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LET'SPLAYEnglishHornByGroverSchiltz2GroverSchiltzIn1959,GroverSchiltzjoinedtheChicagoSymphonyOrchestraasassistantprincipaloboe,movingtoEnglishhornin1964.
InprioryearsheplayedintheLyricOperaofChicago,theGrantParkSymphonyandtouredwiththeBostonPops.
HealsoplayedwiththeSt.
LouisSinfoniettaandspentthreeyearsasaprincipaloboistoftheKansasCityPhilharmonic.
SchiltzisactiveinchambermusicensemblesintheChicagoareaincludingtheChicagoSymphonyWinds.
HehastaughtoboeandbaroqueperformancepracticeatNorthwesternUniversityandservesonthefacultyatRooseveltUniversityandtheUniversityofIllinoisCircleCampus.
HecurrentlyteachesoboeandEnglishhornprivately.
3INTRODUCTION:ThisbookletisintendedtointroducetheEnglishhorntostudentsandteacherswhomayalreadyhavesomeknowledgeoftheoboe.
ManyofthetechniquesandskillsusedtoplaytheoboearesimilarontheEnglishhorn,soitmaybeusefultorevisitthem.
AnyonewithmorethanacasualinterestinmusicisacquaintedwiththebeautifulanduniquesoundoftheEnglishhorn.
Itsaltoqualityenrichesthetonalpaletteofanyensemble.
Ithasoneoftheloveliestsolorepertoiresinthewindliterature.
ItgivesadistinctivestamptoDvorak's"NewWorldSymphony",Berlioz'"RomanCarnivalOverture",andRossini's"WilliamTellOverture",justtonameafewcompositionsfirmlyfixedintheliterature.
ItisequallyathomeintheOrchestraortheWindEnsemble.
SincetheEnglishhornisinF,itwillsounda1/5belowthewrittenpitch.
EveryoboistshouldhavetheopportunitytoplaytheEnglishhornandlearnsomeofthesefamoussolos.
Inmanysmallerensembles,thesecondoboistiscalledupontodoubleonbothoboeandEnglishhorn.
Aplayerwhocandosoisjustthatmuchmorevaluabletotheensemble.
45INDEXIntroduction.
3StartingtheStudentonEnglishHorn6ChoosingEquipment7AssemblyandCareoftheEnglishHorn8-10Embouchure.
11TheCommercialReed12AdjustingtheCommercialEnglishHornReed.
13PitchoftheReed14TipsforSolvingSpecificReedProblems.
15EnglishHornFingeringChart.
16-21MethodsandTutors.
22SoloandEnsembleMaterial.
22HelpSites.
226Usually,thefirstexposuretotheEnglishhornwillbeaftertheoboehasbeenplayedforsometime.
MostelementaryschoolshaveneitherthebudgetnortheadvancedscoringinthemusicbeingperformedtorequireanEnglishhorn.
However,fromtheeighthgradeonward,onemayencountermaterialintherepertoirecallingfortheuseoftheEnglishhorn.
Also,studentsinlargermetropolitanareasmayhaveaccesstoall-citybandsororchestrasorhonorsgroups.
Theoboeisthebasicinstrument,andwithabackgroundofsomestudy,thetransfertotheEnglishhorncanbequicklymade.
Sincetheinstrumentislargerandheavier,manypeoplefindthataneckstrapisadvisable.
Asaxophonetypeadjustablestrapwithawidecollarworksverywell.
Itmaybefoundthatastoutrubberbandorotherelasticcouplingmakesagoodlinkbetweenthehookofthestrapandtheringonthethumbrest.
Thissupportstheweightoftheinstrumentwithoutgivingupcontrolofthepositionofthereedintheembouchure.
Sincelongses-sionswithaheavyinstrumentcanresultintendonitis,thiscanbeanimportantfactor.
STARTINGTHESTUDENTONTHEENGLISHHORN7CHOOSINGEQUIPMENTThedifficultyoftherepertoirecanbeafactorinchoosingthemodelofEnglishhornneeded.
However,aninstrumentofanylevelshouldhaveafree,evenresponseovertherange,aneventonequalityandagoodscale.
ManyEnglishhornsinthepasthavehadproblemswithanunstablethirdspaceCwhichwoulddropinpitchondiminuendo.
Thisfaulthasbeenlargelyeliminatedbythedevelopmentofbetterbocals.
Anotherproblemhasbeenthetendencyoftheinstrumenttodevelopa"gurgle"upondiminuendoonlowEorE.
AthirdtroublespottocheckliesintheupperregisteronhighA.
Itshouldbewellupinpitchandnothavea"sagging"quality.
