Finger Problems
Problem |
Sound |
Cause |
Underlying issues |
Solutions |
Notes that aren't G sound like G; weird harmonic squeaks
Often occurs in beginners |
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F# not down or not fully down |
Right hand angled too high. |
Keep the right hand low |
Right thumb turned too flat to the oboe.
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Check that the right thumb is closer to flat to the thumbrest than flat to the oboe
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Right first finger angling sideways towards the right Ab key, preventing the force from going efficiently towards closing the F# key.
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Push the tip of the F# finger towards the thumb, not the side of it towards the side key Remember that the F# key does NOT have a hole, and that finger can sit a bit lower to help. Many oboes have a small ledge to help.
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Excess tension in the F# finger in inefficient directions due to its trying to help hold the oboe. |
Remember that the F# finger is NOT a balance point. Avoid one handed playing position. Remind yourself where the balance points are.
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G, Ab, F# fuzzy and sharp; other notes give squeak or weird harmonic overtone
More likely to occur with beginners, but can happen with older students, too |
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G hole not covered fully |
Reluctance to sufficiently spread out A and G fingers. This is likely the biggest factor. |
Keep the A and G fingers spread out (practice Spock hands).
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Left hand tilting upwards.
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Keep left hand angle low enough you can always easily reach the left F key.
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Fingers lifting too high or straightening when they lift.
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Keep fingers close to the oboe (touching metal, even) and curved even when up.
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On or near Ab, excess space between the G finger and pinky; left hand tilting high to hit Ab; straight pinky and possibly G finger. |
On Ab, the pinky and third finger should be so close they may touch.
Keep the Ab pinky VERY curved, even when up.
Practice A-G#, focusing on moving the fingers without tilting the hand.
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Left Eb squeak |
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G hole not covered fully (most likely)
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Straight G finger. |
Keep G finger very curved both on and off the key. |
Reluctance to sufficiently spread out A and G fingers.
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Spread out A and G finger.
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Left hand angle too high, hand moving inwards for left Eb because the finger isn't in a position to reach it without hand movement.
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Keep left hand angle low enough to easily reach the left Eb key all the time, so you don't have to tilt for it. |
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Bottom of left hand raising up above the oboe more for left Eb.
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Keep the bottom of the hand as low as the top of the hand; don't pick it up for left Eb. Notice that the left Eb key pushes in, and let the pinky work with that, instead of raising up and trying to hit it from above. |
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A key not covered fully
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Insufficient space between A and G fingers; A finger slipping low off the key. Hand tilting.
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Keep A and G spread out (don't let A move down towards G). Keep left hand angled low.
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Hitting the left Eb key very hard on some oboes (Fox incl.), IF the Ab trill adjustment is a bit loose |
Do check that the bridge key is correctly aligned. It's ideal to avoid hitting the left Eb key that hard, but the adjustment is the real cause of this. Not all oboes will do this even with the adjustment is loose, but on some the Ab mechanism runs directly under left Eb.
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Fix Ab trill adjustment (screw on top of Ab key). Turn it JUST enough that there's no bump in the sound if you wiggle the Ab key while playing F# (be sure you're not bumping the oboe and embouchure around when you move the pinky testing this). AVOID overtightening, as that will keep the F# key from fully closing and badly affect a large number of oboe notes.
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D and Eb sharp, squeaks on low C
Usually occurs in young players, except in particularly challenging pinky moments |
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D finger not fully closing the hole
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D finger moving and leaking off the hole when pinky moves.
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Do drills for pinky independence. Use a mirror to work on not moving the D finger with the pinky.
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Insufficient space between E and D fingers.
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Keep the E and D fingers spread out. |
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Right hand tilted too high, straightening the D finger and pulling it off the hole. |
Keep the right hand low. Check that the right thumb is closer to flat to the thumbrest than flat to the oboe. Keep the D finger curved both on and off the key.
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G is Ab; lower notes may also sound like Ab or otherwise not speak
Usually occurs in beginners |
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Right hand leaning on Ab key |
Right hand angled too high. |
Keep the right hand low. |
Right thumb turned too flat to the oboe.
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Check that the right thumb is closer to flat to the thumbrest than flat to the oboe.
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Right first finger angling sideways towards the right Ab key, preventing the force from going efficiently towards closing the F# key. |
Avoid side keys.
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Notes coming out too high Notes like E, D, Eb, etc. coming out a 12th too high
Often occurs in beginners |
leaning on the side octave key.m4a
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Left hand leaning on the second octave key |
Left hand angled too high. First finger too straight. |
Remember that the balance points are the right thumb and left FINGERTIP. Avoid mismapping this to the side of the first finger. Keep left hand angle low enough that you can always easily reach the left F key. It can help in practice to wrap some tape around the second octave key, sticky side out, so that you more easily notice when you are hitting it, for a little while. Keep the first finger curved and be sure to cover the hole with the fingerTIP.
