Skip to main content

Modifications: Making it Work

I mentioned in my last post that I found a lot of tension in my body and hands during my last recital. I spent a day working on SUPER relaxed playing - scales and long tones- and then a day working on the hardest passages of the Rouse with my primary goal being gentle, soft fingers.

What I discovered was a hand position issue. I was a little too contracted in my right hand to comfortably play ALL of the required Ds, Ebs, and forked Fs that the piece asks for, as fast and as frequently, for 25 minutes under pressure.

So I went to my trusty package of gel pencil grips - the ones I buy at the grocery store for a dollar or two and use to replace the ill-fitting thumb pads on my students's horns. I cut one up and added a tiny dab of mounting putty - the blue stuff that you use to hang posters in your dorm room.



And I constructed this:



It stretches my hand just a little, and lowers it just enough that I can play what is required without effort. Feels cushiony and comfortable, too.

I have practiced with this new setup for a week now, and performed in the orchestra with it, and am totally ready to present Do Not Fear the 21st Century Oboe Music, Phase 2.  Tomorrow night at 7:30 at Valparaiso University, free and open to the public.  Come on out and enjoy this one with me!

The last few dates:
Tuesday, March 22, 7:30 pm CDT, Duesenberg Recital Hall, Valparaiso University

Friday, April 8, 7:00 pm CDT, First Presbyterian Church, Michigan City, IN

As Musicians for Michiana: Sunday, April 10, 4:00 pm EDT, Church of the Savior, 1855 N. Hickory, South Bend, IN

With the South Bend Symphony: Saturday, May 7, 8:00 pm EDT, Morris Performing Arts Center
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Knife Sharpening

I've gotten a lot of questions on this topic, and the most recent querent prompted me to make a video to demonstrate.  You can find that  HERE . Knife sharpening seems to strike terror into many hearts.  And it's little wonder.  Many famous oboists have gone on record as saying that a sharp knife is the most important aspect of reed making. People have entire systems of stones and strops and rods set up to sharpen their knives. And it is important, of course it is - but I don't believe that you need your knife to be razor-like, or objectively the sharpest blade of any in your home.  The reed knife has one job - scraping cane off in precision ways - and it has to be sharp enough for that, and sharpened optimally for that purpose.  More than that is overly fussy for my taste. This is not to say that I allow my knife to be dull.  A dull knife forces you to put too much pressure on the reed and can cause cracking. Obviously it can lead to terribly inc...
7 comments
Read more

The Blog has MOVED

 Have you been waiting ... and waiting ... and WAITING for a new Prone Oboe post?  Don't wait here anymore!  The blog has moved to https://jennetingle.com/prone-oboe/  and will not be updated here on Blogger anymore.  Please come and check me out there!  I love you all - stay safe out there!  Jennet
Post a Comment
Read more

How Do You WISH You Could Describe Your Reeds?

In Reed Club last Monday, we took a moment before we started scraping to set some intentions.  We each said one word - an adjective to describe what we WANTED our reeds to be.  An aspirational adjective. Efficient was a word that came up, and Consistent . Dark and Mysterious . Mellow . Predictable .  Trustworthy .  Honest .  BIGGER . Reed affirmations actually felt helpful - both in the moment and in the results we found as we worked.  I don't know why that surprises me - I set intentions at the beginning of the year, at the beginning of the month, at the beginning of a run, in the morning before I work.  I love a good affirmation.  I love WORDS.  But I'd sort of forgotten about the possibility of applying one to the mundane work of reed-making.   You don't have to know exactly how to GET to that result.  But having clarity in your mind about what that result is?  Helps you to stop going down unhelpful rabbit holes...
2 comments
Read more