Sound problems: Air/Embouchure/Posture and Articulation
FIRST CHECK THAT THE REED GIVES A DOUBLE CROW at the thread WITH A PITCH NEAR C. Between B-C is totally fine. G with no higher tones, once the reed has been broken in and played some, is NOT okay.
These will not reliably apply if the reed and oboe aren't working reasonably well.
Problem |
Sound |
Cause |
Solutions |
Middle range notes very flat, especially B and C
Almost always occurs in beginners. Natural until they build some control and power with air muscles - can be improved, but be careful not to get them biting instead trying to fix this before they've really build the muscle control to do so correctly with air and voicing. |
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Air too slow and weak
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Use more air support. Push the belly out, not in, but do use those core muscles. Practice standing in a half-squat or half-wall-sit to help engage the core muscles. Raise the back of the tongue, like when saying 'eee' (but keep the lips round). Like putting your thumb over a hose, this speeds up and directs the air.
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Posture and oboe angle - head too low, oboe too high
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Keep the head up and avoid pushing it forward. Students struggling with this may need to feel like they're actively picking the head up and bringing it back. The chin should be more or less parallel to the floor, and the head should be balanced on the neck. Keep the oboe angle low, closer to clarinet than trumpet. This helps with embouchure contact and air direction. Aim the air across the oboe or even up, not down the oboe. Aiming across or up will help speed the airstream.
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Embouchure not contacting the reed sufficiently (address air and posture FIRST)
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Push the reed firmly into the lower lip muscle (muscle, NOT lip-covered teeth. It's extremely important to keep the corners firmly engaged. If the muscles are active, it's like pushing the reed into a firm mattress; if not, it's like pushing it into a thin blanket over rocks. You want the first, not the second, both for sound and for reed safety.) Bring the corners towards the reed ACTIVELY. Imagine them closing around the reed in a diamond shape, or imagine the top corners coming down like walrus tusks. Do NOT bring the teeth closer together. AVOID excess up/down pressure on the reed. Lower lip and corners are your solutions here.
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Least likely reason – slightly too little reed.
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This is least likely. Try the other options first, but if they don’t work, try taking in a millimeter or two more reed. Be careful not to roll the lip all in and get the teeth too close when you do, and don’t let the lower lip pass where the heart of the reed meets the windows. |
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Low note response issues (assuming the oboe is in adjustment)
Sharp middle C (this note runs very slightly flat on most reeds, given good air/embouchure/posture)
Thin tone, especially on high notes
Sharp, especially on high notes |
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Biting (embouchure too tight; too much up/down pressure) Usually goes hand-in-hand with weak, slow air |
Keep the teeth APART. It can help to get the lip corners more actively engaged - imagine you're trying to squeeze the reed open with your lips. Avoid rolling your lips over your teeth - that loses you access to the strongest bits of the muscles and brings the teeth closer to the reed. The reed should sit on the line of the lower lip where the wet parts meets the dry part.
As you get the embouchure more open, you may find that you find trouble with flatness or response if your air is not strong enough to fill the increased space. If opening the embouchure seems to make something worse, respond first with stronger, faster air (and higher back of the tongue), not by putting the teeth close together again.
Be CAREFUL with beginners and tuners. Beginners who are flat because of insufficiently developed air, if made to use a tuner before they have the necessary air control to maintain pitch on sensitive notes, will almost always tighten the embouchure to achieve the asked for result instead. It’s far easier for them to move the teeth together than it is to control air speed and pressure, but that will create long-term problems.
Likewise, many seventh graders begin pinching with the embouchure when they join full bands and have to fight to hide within the ensemble. Undeveloped air control in young oboists can make them very loud, at a time when other instruments may be a bit weaker in volume. Young oboists will try their best to blend, especially if they are being asked to or shown ‘the hand,’ and so will almost always tighten the embouchure/teeth, instead of properly focusing the air. It’s far easier for a nervous young oboe player to move their teeth than to really focus their air, but the long term effects can be detrimental.
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Strident sound, especially on middle C, ASSUMING A REASONABLE REED (check for a balanced crow between B-C) |
strident C, too high angle, too much reed.m4a
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Too much reed
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About half the cane should be showing always. The bottom lip will likely be somewhere between where the tip meets the heart and where the heart meets the windows. Do NOT go further than where the heart meets the windows. Don't let the reed slide in while you play. Keep it anchored into the lower lip muscle.
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Oboe angle too high
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Keep the head UP; don't duck it towards the oboe. Make sure the stand is high enough to encourage this. It's better for the oboe angle to be too low than too high. When sitting, the bell should be near the knees. Aim the air ACROSS the oboe or slightly up, NOT straight down the oboe
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Embouchure corners weak
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Make sure the lips are NOT rolled over the teeth so that the lips themselves disappear inside the mouth. Some lip should always show. Lip muscles accessing the reed will get you MUCH better results than lip-covered teeth. Bring the corners ACTIVELY towards the reed; imagine each corner coming in like a diamond. It may help to imagine trying to squeeze the reed open. Do NOT pull the corners back like you're smiling. Be sure to keep the corners firmly forward even when breathing; if they pull back in the breath, they won't make it forward again like they need to.
