The English horn can be intimidating for oboists just starting out on this new instrument. It’s bigger and heavier, it seems to resist more and be less agile and the hand position is different. But it doesn’t take long to become familiar with it if you persevere. Here are some tips that will help you add this gorgeous instrument to your resume.
To get used to English horn and maintain your facility, play long tones, scale studies, oboe etudes, and oboe literature. You’ll never play it well if you don’t practice it like you do the oboe. Work on dynamics. They’re more work than on the oboe.
Air production is a bit different from what you use on the oboe. The size of the reed and instrument requires you to push even faster air with plenty of muscle to fill out the tone. And focus this faster air through the reed to create a rich, full sound over the whole range of the instrument. The high notes on the English horn naturally thin out more than the oboe, so the player must work even harder to achieve a rich sound. Overall, it’s easier to blend with the ensemble when that’s required, but a full, focused sound will be necessary to project the tone of the English horn through an ensemble during solos. BLOW!
I suggest a neck strap or crutch for most people. English horn is heavier than the oboe, and the hand position is wider. Because of the bend in the bocal, the English horn is positioned closer to the torso, so the angle of the hands is different. It’s easy to develop an injury when you start practicing English horn because of these differences. Place your left-hand index finger on the seam between the two parts of the half-hole mechanism, no higher. That way you can use a similar motion to the one you use on the oboe for the half-hole.
Because the reed is considerably bigger than the oboe reed, the small changes of embouchure and amount of reed used on the oboe will have to be expanded on the English horn. But be careful. It’s easy to end up with too much reed in your mouth which really messes with pitch and tone, especially in the high register.
To save time and advance quickly, I suggest taking out one instrument per practice session for a while, oboe or English horn. Play the same material on both instruments. A good mix is two sessions on oboe for every one session on English horn. Once you are used to the English horn, make sure to play both instruments in practice sessions leading up to the concert. Switching between the two instruments quickly can be a struggle. There is an embouchure adjustment, and it can tire the embouchure faster than if you only play one or the other instrument.
Make sure the reed is always tight on the bocal. It tends to loosen and create air leaks or fall off while you are playing. Superior Oboe Reeds’ English horn reeds have a bit of plastic tubing on the end to keep the reed tight on the bocal.
There is usually a wire on an English horn reed. The wire is there to support the pitch and tone in the high range. It should firmly hold the edges of the reed but shouldn’t be too tight. As the reed ages, it might need to be tightened. This is easily accomplished with pliers, preferably needle-nose. Move the twisted tail of the wire to vertical. While holding onto the reed by placing your fingers on both sides of the wire, gently pull the tail until a small gap appears. Then, twist the wire to snug the wire to the reed. Don’t twist and pull at the same time. And don’t overtighten, you’ll impede the vibration of the reed. Return the tail to its original position. If the wire breaks, you can replace it. Most commonly the wire is 24-gauge brass wire. You can find something similar in a hardware store.
In an emergency an oboe reed can work on an English horn but avoid this situation if possible. You’ll eventually ruin the bocal (not a cheap piece of equipment to replace) and the tone and pitch are not as good.