players and he is much more famous than Adam Walker whom I do like, but doesn't have his marketing commerce behind him. Pahud plays Boehm, and has a distinctive Boehm sound - pretty much up there in terms of the popularity stakes as James Galway, although not as long in the tooth. He ran some masterclasses which made him very popular with flutists although his tone has never appealed to me. If you listen to his contemporary repertoire, it seems to work well with his tone. However he is more famous for Bach's sonatas and the classics, like Jolivet and Mozart - works which sound more authentic and richer on the baroque traverso flute (wooden 1 key flute). Jed Wentz is my favourite flute player, only because he has really mastered the baroque traverso. Can't go wrong with Pahud's recordings - he's an interesting flute player if you like to listen to flute CDs. As an amateur flute player, I don't enjoy listening to flute recordings very much...I much prefer playing and being on the torturing end, rather than the receiving end :lol:
> 
> wow...you're playing for 3 orchestras?
> 
> You must enjoy performing and your dedication is impressive! When I was 17, it was a hard arduous call and nights of serious soul searching and I couldn't decide what to do when I grew up.
> 
> I finally decided, that when I grew up, I wanted to be an adult :tiphat:


When I was 17 I was a French horn player.....


----------



## Jaws

TwoFourPianist said:


> Mainly just breaking them. I have braces, so along with embrouchure being difficult to master I keep on smashing the tips of the reeds against them! Also I'm just a clumsy person  However, my newest reeds are a lot tougher (the others were cheap beginner reeds).
> 
> Thanks for the recommendations. I will take a look at them


The braces are a blessing in disguise. You need a really relaxed embouchure to play the oboe well. So if you can't bite onto the reed that is great. The relaxed embouchure is needed so that you can make the very small lip movements required to centre the sound on each note.

Some oboe players never realise that you have to centre each note individually on the oboe and try to play everything using the same embouchure. This sort of works but it means that you can't get the same tone on every note, some will sound muffled and some very resonant. The idea is to get the same kind of sound on every note.


----------



## Jaws

OboeKnight said:


> Ahhh braces. I played oboe for over a year with braces..no fun. When you get them off it'll feel amazing  I've never really had any trouble with breaking my reeds....I just practice so much that I wear them out quickly. But rotating reeds really helps with that.
> 
> No problem. Handel's sonatas were the first actual classical pieces I learned on oboe. Also won my first few auditions and scholarships with the Sonata in C minor...so it has a special place in my heart lol. If you do choose to work on those, make sure you do the proper ornamentation for the trills. Makes it sound "authentic." People will appreciate that


I hold the record for wearing out reeds the fastest. Some of my bought reeds wore out in less than 5 minutes. The very stiffest ones that I could buy lasted for 2 hours. The eventual result was that I had to make my own, so that I could make them with enough thickness (gouge) so that they last much, much longer now.


----------



## Head_case

TwoFourPianist said:


> Mainly just breaking them. I have braces, so along with embrouchure being difficult to master I keep on smashing the tips of the reeds against them! Also I'm just a clumsy person  However, my newest reeds are a lot tougher (the others were cheap beginner reeds).
> 
> Thanks for the recommendations. I will take a look at them


Owwww.

I remember having to wear braces.

Getting courgettes stuck behind them was not fun 

I used to do a lot of contact sports and had a mouth guard - that was very helpful for embouchure training - not :lol:
What it helped with, was getting the air whistling out of the way, so that I could concentrate on lip and tongue embouchure without teeth embouchure distractions. When the braces came off, it was like ..... courgette heaven :lol:


----------



## Jaws

Head_case said:


> Owwww.
> 
> I remember having to wear braces.
> 
> Getting courgettes stuck behind them was not fun
> 
> I used to do a lot of contact sports and had a mouth guard - that was very helpful for embouchure training - not :lol:
> What it helped with, was getting the air whistling out of the way, so that I could concentrate on lip and tongue embouchure without teeth embouchure distractions. When the braces came off, it was like ..... courgette heaven :lol:


You must have a very big mouth, if you could get courgettes stuck behind your braces. The courgettes you get in France are about half a meter long and about 1/4 meter thick. I have quite a big mouth because often when I open it I put my foot in it, but my feet are considerably smaller than the French courgettes.