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Reed not sufficiently anchored into lower lip muscle |
Push the reed firmly into the lower lip MUSCLE (NOT lip-covered teeth. Think of the difference between a firm mattress and a thin blanket over rocks.) The reed sits in the part of the lower lip WHERE THE DRY PART OF THE LIP MEETS THE WET PART. This will get you access to the strongest muscles.
Keep the reed into the wet/dry line of the lower lip and the corners firmly forward during the breath.
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Flat tone, strange response |
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Too little reed (check first that air is strong enough, unless it's obvious looking that there's too little reed taken) |
Take JUST A LITTLE more reed. A very small amount of reed should always be inside the mouth, past the lip. |
Squeaks, especially on low notes, specifically when tonguing
Occasionally happens with beginners, very rarely older students |
tongue too high after tonguing.m4a
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The front of the tongue is too high, especially when leaving the reed after tonguing |
While the back of the tongue should be high, the front of the tongue should sit fairly low, and should go low when it leaves the reed after tonguing. |
Struggles to play loud, but looks like they're working very hard to do so |
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Too much tension in the upper body and the front of the mouth is shrinking the air column, reducing the volume |
Playing loud requires a large airstream. Tension in the upper body or front of the mouth prevents this. Open the posture, keep the head up, relax the shoulders, make sure the elbows aren't tucked, and push the belly button OUT. Keep the front of the mouth very open and tall on the inside. Keep the lip corners firmly engaged towards the reed, like they're trying to squeeze it open. |
Struggles to play quietly; goes flat and possibly even louder instead when they try |
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Insufficient air pressure and speed
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Playing soft requires a small, but still very strong and fast airstream. Less volume of air, but if anything more speed and pressure. Practice breathing out and then playing a note piano to learn the feeling of pushing very little air very hard and fast. Use more air support--push the belly out. Raise the back of the tongue, like when saying 'eee' (but keep the lips round). Like putting your thumb over a hose, this speeds up and directs the air.
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Insufficient embouchure contact (address air FIRST). |
Push the reed into the lower lip muscle. Bring the top lip corners down firmly towards the reed. Think of the embouchure corners like the four sides of a diamond, and bring them firmly towards the reed.
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Tongue weirdly harsh. Some movement of the reed may be visible with tonguing. |
tonguing with middle of tongue.m4a
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Student may be tonguing with the middle of the tongue instead of the tip. |
Touch the very tip of the tongue to the very tip of the reed to tongue. Touch gently and quickly, as if the reed were a hot stove. |
Tonging sounds indistinct, more 'th' than 't' |
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Student may be tonguing the middle of the reed instead of the tip. |
Touch the tip of the tongue to the TIP of the reed - the sharp edge. While you're not trying to shove the reed into the opening, it's at the opening you should touch. |
Gaps between notes |
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Students are stopping air between notes |
Play smoothly with continuous air. If students are developing a habit of stopping air between notes, practicing more things slurred can help. Though tonguing smoothly is also an important skill that must be mastered.
Sometimes students develop this habit to hide insufficiently clean finger movements, poor half hole skills, or incorrect fingering choices. This should especially be suspected if the choppiness develops later in the year. Practice slurred, and isolate and drill problematic finger combinations. |
Tone slightly less full than preferred |
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Air pressure and speed not quite sufficient |
Use more air support. Push the belly out, not in, but do use those core muscles. Practice standing in a half-squat or half-wall-sit to help engage the core muscles. Raise the back of the tongue, like when saying 'eee' (but keep the lips round). Like putting your thumb over a hose, this speeds up and directs the air. Aim the air more at the bridge of the nose, not down the oboe. |
Tone slightly more spread than preferred |
corners slightly weak bright.m4a
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Corners not quite sufficiently engaged |
Bring the corners ACTIVELY towards the reed; imagine each corner coming in like a diamond. It may help to imagine trying to squeeze the reed open. Do NOT pull the corners back like you're smiling. Be sure to keep the corners firmly forward even when breathing; if they pull back in the breath, they won't make it forward again like they need to. |
Slight pitch and tone inconsistencies in an otherwise very strong player, especially on high notes or sensitive ones like middle C |
mild inconsisetncies head angle.m4a
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Head may be too down or forward |
Keep the head up and avoid pushing it forward. Students struggling with this may need to feel like they're actively picking the head up and bringing it back. The chin should be more or less parallel to the floor, and the head should be balanced on the neck. Make sure the stand is not in a position that encourages head ducking. Keep the oboe angle low, closer to clarinet than trumpet. This helps with embouchure contact and air direction. |