Topofthelineinstrumentswillhaveafullmechanism,includinga3rdoctavekeyforpitchesaboveEinthethirdoctave.
8ASSEMBLYANDCAREOFTHEENGLISHHORNTheEnglishhornalsousesabocal,whichextendsfromthetopoftheinstrument,curvingtowardtheplayer.
Thereedtubeslipsoverthetopofthebocal,completingtheassembly.
Someplayersfinditveryusefultouseapieceofthinrubberorplastictubingasanairtightbondatthejunctureofthereedtubeandthebocal.
Ashortpieceofaquariumtubingworksquitewell.
Inadditiontomakingagoodseal,thispreventsthereedfromslippingoffthebocalduringperformance.
sAlwayssoakthereedwhileputtingtheEnglishhorntogether.
Dipthereedinwater,shakeofftheexcesswaterandletitstandforafewminutesbeforeplayingonit.
Ifleftstandinginwater,thereedbecomesquiteopenanddifficulttomanage.
Ifwaterisnotavailable,thereedcanbemoistenedwithsaliva.
TheEnglishhornisassembledinthesamemannerastheoboe.
Ofgreatimportanceintheprocessisthecarefulandproperalignmentofthebridgingkeysbetweentheupperandlowerjoints.
Theuseofabitofcorkgreaseonthecorkjointsisgood,sinceitdoesawaywiththetenden-cyto"force"thefitofthejoints.
Ifthejointisunstable,theremaybetoomuchcorkgrease,whichcanberemovedwithatissue.
Therearetwobridgingkeysbetweentheupperandlowerjoint.
OnonesideisthetrillkeybridgefortheC-Dtrill.
Ontheothersideisthebridgeforthefingeringcombina-tionforCandB.
Assemblyoftheupperandlowerjointsiseasilyaccomplishedbyobservingfromthebackoftheinstrument,thebettertoseethealignmentofthebridgingkeys.
Thebelljointpresentsnoproblem,sincethereisonlyonebridge.
LOWERJOINTBELL9sCradletheupperjointinthelefthand.
PlacetherightthumbontheEkeyofthesecondjointandcarefullymaneuverthetwopartstogether,gentlypushingandturninginaclockwisedirectionuntilthebridgemecha-nismisproperlyaligned.
Becarefulnottobumpthe"arm"abovetheF#key.
DonotholdontotheC,C#,andEspatulacluster.
sCradlethethumbrestinthelefthand.
Thisholdsitupandoutofthewaywhilepushingandtwistingthebellintothelowerjoint.
(Left-handedpeopleshouldreversehandsintheassemblyprocedures).
sThereedtubeslipsoverthetopofthebocal.
sWoodeninstrumentsneedcare!
Extremesoftempera-turecanbedeadly.
Neverplayaninstrumentwhenitiscold.
Letitcometoroomtemperatureorwarmitunderacoatorsweaternexttoyourbody.
Themostcrack-proneareaofanoboeorEnglishhornistheareabetweenthetrilltoneholesintheupperjoint.
Oftenatinycrackcandevelopalmostunseen,whichcanseriouslyhamperaninstrument'splayingability.
Agoodtestforairtightnessistocoverallthetoneholesinthetopjointandinsertarub-berstopperinthebottomoftheupperjoint.
Trytocreateavacuumbysuckingouttheairfromthetopofthejoint.
Ifitwon'tholdavacuum,youmayneedtoseearepair-persontocheckforacrack.
Thenewerplasticandcom-positeinstrumentsdoawaywiththatparticularproblem.
sTheinstrumentshouldbeswabbedoutaftereachusewithasilkswab(takingcarenottoforcetheswabthrough).
Occasionally,carefullyoilawoodeninstrumentborewithboreoil.
UPPERJOINTBOCAL10THEBOCALThebocalisextremelyinfluentialinthesoundandtuningoftheEnglishhorn.
Bocalsareavailableinvaryinglengths,with#1beingtheshortest,and#3beingthelowestinpitch.
Individualbocalscanvaryintonecolor,response,anddynamicrange,soitisimportantthattheinstrumentyouchoosehasawellmadebocaltocomplementit.
Treatthebocalwithcare,soasnottobendordentit,andcleanitoutperiodicallywithwarmwater,amilddetergentandapipecleaner.
ADJUSTMENTSUnlessyouhavehadsomeexperiencewithadjustingwoodwinds,itisbesttoletanexperiencedrepairpersonhandleadjustments.
Often,asmallproblemcanbecomeabigonewithascrewdriverinuntrainedhands.
REEDSTheEnglishhornreeddiffersfromtheoboereedintwoways.
