Oboe Tips: Keeping Water Out of Your Keys

[@FrankMiley-c2y]

Hello, Katherine. I jumped looking for help after a VERY humbling experience this weekend, and I found this gem! My orchestra concluded our season with a wonderful program that ended with Dvorak 9. I had been looking forward to it for the whole season. Two performances - one on Friday and the other on Saturday evening. On Friday evening, the first note of that gorgeous English horn solo - you've never heard a gurgle so exquisitely perfect in gurgly-ness. I watched your video Saturday morning. Saturday evening, I swabbed carefully before the downbeat and kept the Eh on my lap with keys up for the whole first movement. Perfect. It may have been fine without my hyper-vigilance. I'll never know. But my confidence that it would NOT happen was huge, and for that I am eternally grateful. I've changed my "at rest" habits permanently. Thank you!

[@uhhhsure2055]

I love the way you explained everything. Appreciate it :)

[@eskarina1000]

I wish I had this advice available when I was in college. During one of my end of semester solo performances, I had water in my octave key right at the climax at the end of the last movement of the Poulenc Sonata. I was devastated.

[@howardcohen6817]

Great explanation. I'm a flute-player and as a kid, held my instrument at a higher angle than parallel to the ground because the axis of the aperture of my lips was "tilted" up. Well anyway after about 5 minutes of blowing, my tone disappeared. My teacher couldn't help me at all but I realized by myself that gravity makes for a lake of water at the top stopper which interfered with the air-flow, so I learned to tilt my head a bit so that the water runs down. This has nothing to do with getting water in the holes but I thought I'd present a complementary story. Quite something else: Do you know the Nudelman family of double-reed players? Stuart was a great oboist from NY (he changed his name to Delman) who passed 10 years ago and Barry who played Broadway shows on 3rd reed (Bassoon, T.Sax and Fl.), now retired. Now about Marcel Tabuteau... Liked your Ruth Gipps concerto here on YT. Thank you.

[@NathanielRobinson]

I’m a violinist but I’ve always wondered what that blowing noise was at an orchestra gig. 🤣 All oboists should view this - this makes sense. It kind of reminds me of string players who don’t keep their bridges at a good angle which leads to them getting all warped - then the bridge snaps in half.

[@BlakleyBassoon]

I was smiling during your entire introduction. Sometimes it is SO important to state the obvious. But then, I could really FEEL the anxiety over how your held that oboe. While your advice may not be particularly musical, it is still artistic- an emotional roller coaster!

[@wifiiwakura2820]

bfk

[@homeofcreation]

Thanks for this wonderful gift, I never really thought of this.

[@sallyfinneytimm9617]

Thanks so much for posting this. It's clear I need to make a few changes to the way I handle my instrument.

[@sharmanpiper8716]

Thank you! I've always been meticulous about laying my oboe on its back, but never thought about the subtle vertical angle, nor about laying it down on a slope. I can't wait to try these things out!

[@Alice-mg9sy]

Thank you, I always kept my oboe straight because no one has ever told me that this could end up being problematic and I hadn’t had any problems until today and I was extremely confused.

[@elizabethstarrmasoudnia5525]

Interesting and entertaining! I like your hair ( is that shallow?) and also want to know more about your t-shirt. PS I think Marcel Tabuteau would have loved this.

[@rogernewengland]

THANKYOU so much, i had been doing as you said without thought of the water tracking into keys if tilted as you said. my biggest issue is getting reeds to play consistently on key/pitch at certain octaves, but more than that is issue where room is consistently about 65 F or chillier and have problems with upper trill keys sticking open. another specialist in oboe recommended the cozy, and i added a heat strip taped to outside to transfer heat to inside, and that seems to help as long as i keep oboe in it when not playing. it is sort of a costly venture but going on few weeks and is working out nicely. heard you play the piece you wrote/scribe and is wonderfully done. I like to hear any other tips you have for us as I am sure you have some since you been professional playing for some years to help us out. Bye.

[@CommunistBearFighter]

Can someone please explain to me what the backstory of Katherine's comments is? As in what has Marcel Tabuteau got to do with this?

[@JoseJuan-wtc]

Gracias por compartir la información. Puede ir muy bien a los estudiantes que no saben como eliminar el exceso de humedad en las llaves. Personalmente tomo las precauciones con respecto al agua de una forma muy parecida a las tuyas. Me pongo malo cuando un alumno inclina el oboe con las llaves hacia abajo, y tampoco soy amigo de dejar el oboe apoyado en el pie.

[@rgombine]

Just when I thought I had already accumulated all the things that I needed to be paranoid with respect to playing the oboe! But great advice. So who is going to design the angled oboe stand?

[@rgombine]

Nvm …. I see one is already available.

[@dahVEEDBBone]

@@rgombine Where is it available?. I've been playing for 3 weeks now and I already have "trapped-water" anxiety, now thinking about making a tilted stand out of PVC.

[@fuffy442]

I once has a clarinet that, due to the grain inside the bore (I assume), always had water getting into one of the side keys (C#-G# in case anyone is interested). I don't remember who taught me to do this, but I drew tracks around the tone hole with linseed oil. It worked pretty well. I was wondering if this is something you've ever heard of or done yourself. I really enjoy your posts,. 🙂

[@katrinamundinger3133]

Definitely clarinetists have to do this--the keys are closer to the back of the instrument than the keys on an oboe. :)

[@fuffy442]

@@katrinamundinger3133 When I switched from Buffet to Selmer the problem, thankfully, was no longer an issue.

[@davidevans9194]

Thank you Katherine

[@dmajmes51]

Priceless!

[@jimpeter3453]

I just discovered that a player makes their own double reeds. Whew. Regards from Baltimore.

[@RosssRoyce]

You’re nice sweetie, you have a heart!

[@OboeLorin]

I’m primarily an oboist, but I just played an 8 month long gig on clarinet (and flute and sax). I found the clarinet MUCH worse than oboe for getting water in keys. Perhaps it was a clarinetist you heard in that recording?? Blame the clarinet section… 😂 ❤

[@wifiiwakura2820]

"and there are lots of embarrasing things"

[@jeffpaster9071]

very useful tips. however, unless you have nothing better to do, start this at 2:30 and then be prepared for a good bit of meandering and repetition

[@John-c7j3v]

Crazy eyes