Common Oboe Embouchure Problems
Watch for air pockets in the cheeks and lips
A teacher must train his ear to be an accurate and rapid diagnostician of tonal ills. The exterior appearance of every embouchure will be somewhat different due to different thicknesses of lips, teeth formation, etc.
By listening, however, it is possible to tell a great deal about troubles that may not be apparent to the eye.
For example, too much reed in the mouth produces a characteristic “honky” uncontrolled, blatant sound. Third space C will usually be very sharp, and other notes may be sharp as well. Not enough reed in the mouth gives a muffled, stuffy quality.
A collapse of the ring of muscles may produce much the same result since the lip softens and spreads along the reed and to the tip, restricting the vibrations.
Correct Oboe Embouchure
Lips are bunched, thick in the center. The reed is “tucked” in between them. The pressure is a squeezing, drawstring pressure all around the reed. The teeth act only as braces to help hold the lips in place.
These are, in this adjudicator’s experience, by far some of the most common sins committed by young students in their efforts to cajole an acceptable tone out of those schmertzenkinder of the orchestra, the woodwind instruments.
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