Intonation Issue

[Carl H.]

I was running a WW sectional for the local youth symphony and had a young oboe player with "issues". The one issue I need help with is her intonation. My oboe experience consists of 1/2 semester in college some years ago on a very lousy instrument. I understand the basic issues faced by kids playing these things but am not a double reed player at this time.

The issue is that in the lowest octave she is approximately in tune to a hair flat. In the next octave up she is almost 50 cents sharp and this is consistent, regardless of instrument temperature. Is this a common occurrence in young players, cheap instruments, or poor reeds? I tried to get her to lip thing up or down and she was unable to do anything with that idea. She has other problems that young players face with music and counting so physically moving the reed to accommodate upcoming passages is NOT an option.

I'd like to help her and the orchestra out and give her an answer to her problem, but just don't know enough about the little beasts to know where to start with her. Anybody have some ideas on where to start?

[fluteypiccolosax]

find out what reeds(if store bought) and what oboe she playes and if she takes lessons.

[Carl H.]

Reeds are probably whatever was cheapest at the local store and medium hard, the Oboe was a plastic school instrument, and she doesn't study privately but I encouraged her to start.

[bandmommy]

It sounds like she's suffering from all of the above. You didn't say how old the girl is or how long she's been playing oboe.

Start with the reed. Too soft and the middle and upper registers will be thin. It doesn't matter if they are factory or handmades. Also check how far she's putting the reed into her mouth. Some young students like to take in too much, especially on the softer reeds. They tend to clam up under pressure.

Poor training in how to form the proper embouchure will lead to biting or pinching the reed instead of letting the instrument to the work. The 'proper' embouchure will look kind of like a tiny sideways oval and not a straight line, with the corners and chin similar to a classical clarinetest.
I know, CONFUSING.

The last step is the oboe itself. Some of the student models have serious intonation issues. Even in the 'Name Brand' oboes.

You know how hard it is to 'fix' what you can't see or hear, but hopfully this will give you a little something to go on.

[Carl H.]

Her tone is fine for a student and doesn't seem too pinched. I'll look into how much reed she is taking in. She was pretty proud of being on a pretty hard reed.

The not being able to lip pitch one way or the other has me thinking the instrument may be out of adjustment, or just poor quality in general. Someone had donated a beautiful silver alto to the school I used to teach at. It looked stunning but intonation was off the chart in a similar manner. Adjustments and mouthpiece selection helped that one out so I wonder if there is an adjustment - or adjustments to be made to address this problem.

[jbtsax]

I feel your pain Carl. Here are a few ideas to try.

-First of all see if she can match pitch singing "la" with a piano or electronic tuner. If she cannot do this she is on the wrong instrument to begin with.

-Encourage her to get medium or even medium soft reeds. The sharp 2nd octave is a result of pinching and not opening enough inside the mouth and throat

-Have her blow with warm air and imagine a ping pong ball inside the mouth when she blows. Say "Haup" when inhaling to open the throat. It should feel like the first part of a yawn.

-Make sure the reed has a nice "crow" when inserted farther into the mouth.

-On the reed alone have her produce the pitch of a 3rd space C on the piano or tuner. This input pitch will help with the intonation.

-Work to get a second line low G in tune and then have her press the thumb octave while blowing slightly faster colder air without pinching the lips to make the high G come out without having the pitch go sharp.

-When the octave G's are in tune, then try playing low A and then high A using the second octave key.

-Practice bending the pitch by moving the reed very slightly in and out of the mouth--in to raise the pitch and out to lower it.

-Encourage her to rest her embouchure when it is tired and not try to compensate by "biting down" on the reed.

Good Luck

John

[bandmommy]

I ran the difficulty past kid #3, the oboe player extrordinare. She thinks Mom is stupid anyway.

She says if she's on a med. hard reed, start with the emb. She's more than likely biting bigtime on a reed that is too hard for her. Miss Smartypants suggests going to a Med. reed for a while. It will help her to relax and work with the reed and not bite. It shouldn't affect her core tone if everything is as it should be. The biggest problem with our oboe players is playing on a reed that's too soft, or going too hard before the emb. is developed.

Do have the oboe checked as a precaution. If you know of anyone with a good oboe that the girl could try, it will let you know right away if it IS the oboe that's the problem.

[bandmommy]

Don't listen to anything I have suggested.

Go with the guys who actually know what to do.

jtbsax and a few others here can probably give you much better advice.