----------



## Head_case

OboeKnight said:


> The website said it was a harp-guitar thing. Or harp-lute. Can't remember :lol:
> I mess around with any instrument I can get my hands on. And if they are annoying to the general public, that's even better! This is why I like the penny whistle lol.
> 
> My old phone recorded oboe pretty well, but my new one is terrible. I put a few videos up on YouTube back when I was just teaching myself..mainly to see if anyone could help me out with my playing. I just got compliments instead  haha. Oh well. I haven't put anything on there since I "got good." However, your lute video has inspired me to do a recording, so I'll let you know when I put a new video up. I have a digital camera that picks oboe up really well. I don't have any fancy recording equipment though. I only had to make a good quality recording once, and I used my church's recording studio. I couldn't stand having to wear the headphones while playing though...it really messed with me lol.


I'm trying not to turn my apartment into a musician's whorehouse of instruments lol. It's hard work....! I've only been learning the lute for a year, and I've been told by classical lutenists that I really s*ck! That seems to make me more determined to annoy those irritatingly obnoxious public schoolboy purists 

Hey - my phone recorded that video on low quality - it still came out around 24MB which was a pain to upload. I'm sure if you have a modern smartphone, it's just as easy to record. The problem with wind instruments....is they all seem to sound terrible in recording, unless the recording equipment is really decent. My flute recordings are really really awful on the phone, whereas lute or harp are much more listenable. I've tried a Zoom H4N which was rated highly for its stereo amateur pro level recording, but again, it just picks up non-flute noise, so I'm not so sure it's any good for oboe. I've tried pro-microphones too, but my mic'g technique is very poor (and I've never had the help of a studio engineer - way above my level). Smartphones like the Samsung range are much better than the Sony Xperia for recording; iPads and iPhones are pretty good compared to the Samsung range too - my friends send me recordings on theirs and I can't tell the difference in quality (sound).

That's true about youtube.....you get egits singing the praises of "wow! incredible!! You're the best! i want to marry you! That is the best rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star ever!!" and then some absolutely stunning virtuosic and profound works, which are just completely ignored 

I should be in the completely ignored category lol. I get the impression the forums for musical instruments tend to be more helpful for specific pointers about improvement. My goal is to try and upload some improvisations on lute to further my secret mission (don't tell anyone, but I want the lute to replace the nasty ukelele craze :lol

Looking forward to seeing your videos. Remember - this is just for fun - no serious hardcore professional vids to show us all up lol


----------



## Head_case

Jaws said:


> You must have a very big mouth, if you could get courgettes stuck behind your braces. The courgettes you get in France are about half a meter long and about 1/4 meter thick. I have quite a big mouth because often when I open it I put my foot in it, but my feet are considerably smaller than the French courgettes.


They do come in baby courgette sizes but yes, I have a metaphorical big mouth, although babes like my kissing embouchure (I'm talking about my flute babes :lol

And I don't shove the courgettes all in at one go and trombone one down my throat :lol:

What a reminder, that life is a blessing once braces are out


----------



## OboeKnight

Head_case said:


