I have some students who are currently struggling with hand position. Their left hand is the problem: instead of having the index finger hover over the side octave key, it is resting below the side octave key — almost pushing into the somewhat sharp point of the key, in fact. A student today asked me, “Why can’t they just make the side octave key longer?” Hmmm. Maybe that would help, but honestly, when I put my hand in the position they are using, it places the pinkie finger beneath the low B flat key, which is not a good place to have it. Not at all. In “home position” the left pinkie is over the G# key, or between that and the low B key.
The wrists shouldn’t be bent, and the left hand is not precisely perpendicular to the oboe. It is, instead, angled very slightly downward. This helps the index finger rest over the octave key, and brings the pinkie up where it belongs.
I really need to get some good pictures of hand position here. (I am certain I’ve seen some good photos online somewhere, but I’m not finding them right now.) Unfortunately the only pictures I have in my files aren’t up close enough. I wonder if I can find a photographer anywhere who could take pictures sometime. Hmmm.
That’s interesting – I’ve never seen that variant on bad hand position, though I’ve had several students whose left hands were way too HIGH – choking up on the side octave and limiting their third finger range of motion and half-hole capabilities.
I try to get them to put their hand in a limp-wristy rest position and then apply that directly to the oboe so that the whole construction is as relaxed as possible, and we do a lot of mirror work – literally watching their hands in the mirror and stopping every time they start to creep up into the bad place. That has worked, but only when the student is motivated to make the change. Though obviously that’s true of every aspect of teaching…
It’s true, I’ve seen the “high hand” too. With my younger ones, though, they tend toward what I was describing above. It’s difficult to get them to change!