Teaching beginning oboists how to play is admittedly a tricky thing to do. Listed below are typical "no one told me" responses to the following suggestions:
Always assemble the oboe by first attaching the bell to the middle section of the oboe. This allows players to steady the oboe on a leg while carefully attaching the top joint to the middle joint. It also means they're not getting cork grease on their clothes.
Make sure the connection from the top to middle joint of the oboe lines up on the right side of the oboe. In other words, make sure the F# key perfectly connects with the top joint. (It's not important for the left side of oboe, where the left-hand pinky keys are, to perfectly align because the connecting key only operates a trill key.)
Make sure your reeds are allowed to dry between playing. Poke a hole or two in the plastic containers that protect your reeds, unless you have a proper reed case. If your reeds don't dry out, they will mold. Ewww!
If you get strep throat or some other contagious virus, throw your reeds away! However, you may save and clean the staples (cork part) for reed-making after discarding the thread/cane. (Soak in 1:1 water/minimum 70% isopropyl alcohol.)
If you have a wooden oboe, keep the top joint under your arm pit to warm the wood while you soak your reed. This will help prevent the top joint from cracking, which is an expensive repair.
Dip only the tip of your reed in water and let it soak for about a minute before you play. Old reeds need to be soaked for a long time, and that's when you know it's time to get a new one! If you use water, reeds will last longer. You can clean reeds by inserting a small pipe cleaner through the bottom and up through the tip of a soaked reed. Pull all the way through the tip and don't back it out of the bottom as it will damage the reed tip.
Never leave your reed in the oboe with the oboe resting in your lap. Believe me, the person next to you will damage your reed by accident. Either place the reed in your mouth or on the music stand, or simply rest the oboe in standing position on your leg with the reed in place.
When the oboe is resting on your lap, make sure the keys face upwards. Otherwise, you will get water in your keys and it will create an obnoxious gurgling sound when you least expect it.
ALWAYS swab water out of the oboe when you are finished playing. Otherwise, your oboe will crack (if it's made of wood), the bore will become smaller over time from the "gunk" build up (and the oboe will play under pitch), and some keys will build up "gunk" inside the tone holes which will produce wrong sounds at the most inopportune times.
When storing reeds inside a proper reed case, make sure the thread part of the reed rests inside the cradle of the ribbon, while the cork rests on top of the raised flat strip to one side of the ribbon. When removing a reed from the case, simple push down on the cork and it will pivot over the flat part raising up the cane for easy retrieval.
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