First,thereedisnotinsertedintothebodyoftheinstrument,butisinsteadfitovertheendofthebocal.
Second,thereedusuallyhasathinbrasswirewrappedtwicearoundthereedabout6mmabovethewinding.
Thewireisnotessential,butitservestostabilizethesizeoftheopening.
Thelengthofthereedandstapletogetherisfrom53to56mm.
Thematerialintheoboemanualper-tainingtotheadjustmentofreedsisequallyapplicabletoEnglishhornreeds.
Onlytheproportionsaresomewhatlarger.
Foranyonewhowishestogointoreedmakingingreaterdetail,afinereferenceisDavidWeber'sbook"TheReedMaker'sManual.
"Anaccompanyingvideocas-setteisavailable.
Anotherfinetextis"TheOboeReedBook"byJayLight.
REEDCASESItisimportanttohaveareedcasethatsupportsthereedinsuchawaythatnothingcandamagethedelicatetip.
Itshouldalsoallowforaircirculationaroundthereedtokeepitdrywhennotinuse.
Therearecommercialreedcasesavailableorcasescanbemadebythestudent.
Donotusetheplastictubesinwhichsomecommercialreedsarepackaged.
Theydonotpermitthoroughdryingofthereedbetweenuses.
ASSEMBLYANDCAREOFTHEENGLISHHORN(CONTINUED)11EMBOUCHURERestthereedonthelowerlipsothatthetipliesmid-wayonthelip.
Asabreathistaken,thelowerlipisrolledinoverthelowerteeth.
Theupperlipgoesovertheupperteethprovidingadoublelipembouchure.
StudentstransferringfromclarinettoEnglishhornfre-quentlyhavedifficultyatfirsttuckingintheupperlip.
Thereedshouldbeatapositionwherejustthetipisinthemouthandabouthalfofthecaneisexposedontheoutside.
Toomuchreedinthemouth(downtothewinding)willresultinharshertoneandsharperpitch.
Theteetharespacedsothattheliprestsonthem.
Thereisplentyofroomforthereedtobeheldlooselyandnotclenchedtightly.
Thelipsactasacushionforthereedandshouldbethoughtofasroundedandsoftandsupplelikeformingthesyllable"O"andnot"E".
Avoidthe"smile"or"stretchedrubberband"embouchure.
Controlisachievedbyverysubtlechangesinthetensionofthelipsofthereed.
Withtheproperembouchureformed,verylittle,ifany,oftheredpartofthelipwillbevisible.
WhenplayingtheEnglishhorn,theinstrumentshouldbeheldsothatifformsa45°anglewiththebody.
Donotholdtheinstrumenttoocloselytothebodyorstraightoutlikeatrumpet.
Goodpostureisimportantwhetherstandingorsitting.
Astraightbackallowsfullaircapacitytothelungsforproperbreathsupport.
Deepbreathingandtheuseoftheabdominalmusclesbelowthediaphragmisthebasisforgoodtonequalityandcon-trol.
Abeginnermayfinditadvantageoustoproduceasoundonthereedbeforetry-ingitintheinstrument.
PhotobyBevSchiltzPhotobyBevSchiltz12THECOMMERCIALREEDSeriousstudentsoftheEnglishhornwillbeginlearningthereedmakingprocessassoonastheyareoldenoughandcarefulenoughtomanagethenecessarytools.
Ifreedsarenotavailablefromaprivateteacherorlocalplayer,attempttopurchasetheAmericanor"longscrape"reed.
WhiletheFrenchscrapeismoreeasilyobtained,thereareavarietyof"longscrape"stylereedsavailable.
Almostallprofes-sionaloboistsintheUnitedStatesnowusesomevariationofthe"longscrape".
Thethinner,shortertipmaybemorefragile,butthepleasanttonequalitytheyproducewillmaketheextracarethereedtakesveryworthwhile.
ThegradingofEnglishhornreedsassoft,mediumorhardhaslittlerelationshiptothefactandvariesfromonemanufacturertoanother.
Manycommercialreedsaretoosoft.
Tryreedsfromseveralmanufacturerstodeterminewhichismostconsistentandbestsuitedtoyourinstrumentandstyleofplaying.
Thereshouldbesome"resistance"inthereedtoenabletheplayertoplaywithgoodbreathsupport.
FRENCHor"SHORTSCRAPE"AMERICANor"LONGSCRAPE"TipHeartBackboneShoulders13Itisimportanttoknowthetechniquesusedinadjustingcommercialreeds.
Thefollowingfourpiecesofsimpleequip-mentareessentialforstudentstobeginadjustingreeds:ASHARPKNIFE:Asharpknifeforscrapingthereedisthemostimportanttool.
