Kooiman thumbrest

My interest was peaked by some links on the oboe Bboard and the clarinet bboard regarding the Kooiman Thumbrest last winter, so I went ahead and bought it.

Some of those discussion threads are here, here, here, and here.

There are two versions of them, the $20 Etude one made primarily of Plastic, and the $200 which is built of entirely metal. After reading some reviews that the $20 falls apart after a year, I decided to buy the expensive one, which has been fantastic.

First let me say when I first received it, I buckled down on the top piece which bolts down on the bearing. I bent the piece and promptly wrote Mr. Kooiman regarding my problem. He promptly sent me a replacement part, along with several other spare parts just for the heck of it. He didn’t even charge me for shipping. That’s what I call customer service!

Second of all, the actual thumbrest takes some getting used to (probably 2 or 3 good months?) but once you have adjusted, you’ll never go back! (I got this installed a week before my grad school auditions. This was NOT a good idea, considering I was playing Mozart Concerto, Strauss, and Le Tombeau amongst others.) I love my thumbrest so much. It’s so comfortable, and really helps me with my rather large hand and fingers. (I’m 6′3″, and my my hand can palm a basketball. I have long fingers.)

My little confession is this: I cheated. My fingers are double jointed, and I was never really able to curve my ring fingers very well. Therefore, instead of holding my hands perfectly lined up on the oboe with each finger perfectly curved, I held them a bit diagonal so that my index fingers are very curved and bunched up, while my ring fingers remain rather flat (with a slight curve, but not as much as I know they probably should be.) The reasoning behind this is simple, it’s much easier for me to trill a D-E trill with my finger flatter. Now, the downside is I have to work really hard to get that trill fast (Mozart Concerto 3rd movement is a B#@@#$! but I’ve worked it up to acceptable tempos). Now, the Kooiman thumbrest has given me a third alternative. Since my hand isn’t so cramped up close to the body of the lower joint, and my thumb can open up, my ring finger feels like it can curve a bit more and thus get more leverage to trill faster and stronger than it ever has! Previously, with my Loree adjustable thumbrest that came with the Royal, the shape of my right inner thumb to index finger was that of a solid “U” on it’s side. But now with the Kooiman, the shape would be more considered a backwards “C” shape.

Another effect that I’ve found with the Kooiman is that it allows me to hold my arms/hands where I want, but brings the oboe up a bit, thus opening up my sound and further encouraging me to play further toward the tip of the reed, both very positive effects for my sound.

I strongly recommend the Kooiman Oboe Maestro model. It’s a great product, and I’ve had no other problems than my own doing when I first put it together. It does take professional installation though, since the holes do not line up with typical thumbrest holes. It detaches from the oboe and can be stored in your case cover pouch easily. It also comes with another installation plate, so you can have one plate on your oboe and one on your EH and just switch your detachable thumbrest between the two horns (two for the price of one).

You can buy the Kooiman thumbrest at Forrests’ Music like me and get ripped off, or at Charles Double Reed Shoppe where you save $20, or you can go to this place where you save about $90.

90% done packing, get a chance to finally practice!

I haven’t practiced in three days since we’ve been so busy with the move, the U.S. Embassy immigration visa interview, and my best friend leaving Korea, I’ve finally gotten a chance to resume my practicing.

Things coming for me is playing “Ich Habe Genug” at church on August 5th, hopefully the Strauss or the Bach g minor (transcribed from a minor) Partita at The Northwest Oboe Seminar which I hope to register for on August 18th, University of Orchestra placement auditions September 20th, and hopefully an October recital. So I’m beginning to think about cranking it into high gear to get myself in shape. In a week or two, I plan on going out into a bed-and breakfast place up on a mountain completely isolated, where I’ll practice for a week or so.

Recently, after reading Richard Woodhams’ tribute to JdL, I was inspired to go through all of the Barret studies and transpose them a 1/2 step up, a 1/2 step down, a full step up and a full step down. Needless to say, this certainly keeps one more focused and concentrated on the music while playing all-familiar exercises, and strengthens the ear and concentration.

But tonight I’ve started working on the G minor Partita again. This piece is one of my favorite pieces, and is included on the Klein Bach and Telemann Fantasies and Partitas, and is transposed a full step down from the original A minor, which was originally written for flute and is included in the Vade Mecum. It’s a fantastic piece, with lots of feeling, soul, and flare. Listening to Klein play it with that low A attachment on his Royal, it certainly adds a bit to it. Few players probably actually need a low A for artistic reasons, and Klein is certainly one of them. As I’ve been going along, I’ve deviated a bit from the printing on a couple occasions, reaching for the high Eb in measure 5, and the low Bb  on the downbeat of measure 10, and low Bnat on the downbeat of measure 11. I sure would love to hit that low A on the 4th beat of measure 21.

The reed I’ve been using today is the same one I took lots of pictures of while making the other day. It’s working fantastically, and I’m very pleased that it’s holding up and not changing.

Blog Cards!?!?

“…and no blog URLs were handed out. (I did have my cards with me, but I wasn’t about to pester people with them unless they handed me one first.)”

At first I had to re-read this quote from Patty’s blog. Are bloggers supposed to keep Blog cards on them at all time? Isn’t this a bit extreme?

More and more readers are sending me emails that they are eager to discuss or ask about but appear to be too shy to post a comment. This is fine by me, but I am beginning to realize that I am a rarity in the blogging world; an extrovert. Patty recently posted about how she believes many bloggers are introverts. Another blogger of “Civic Center” posted about how the “blogger concert” pre-talk was a bit odd since… after all… bloggers don’t really talk.

I suppose some people blog because they feel needed to be heard and blogging is the best way to express themselves. I think I blog just because I can’t shut up.

What was that!?!?!?

Sometimes I listen to CDs where you’re going along listening to the piece and *BAM* there’s a strange sound.

For example, most oboists own de Lancie’s Strauss concerto and, in the first movement, there’s this strange “flap flap flap flap flap” sound that happens very quickly, as if someone slowly dragged a ballpoint pen down a washboard. Does anyone know what that sound is? It appears again later, obviously some kind of background noise that would be edited out nowadays.

Another example is on the Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet. There’s a piece on the 20th century CD that has what sounds like a squeaky rubber duck in the middle of it. It sounds right, and although I don’t know the piece, my guess is it is written in. But if you’re not familiar with the piece, it definitely takes you by surprise! The odd thing though, is I believe it reappears in another piece on the CD, which was recorded several years later. Was this some recording studio joke?

Speaking of the Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet CDs, I love de Lancie’s playing, particularly of the Barber Summer Music in those. But I love how natural they sound. In fact, de Lancie misses the high E in the opening of the Poulenc Sextet, and it’s also very shocking! I think that’s the only mistake I’ve ever heard recorded of de Lancie. Good to know he’s mortal after all!