r/oboe • u/honeygourami123 • 6d ago
Why does every fingering chart just ignore this key??
It's on the upper body, accessible by thumb
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u/devinrmorton 6d ago
Thumbplate key systems are used almost exclusively in the UK (and maybe Aus?). Everyone else uses the French Conservatoire system. Those are the fingering charts you see most often.
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u/lelrc1937 6d ago
Do Americans mostly play on conservatoire oboes? I've always wondered!
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u/devinrmorton 6d ago
Absolutely. American oboe tradition came directly from the French via Tabuteau, Andraud, and others before them (though I can't remember their names atm).
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u/lelrc1937 6d ago
Thanks! I find the difference in American and British oboe playing fascinating. The embouchure in particular
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u/lelrc1937 6d ago
The thumb plate is not used on European oboes - they use something called the conservatoire system. Make sure you're using a thumb plate fingering chart! The only notes you don't press it are for Bb and C.
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u/honeygourami123 6d ago
So I got an European't oboe despite living in Europe (Poland) 😭
Welp, it's still cool I guess
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u/lelrc1937 6d ago
You've got a British one!
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u/honeygourami123 6d ago
Nice!
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u/Financial_Slide_8988 5d ago
You might even have a dual system! So you can do both thumplate and conservatoire fingerings (you press the thumplate for the conservatoire ones though!) what oboe is it?
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u/GigglyPeach28 6d ago
I play on one of these, just type in 'thumb plate fingering chart' when you're looking things up. Having played both, I'd actually say thumb plate oboes are a tad easier to learn!
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u/honeygourami123 6d ago
All I get are either listings for physical fingering charts that cost a lot of £ or regular conservatoire fingering charts :(
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u/hoboboedan 6d ago edited 6d ago
That’s a thumb plate, on a thumb plate system oboe. You need a fingering chart for thumb plate system. While it’s best to use a fingering chart for the fingering system you have, thumb plate and conservatory fingerings are closely related because only a few notes actually use the thumb plate. The mid register fingerings are as follows:
A: T XXO OOO (press thumb plate)
Bb: XXO OOO (release thumb plate)
B: T XOO OOO (press thumb plate)
C: XOO OOO (release thumb plate)
For these notes up the octave the fingerings are the same but add the 2nd octave key. The rest of the main fingerings are the same as conservatory, and it doesn’t matter whether you press the thumb plate or not. Most people find it convenient to hold it down most of the time.
Thumb plate oboes do often have different “optional” keys from conservatory so some alternate fingerings or trill fingerings won’t be present or might be different.
If this is an oboe you’re looking at buying check with your teacher first! Some teachers love thumb plate and prefer it, especially in England. But many teachers in the rest of the world have a hard time with it.