> I'm trying not to turn my apartment into a musician's whorehouse of instruments lol. It's hard work....! I've only been learning the lute for a year, and I've been told by classical lutenists that I really s*ck! That seems to make me more determined to annoy those irritatingly obnoxious public schoolboy purists
> 
> Hey - my phone recorded that video on low quality - it still came out around 24MB which was a pain to upload. I'm sure if you have a modern smartphone, it's just as easy to record. The problem with wind instruments....is they all seem to sound terrible in recording, unless the recording equipment is really decent. My flute recordings are really really awful on the phone, whereas lute or harp are much more listenable. I've tried a Zoom H4N which was rated highly for its stereo amateur pro level recording, but again, it just picks up non-flute noise, so I'm not so sure it's any good for oboe. I've tried pro-microphones too, but my mic'g technique is very poor (and I've never had the help of a studio engineer - way above my level). Smartphones like the Samsung range are much better than the Sony Xperia for recording; iPads and iPhones are pretty good compared to the Samsung range too - my friends send me recordings on theirs and I can't tell the difference in quality (sound).
> 
> That's true about youtube.....you get egits singing the praises of "wow! incredible!! You're the best! i want to marry you! That is the best rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star ever!!" and then some absolutely stunning virtuosic and profound works, which are just completely ignored
> 
> I should be in the completely ignored category lol. I get the impression the forums for musical instruments tend to be more helpful for specific pointers about improvement. My goal is to try and upload some improvisations on lute to further my secret mission (don't tell anyone, but I want the lute to replace the nasty ukelele craze :lol
> 
> Looking forward to seeing your videos. Remember - this is just for fun - no serious hardcore professional vids to show us all up lol


I'll try not to...no promises though. My phenomenal musicianship tends to show everyone up :lol: I'll be lucky to get one of my reeds to cooperate long enough to make a recording lol. Funny, my old phone picked oboe up really well, but not clarinet. And my new one is better for clarinet than oboe..I wonder what causes that  anyhow, my camera will do just fine if I can find my memory card lol...oh nevermind I see it over there on my desk.

YouTube fans also always ask for the music to whatever you are playing...even when you put in the description that you've learned it by ear and do not plan on writing it out....I've also been told that I'm the best oboists they've ever heard...and that was back when i first started. Ahh...ignorant YouTube fan girls 

I wish you well on your secret mission. I'd much rather fight off a mob of lute players than ukelele. Ukeleles are just frustrating.

I'll throw in this bit to be slightly on-topic: Decided to play Adagio from Marcello, and Allegro from Bellini for my audition tomorrow. Hopefully that'll do the trick


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## Head_case

How did the audition go?

Hope you showed up and showed everyone up 

Haha my lute playing is going very well. I have amassed one dislike and one like (like I really care what sycophants think lol). Comments are more helpful but the ones I get privately aren`t so helpful......"are u a leper? whats with the mask?" Lol!

I haven.t played clarinet for such a year now...going to struggle to remember where the octave flip key is!
Vandoren reeds.seem to last me for ages though. I've been the same set of reeds for two years. Don't want to think about how many germs are on those now.

Bellini is very classical repertoire. I can't recall any flute pieces for audition. I don't suppose improvising is acceptable?


----------



## Trumpetcat

Ahhh OboeKnight, I have them right now. Braces. I was good before them, and now... no one understands! haha. Thankfully I get em off in less than a year.

To be on topic I have freaking Brandt etudes and this concerto that I'm kinda just sick of.


----------



## laeo222

Hello guys..I just play with the jazz guitar because its my favourite and reliable guitar before it i can not how and know about the guitar scale but now i have much knowledge...


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## Head_case

Welcome 

Is a jazz guitar a certain type of guitar, like a folk guitar or a classical guitar?

I've no idea about jazz. Currently I'm practicing how to spell Katchachurian before I start on his 32 page flute concerto :/


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## OboeKnight

I think jazz guitar is just playing jazz on guitar...like jazz flute or jazz clarinet. Jazz oboe is nasty 

Working on the Paladilhe 'Solo Pour Hautbois' for my private teacher's studio recital next week. I'll also be playing it for a church service this Sunday. I haven't spent a lot of time on it because of the Chicago trip so I should probably go practice that now...bye!


----------



## laeo222

laeo222 said:


> Hello guys..I just play with the jazz guitar because its my favourite and reliable guitar before it i can not how and know about the guitar scale but now i have much knowledge...


any comment?

Pallet Scale


----------



## OboeKnight

Now working on a duet that my oboist friend and I will be performing at her church this weekend. Can't figure out who the composer is, but it is obviously baroque. It's quite fun 

Started working on the audition pieces for college ensemble placement. Mahler 1, Dvorak 9, and Lincolnshire Posy.


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