Megan was extraordinarily cool, she would blow the competitors away, if not figuratively, then literally with her oboe.
Hi all– writing a ww quintet and I can’t think of any better way to answer this question. How long could an advanced oboist hold a note on a single breath? I’m specifically looking for the sound of the instrument being stretched absolutely as long as the player can, but I need to be able to somewhat plan for how long it’s going to take. Thanks!
I read it here.
One of the responses suggested circular breathing. I really don’t care much for the technique. I won’t go into why for now, as I’m on vacation and so is my brain. But the question is one that I just don’t care for. Just write music, please. And if you want someone to hold a note for three minutes don’t use a wind instrument. Breathing is part of the music.
When I play a terrifically long phrase &mdash: I can go on for quite a while without a breath — I frequently hear, “Wow, that was a long time to hold your breath!” and to me that shows that it may have been distracting to do so. And of course I’m not actually holding my breath … I am pushing it through that tiny reed. I rarely run out of oxygen; I run “into” carbon dioxide.
Haha… I was a band geek too! Played the oboe, makes me a super geek. 🙂