Itcanbepurchasedfromreedmakingsuppliersorhandmade.
Theblademaybeeitherhollowgroundorwithabevelededge.
Asharpeningstoneandhoningoilarealsoimportant.
Itisnecessarytokeeptheknife-edgesharpandfreefromnicks.
PLAQUE:Theplaqueisasmallpieceofmetalthatisinsertedbetweenthebladesofthereedwhilescraping.
Itsupportstheblades.
Plaquesareavailablecommercially.
CUTTINGBLOCK:Thecuttingblockisusedtosupportthetipofthereedwhileclippingitwiththeknife.
Theyareavailablecommerciallyorcanbehandmadefromapieceofhard-woodthathasbeensmoothlysandedtoeliminateallgrooves.
ADJUSTINGTHECOMMERCIALENGLISHHORNREEDFISHSKIN:Commercially,fishskiniscalled"GoldbeatersSkin".
Itisusedtosealthesidesofthereedwithoutaddingweighttothereed.
Addedweightwillinhibitthereed'svibratingqualities.
Areedmustnotleakairbelowtheportionthatisinthemouth.
Cutastripoffishskinabout112"by1/4".
Whileslightlymoistened,pullthestripoffish-skintightlyaroundthereed,startingmidwayorlessupthereed.
Pulltightlyaroundthereedspiralingdown-warduntilitoverlapsthetopofthewindingthread.
Donotovermoisten.
Ifthefishskinistoowetitwillshrivelupanddisappear.
Alittlepracticeisnecessarytohandleitcorrectly.
Playersalsoarebeginningtouseaverythinplumber'stape,availableinhardwarestores.
Itisavailableindis-penserslikeadhesivetape.
Ithastheadvantageofbeingself-adhesive.
Italsostaysinplaceundermoistconditions.
14PITCHOFTHEREEDPitchofthereedisdeterminedby:1.
LENGTHofthereed–Thereedshouldplaytheinstru-mentintunewhenitisplacedoverthebocaltothestoppingpoint.
MostEnglishhornreedsarefrom53to56mminlength.
2.
OPENINGofthereedisequallyimportant.
Reedopeningscanbeeasilyadjusted.
Areedthatistooopenwillusuallyplayflat.
Areedwhichhasatoo-closedopeningwilltendtobesharperinpitch.
Oldandworn-outreedsbecomemoreclosedandbecometoosharpinpitch.
Theopeningofthereedisanimportantfactorforotherreasonsaswell.
Ifareedistooopen,playersareforcedto"bite",whethertheyareawareofitornot,andtheembouchurewillquicklyfatigue.
Ifthereedistooclosed,itisimpossibletoblowintoitwithadequatebreathsupport.
TooopenTooclosedCorrectopening15A.
IFTHEREEDISTOOSHARP–1.
Thereedmaybetooshort.
Scrapealittlemorewoodfromthebackofthereed.
2.
Thereedopeningistoosmall.
Thewirecanbetightenedtoimprovethesizeoftheopening.
3.
Thebocalcanbepulledoutoftheinstrumentasmallamountbeforeitadverselyaffectstheintonationoftheinstrument.
B.
IFREEDISTOOFLAT–1.
Checktoseeifthereedissplit.
Acracked/splitreedisoftenflat.
2.
Thereedistoolong.
Cutoffthereedabout1mmorless.
Thinjusttheendofthereedtiptomakeitrespond.
Ifitisstillflat,repeatthisprocedureafewtimes.
Itissometimesnecessarytocutofftheentiretipandscrapeanewoneinordertomakethereedrespond.
3.
Caneistoowide.
Makingthereedshortermightcompensate.
4.
Openingistoolarge.
Ifitseemstorespondwell,tryholdingthetipofthewell-soakedreedclosedforseveralsecondsTIPSFORSOLVINGSPECIFICREEDPROBLEMS:betweenthefingers.
Thiswillweakenthereedslightly.
Repeatthisprocedureafewtimes.
Ifunsuccessful,itwillbenecessarytoscrapetheshouldersaslightamount.
C.
THEREEDISSTIFF,STUFFYORSLOWTORESPOND–1.
Maketheveryendofthereedtipthinner.
2.
Removealittlewoodfrombehindthereedtip.
3.
Ifitappearsthatthebackisstilltoothick,scrapeabitmoreoff,particularlyifthelownotesdonotrespond.
Becarefulnottoremovethe"backbone"orthereedwillbecomeflat,ortheoctaveswillbeflat,forcingtheplayerto"bite".
D.
