Here is a nice performance of the Marcello with Mark Gainer, principal oboist of the Charleston Symphony.

Enjoy

http://www.classicalpublicradio.org/site/_spoleto_audio.cfm

There is a new site out which is dedicated to the artistry of Ronald Roseman. There are some very nice audio clips of his playing and some great pics as well.

Go and check it out.

Technorati Tags: Ronald Roseman

Thanks to Delmar, here is the link for a recording of Barber Summer Music on demand at Marlboro!

http://www.marlboromusic.org/concertsandtickets_concertseason_programs.html

Here is the first question answered from the “most burning reed question” series that i decided to start 2 weeks ago.

“My reeds are flat.
Gouge is Innoledy or RDG. Shape is RDG-1 or Caleb-1.
I start tip at 66-67 mm.
Remove bark from heart.
Remove some from back up to 61-62 mm, not too much.
In order for reed to play easy and respond to conductor wishes for low notes pp, I scrape the tip, heart.
The pitch starts to drop.
I clip, reed is too hard.
I scrape, reed is too flat.
I clip, reed is too hard.
And so on and so forth.”

This comes from Pierre. Thanks!

Well unfortunately, this is one of the most common problems that we face as oboe reed makers. Remember that everything in reed making is a matter of balance and just because you scrape a bit from the reed, doesn’t mean a pitch disaster. if the reed is consistently hard, then clipping the tip will only make that situation worse. You need to get the reed really vibrating first.

The key is not just in the tip, but the balance between the tip and the heart, through the tip to heart transition. The vibrations need to pass through easily. Make sure that the drop-off between the heart and tip is very smooth and concise, and that the tip is separated a bit more. Get the heart vibrating and don’t be afraid to take a bit more out of the back. This will allow you to clip the reed again without loosing the vibrations. Make sure that the end of the tip is thin.

Low note response is basically all about vibration, vibration, vibration. The whole reed needs to work together on this one, and remember that a dark colorful sound does not come from a hard reed. It comes from a vibrating one.

One other point, you might want to try and use a shorter tube, maybe 46 mm and see if that helps.

Technorati Tags: flat oboe reeds, oboe reed low notes

Thanks to the wonderful work of Delmar Williams, who manages to find very interestig things on oboe and music in general on the internet pretty much everyday, here is an article about Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic with comments from the pricipal players in the orchestra. Here is the complete article.

Thanks Delmar!!

It has been a long time since I have sent out a newsletter issue. Well, I finally have one ready to go so those of you on the list should see something in your email this evening. If you have not signed up yet, do so by filling in the form on the right side of the page. There is a surprise there so sign up now.

There will be more to come so look tomarrow for a new article.

Here is a clip of Frank Rosenwein talking about the Cleveland Orchestra tour to Europe and playing at the Salzburg Festival.

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Cleveland Orchestra tour, Frank Rosenwein

I’ve seen many oboists use this when they scrape their reeds, and I have never given it a shot until now. What is it? Try using a pipe cleaner in the reed when you scrape the back. It holds the reed open just enough, and gives a bit of extra support in the back so you don’t loose the form of the reed and take too much out of the spine.

To try it, just insert the pipe cleaner into the bottom of the tube. Push it up until it almost reaches the tip. Don’t go any higher or else you can damage the tip area. Scrape normally and see if the back has a bit more strength in it.

Give it a shot, it might work.

If you have a neat tip or trick, send it to me and I can put it in the next newsletter. There are very few absolutes with reed making and experimentation is sometimes the best way to learn!

We always hear that you should have a responsive oboe reed. So what does that mean? Well, basically it means that all of the notes come out when you want them to come out.

Can you have a good responding reed with a lot of resistance? Yes. The thing is, resistance is a very personal thing. What is considered the perfect amount of resistance for me, may be too hard or too soft for you.

So let’s say you have what feels like a pretty good reed. Try this test:

Play a middle “G” very softly without using the tongue for the attack. Remember to play “piano” and just let the note come out. If the reed responds well, it should come out smooth and beautiful. If it honks out and you hear very strange sounds, there is a problem with the basic response of the reed.

This test not only shows me what is happening to the response, it is giving me information about how the tip of the reed is balanced. The vibrations start at the very tip, so if this is not the thinnest part of the reed, you are in trouble.

The second aspect of response is what I like to call (and I can’t take credit for calling it this) “the fast response”. I want enough resistance to blow against, but if it gets too much, the notes won’t come out nicely. I like to check this with a variety of soft and loud dynamics using different notes in different registers. I want the notes to come out without any effort and without any cracking of the sound.

This part of the response in my opinion, is affected most by the transition from the tip to the heart. If that area is too heavy proportionally, the fast response will feel “thuddy” “bulky”
Kind of the “bull in a china shop” feel. sometimes it feels like you are swimming in a pool with somebody’s finger pushing up against your forehead.

To fix this, make sure the opening of the reed is not too big. Then adjust the transition from the heart to the tip.

Ok, now that we have that fixed, it is time for the real response test. Play some low “C’s” and “C#’s” with fast sixteenth notes. They should all come out very clearly. If they don’t, first make sure you are not biting the reed. If everything is ok with your lips and air, look at the reed and see what the crow says. Check the end and corners of the tip of the reed to make sure that they are the thinnest parts. After that, check the integration from the heart to the tip.

Don’t forget also that a small bit taken out of the back of the reed can do wonders. If the crow drops, make sure to clip it back. Everything is give and take, or “balance”.

I hope these suggestions work. It is very important that every note sounds when you want them to sound, not when the reed wants them to.

Good luck

As promised, here are some pics from China.