Oboe F

[nafmeadmin]

I teach elementary music and I have an oboe student who is a quick learner! Her fingers are awesome and she listens well for intonation. But her F (both regular and forked) are sharp F#s. I don’t see or feel any leaks but she is super duper sharp. The forked F is the worst. On a different instrument, she is almost perfectly in tune. I’m not thrilled with our instrument repair shop and I’m very positive that if I send it back without any specific things for them to address, it will get returned to me in the same condition. Any suggestions for problems I should look for?

[nafmeadmin]

I would check the pad height of the keys that are open when the two Fs are fingered. If the tech person is able to lower them a bit, that will help to bring down the pitch.

[nafmeadmin]

As an oboe player, I would first check that the two small pads on the upper joint between the B and A and A and G keys are actually sealing. This is one of the first culprits. 2nd, check the connection between the top key (F#) on the lower joint and the key is touches when joints are together (G key). Have the student play a low D — while playing low D, wiggle the LH Ab key. If there is any change of sound/pitch, this key needs to have a cork put on it for the connector bar to “hold down”.

With oboe, it is rarely a key height issue (sometimes it is, but I doubt in this case) and almost always (99.9% of the time) smaller keys not closing all the way due to adjustment screws.

Hope this helps.

Shawn

[Author]

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