I've been playing oboe for a few months and I think I'm doing pretty well, but I'm having some problems with the high notes. They sound very muddy and unclear, whereas the lower notes sound nice and clear. What's the best way to get those high notes to sound as nice as the lower notes? Thanks in advance!
I had a real problem with high notes too. My teacher really helped me a lot! If you have a teacher, ask them to help you; if you don't, it might be a good idea to get one and make sure you're on the right track. If you live near a college that has a good music program, there should be an oboe teacher there. There also might be someone in your community that plays oboe and could help if you live in a bigger city or town. If you live in a small town like I do, check with some colleges in nearby cities. Even if they don't have an oboe teacher they might know where to find one. Also, reeds play a big part in the tone of the oboe. If you are using store bought reeds, try switching to hand made ones. A teacher can make them for you if they know how, or you can order them online from www.reedreviews.net. One more thing is breath support. I have found it usually takes more air to play high notes, especially high D. A teacher can help you with this too.
I find sluring exercises help me like going from a C# to D, C to D, B to D ect. A lot of the times I have a lot of troubles with D's so I do a light "L" tongue to make them come out in Slured passages. Tongued normally they are fine though.
The main problem that I have with my high notes is that I lose my air support when I enter the high register. After about high C#, it's gone. Usually one of these three things is happening: my reed is closing, I'm not breathing from my diaphragm, or my oboe's leaking air. It's usually the second one. In order to fix this, lay down on your bed and put a heavy book on top of your chest, like an encyclopedia or something. Next, lift the book only by using your stomach. You are then forced to use your diaphragm properly in order to breathe deeply to move the book. Try this and see if it works!
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I like that Canadian. There are reed push-ups too you know.