The care and keeping of... your oboe?

One of my students is fortunate enough to be in the process of buying an oboe (well, his parents are ;)) He is a sixth grader and still VERY new to the oboe.

I know this sounds somewhat strange, because it is coming up on only a month left until the end of the school year and he should at least know how to play a few scales and be practicing simple articulations, etc.

He hasn't had a working oboe the entire school year.

This is one of the biggest issues that I face working with young oboe players here in the Vegas Valley- oboes which will not play and are so far gone that I don't even know WHERE to start.

Last time I checked, Nevada was ranked 50/50 as far as education goes in this country, and each day I wait to see if my parapro job will be around next year (it is a position that really seems like a HUGE luxury to teachers and students, therefore not absolutely necessary).

The school district has several instrument repairmen on staff and it just seems like people aren't using them!

Anyway, this student has been frustrated all year with a band director who is telling him to take the oboe home and "finger practice" ( this is actually a great way to practice, but not for a beginner who hasn't even had a chance to get familiar with oboe embouchure, finger placement, air support, etc.). The frustrated parents found my website and gave me a call hoping that I could help- unfortunately, there is not very much I can do as far as instruments for my students.

The first thing I noticed on this students oboe (that his band director should have noticed as well!!!) was a crack in the topjoint as long as my hand and wide enough to stick a quarter in.

I asked the student if his band director had given him a swab for the instrument, or ever explained about the importance of maintaining a wooden instrument, the answer was NO.

So, here are some ideas for all of you young oboe players unsure about the upkeep of your instrument:

1. When we play the oboe, condensation builds up on the inside of the instrument (the bore). The same kind of condensation accumulated by breathing warm air on a cold window.

We need a SWAB to clear that moisture out every so often while playing, and always, ALWAYS, always after we are done playing and putting our instrument away.

I recommend cotton swabs, because they don't pull through the instrument and are less likely to get STUCK- yes this does happen and can be very detrimental to the oboe and your sanity!

2. Another important tool for maintaining your oboe is CORK GREASE, just a little, tiny, amount for the cork on your reed, top joint TENON and bottom joint TENON, or "corks" on your oboe. It doesn't have to be much, just enough to keep these parts moistened so that they easily go together when taking your oboe out and putting it away.

3. Most oboes have silver plated keys, and in order to avoid tarnish, a polishing CLOTH is a good idea.

4. Some oboe maintenence kits will come with a small brush for removing dust and dirt from the keywork. I prefer a very soft bristle paintbrush for this, found at any craft or hobby store.

5. Key OIL can help keep your key work clean, and in great condition, careful not to use too much! A little dab'll do ya.

These 5 are the bare minimum for students on plastic oboes. If you are a young player on a wooden oboe, you are very lucky! Though, you have some extra responsibilities that come along with this privilege :)

6. A humidifying device. Some people use a simple HUMISTAT that will fit easily into a case. Others prefer a DAMPIT. I am a little scared about anything that involves too much moisture that close to my oboe... but I have had HUGE problems with cracking oboes, every oboe I have owned has cracked. A more gentle, (cheap, and readily available for some of you!) option is using orange peels. YUP, you read correctly. They contain just enough moisture to do the trick and leave your instrument and case smelling lovely.

7. Something that has made a BIG difference for my instruments is oiling the BORE, or the inside of the oboe. This is a complicated process, and best left done by an ADULT!!!

Here are my personal, step-by-step instructions for this:

• We need to protect all of the pads underneath the key work, it would be bad, bad, BAD if they were to absorb any oil!! I do this by using some kitchen tin foil and slipping it under any and all keywork that might be in the way of the oil
• I work on one piece of the instrument at a time, even the little bell gets some alone time!
• You will need turkey FEATHERS and some bore OIL
• Put only a few DROPS of oil onto a feather and gently insert it into the joint you are working with, rotate a few times in a twisting motion GENTLY, repeat on the other two joints
• Afterward, leave the oboe alone still with the FOIL protecting the pads. I usually do this on an evening and let my oboe sit overnight on its stand in one piece, covered by a
• When you are ready to use your oboe, gently remove the foil, being mindful of the pads and springs!!! You're done, congrats!

This does not need to be done often, though I do it every few months on my oboe and English horn now and haven't had a single crack in over two years, even going between soggy San Francisco and the Las Vegas Desert!!! :)

As always, please let me know if you have any questions, or if you want to learn more about any of the products or care procedures I talked about today! :)