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C sounds like B |
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Bridge key misaligned (will also affect Bb)
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Not paying attention when putting the oboe together. Oboe moving while playing - loose top joint cork?
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Always be sure the bridge key is aligned, the one that moves when you hit the F# key
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First finger too straight, too far over
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It's hitting the A#-B smoothness ledge that is attached to the secondary key under the B key and sticks up next to the B key. |
Keep the first finger curved and the fingerTIP on the hole. Don't let it straighten or slide over. Be careful not to straighten in during the half hole pivot. |
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Water in the C secondary key
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Always swab after playing. Avoid letting the oboe lay with the keys down.
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While playing, blow extra hard. Try blowing the water out by hitting the F# key and blowing across and down into the C secondary key.
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Stuck C secondary key |
Determine whether this is a stuck rod or a stuck pad. A rod may need a repair shop. Be sure the spring is in place. |
Make sure the C secondary key is opening when you hit the F# key. If it isn't, try forcing it up once by hitting the screw opposite and attached to the key; sometimes that's enough to get it moving. Consider using cigarette paper to try to clean the pad. |
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Half hole notes sometimes don't speak and sometimes are very sharp |
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Not opening the half hole consistently
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Trouble with the half hole pivot. Too much tension in the left thumb or webbing of the hand.
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Work for a more consistent half hole pivot. Knuckle leads. Keep the left thumb relaxed.
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Biting instead to make the note speak
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Inconsistent or insufficiently trained half hole pivot; biting to compensate. Often happens when students have a lot of half holed notes before they're really ready.
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The half hole notes run sharp anyway - keep the corners firmly forward and the teeth away on those notes. Aim for a round embouchure. Isolate the half hole skill and work for more facility and consistency with it. Be careful introducing too much difficulty in half hole without sufficiently training the movement first. |
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If the finger is clearly moving well but this problem still happens, there may be gunk clogging the half hole diamond.
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Over the years, finger oils and dirt can clog the diamond in the hole in the half hole key. This is not anyone's fault, though excess lotion could probably contribute.
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You can use a small screwdriver to clean out the area above the half hole diamond.
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Half hole notes speak well but are often sharp and hissy, especially next to first octave notes |
first octave staying on half hole.m4a
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First octave key staying down on half holed notes |
Inconsistent first octave to half hole transition. |
Drill half hole to first octave transitions to build consistency with the thumb and half hole.
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Excess thumb tension.
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When the thumb leaves the octave key, remember it can float very near the octave key. Avoid unnecessary thumb tension. |
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This can happen when students have a lot of first octave to half hole transitions in their music before they've really trained the skill. |
Recognize that this is a difficult and important part of oboe technique, and when those notes appear, carefully drill the finger skills involved daily. Watch for good, consistent fingers on those fundamentals. |
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There's often an unintentional grace note next to a half-holed note, like D-C or D-B, especially when slurred |
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The half hole is picking up rather than pivoting closed |
The underlying half hole skill might be rough. Watch for too much tension, or for a half hole that's more a slide than a pivot (slides sometimes go lower than they can efficiently slide back up.) |
NEVER let the half hole finger pick up off the key during a half hole transition. Work on a good half hole pivot, where the knuckle leads closing as well as opening. |
First octave notes and sometimes other notes like mid-staff C are often, but not always, hissy. High G and F# may squeak up a 12th sometimes |
half hole on first octave notes.m4a
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Half hole not fully closed on those notes
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Half hole may be sliding instead of pivoting, or hand may be too tense, causing difficulty with closing consistently.
Students may be putting less energy into the closing motion than the opening one.
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Drill the half hole pivot, focusing on closing. Knuckle leads the closes as much as the opens.
It can help teaching to make large gestures in the direction the knuckle should move. You can emphasize closing with the gestures to help students focus more on closing.
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If this occurs consistently after second octave notes, the issue may be the second octave transitions. |
Drop the wrist for second octave key, don't tilt the hand up. Drill high G-A focus on dropping, not tilting.
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High G and/or Ab are very sharp (but not low G and Ab) |
second octave on high Ab or G.m4a
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Second octave key is down |
The second octave key should only be down on second octave notes.
The first and second octave transition likely needs work to build consistency. |
Note that the second octave key is only down with the G key is not.
Drill first to second octave transitions to build consistency there. |
Everything is a weird sound somewhere around middle C# or D |
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Triller is open |
Could be an oboe issue, most likely a bent bridge key (the one near all the pinky keys)
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Check that that bridge key is moving freely, and that there's a little play between hitting the D trill key on the bottom joint and the
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The E finger may be bumping the D triller. Too high an angle on the right hand contributes to this
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Keep the right hand angle low and the E finger curved to avoid bumping the trill key. Check the right thumb position - it may be too close to flat to the oboe. Remember it should be at a natural angle, closer for most people to flat to the thumbrest than flat to the oboe, and with the thumbrest between the joint and the thumbnail. |