Summary

Throughout “Oboe Basics (Part II)”, written by Elizabeth Raum, a portion of the most important

skills for an oboe player to learn is discussed and how teachers can accommodate for common

issues surrounding oboists such as awkward fingerings, octave keys, and poorly written parts.

Raum’s initial analysis of oboe embouchure stresses the importance building up lip muscles over

the course of months and experimentation with producing different pitches on the reed alone.

The embouchure is best described as whistling with lips over the teeth with special attention on

keeping the inside of one’s mouth small. One major difficulty of the oboe is breath control since

oboists typically take in too much air and cannot get rid of excess air, so oboists must find spots

to exhale and inhale in their music. There are, however, inappropriate times to the breath, and

teachers are encouraged to discuss this with their students. Different types of tonguing is another

task oboists must eventually master to produce different articulations. A good way to practice

control over tonguing is to play a long tone and interrupt it by tonguing or humming while using

the reed to produce a louder and faster sound, making sure the throat does not close. Fingering

on an oboe tend to be difficult due to the composers’ and publishers’ lack of considerations for

the instrument, while others compose a part too simple for oboes to ensure that it is playable. A

great example of this is how most middle schools begin with the B-Flat scale, which contains an

awkward concert F fingering, yet they are expected to overcome this as quickly as the other

instruments, as well memorizing which fingering requires which octave key or half hole. This

can also be a problem when composers write parts meant to be easier on other woodwind

instruments, but can translate to many awkward fingerings while crossing the break and using

octave keys. Lastly, caution should be taken while assembling and disassembling an oboe to

ensure to quality of the instrument to avoid bent keys and cracking.

 Personal Reaction

As I was learning to play oboe, I quickly began to realize it was greatly different from

both the saxophone and clarinet I had learned earlier this semester. Being my first double reed

instrument, embouchure and breathing proved to be significantly more difficult than my previous

instruments. Similar to Raum’s analysis of the embouchure, I began to experiment with

controlling pitch in able to tune while playing to build my mouth muscles and I eventually could

move to six different pitches by “lipping” up on the reed. Another issue I had while learning

oboe was breathing since I constantly had trouble controlling the air I inhaled versus the amount

of air I exhaled. Raum’s method of establishing inhaling and exhaling at breath marks has shown

me that as a wind player there is such a thing as taking in too much air. These revelations about

emphasis total control of the reed through “lipping” up on the reed and managing tongue contact

with only the reed. Too many times I would practice with the oboe but rarely just the reed. By

encouraging my students to incorporate practicing with only the reed into their agenda, they can

isolate the inconsistencies in their embouchure, tonguing, and breath control all at once rather

than focusing on switching fingerings at the same time. As a future instructor I must learn to

compensate for poorly written parts for beginners since the oboe has many tricky fingerings for

the new oboists which can result in constant discouragement through overwhelmingly frustrating

music. Due to Raum’s article, I have gained more insight into the reason oboe is a very intensive

instrument for a beginner to start learning due its unique mechanisms and managing one’s

control over the reed.

 References

Raum, E. (2007). Oboe basics (part II). Canadian Winds / Vents Canadiens, 6(1), 24–26.