THEREEDISTOOFREEANDEASYTOBLOW–1.
Toomuchwoodhasalreadybeentakenoutofthereedorthetipmaybetoothin.
Clipthetipandreadjust.
2.
ProceedasinB-2above.
Itispossiblethatthereedwillbecometooshortandsharpwhiledoingthis.
Ifthishappens,discardthereedandtryanother.
Youcanalwaystakemorewoodoutofareedbutobviouslyitisimpossibletoputitback.
16LEFTHANDRIGHTHANDLeftThumb(Locatedunderinstrument)Cradleof1stFinger1stFinger2ndFinger3rdFinger4thFinger1stFinger2ndFinger3rdFinger4thFingerENGLISHHORNFINGERINGCHARTThefollowingisabasicfingeringchartthatisusedfortuningFoxandRenardoboes.
TheEnglishhornhasapproximatelya212octaverangeandveryfewalternatefingerings.
Theoneexceptionis"ForkedF".
Manystu-dentsbroughtupinabandprogramacquirethehabitofusingonlythe"ForkedF"fingering.
"ForkedF"isanalternatefingeringtobeusedwhennecessary:when"F"occursbeforeorafterE,D,C,lowC,lowBorB.
Thebasicfingeringfor"F"(ortheleft"F"keyonthoseinstru-mentsthathaveit)producesbetterintonationandnotice-ablybettertonequality.
17BCDE–DC–DOR**Useleft-handEkeyifbeforeorafterD(C).
F1.
2.
E1.
Forked"F"(Seepage16)2.
Left-handedF18F–GA–GABB–AGCOR19C–DDEF1.
2.
E–D1.
Forked"F"(Seepage16)**Useleft-handEkeyifbeforeorafterD(C).
2.
Left-handedF**EKeymaybeusedwithForked"F"forstabilityonsomeinstruments.
OR***F20GCAB–AG–AC–D****B*LeftThumbKeymaybeleftdowntoeasefacilityonA,B,BandC.
OROR21DEDFF**UsebeforeorafterhighE(D).
**UsebeforeorafterE(D).
EGOR*OR**22METHODSANDTUTORSSincethefingerings,basicplayingtechniquesandembouchurearesosimilar,anygoodoboemethodisequallyapplicabletotheEnglishhorn.
RubankandBelwin,amongothers,publishbeginnersbooks.
Afterthat,KennethGekelerandDavidHitehavepublishedsomeuse-fulmaterial.
FromtheretotheBarret"StandardOboeTutor"andtheFerling"48Etudes.
"SOLOANDENSEMBLEMATERIALThelistofsolomaterialforEnglishhornisrathersparse,incomparisonwiththatoftheoboe.
MostoftheliteratureforEnglishhornandpianoiseithertranscriptionor20thcentu-rycomposition.
Thereisabitofchambermusicavailablefromtheclassicperiod.
MozarthaswrittenanAdagioforEnglishhornwhichhasbeenarrangedforbothwindandstringchambergroups.
BeethovenhaswrittentwotriosfortwooboesandEnglishhorn.
Again,mostoftheensemblematerialdatesfromthe20thcentury.
AgoodexampleisaquartetforEnglishhornandstringsbyJeanFrancaix.
HELPSITESForthosewithcomputeraccess,helpisjustafewclicksaway.
ThecompletejournaloftheInternationalDoubleReedSociety,25yearsworth,isavailableonlineathttp://idrs.
colorado.
edu.
Thissitecontainsawealthofinformationoneveryaspectofdoublereedplaying,includingrecordingreviews,musicreviews,andreedmakingarticles,justtonameafewtopics.
Italsocontainsafileofadvertisers,togetherwiththeirwebsites.
Onlinecatalogsgiveinformationonreedtools,music,suppliesandrecordings.
AlsoontheInternetonecanfindoboechatrooms,publisherwebsitesanddealerwebsites.
AusefulbookletentirelyabouttheEnglishhornanditsmusichasbeencompiledbyaSwedishplayernamedBoEriksson.
Themailingaddressis:AltaMusicCo.
c/oBoErikssonKlisatravagen3813833AltaSwedenFoxProductsCorporationPhone:(219)723-4888Fax:(219)723-6188www.
foxproducts.
commail@foxproducts.
comShippingAddressOnly:FoxProductsCorporation6110SouthStateRoad5SouthWhitley,Indiana46787USAMailingAddressOnly:FoxProductsCorporationP.
O.
Box347SouthWhitley,Indiana46787USANoreproductionwithoutpermissionoftheauthorandFoxProductsCorporationCopyright2000FoxProductsCorporationFOXPRODUCTSCORPORATION