An ever-evolving and ever-expanding collection of anecdotes, aphorisms, explanations, observations, and opinions. Agree or disagree with something? Contact me. Let's talk about it.
Be Yourself
Big Reeds, Small Reeds
Black Ink
Breathe like a Manatee
Control, Not Speed
Dark and Bright
Do-Overs
A Good Time to Live
Leaking Reeds
Practice with Purpose
Reedmaking Diagnostics
Reedmaking Priorities
Study your favorite players, but don't imitate them. Don't try to sound just like them. You can't. And even if you could, you shouldn't. They're them, and you're you. So be the best you that you can be. Cultivate your own inimitable "voice." Play with authenticity, with conviction. Make every phrase your own.
All other factors being equal, a bigger reed produces a smaller sound, a smaller reed produces a bigger sound.
The next time you're at the zoo, watch the manatees for a while. Oboists should breathe like manatees. We humans exchange only ten percent of our lung capacity in an average breath. Manatees exchange ninety percent.
The manatee floats to the surface and lifts its nose above the water. It submerges just a few seconds later. During those seconds, it exhales and inhales, filling its massive lungs to the brim. And it does so effortlessly, even gracefully. It doesn't gasp. It doesn't panic. Though it may not resurface for twenty minutes, it breathes calmly.
Our lungs are smaller, so we don't need a few seconds. One is sufficient. If you want to master the oboe, learn to take deep breaths quickly and quietly. It doesn't matter that you played thirty seconds on your last breath, or that you must play another thirty on this one. Breathe efficiently, and you'll make it. Breathe effortlessly, and you'll put your audience at ease: they'll believe you can make it. And nothing awes an audience more than an oboist's apparent indifference to oxygen. So relax, keep calm, and breathe like a manatee.
When practicing a difficult passage, don't play too fast too soon. Aim for control, not speed. Speed will come in time. But without control, it's useless.
Don't describe tone as dark or bright. Those are useless words. Everybody wants a dark tone, and nobody wants a bright tone. So whatever we like, we call dark; and whatever we don't like, we call bright. Be creative when describing tone.
Nobody cares if you can play it right the second time. You have to play it right the first time. There are no do-overs in performance.
A few decades ago, oboists didn't have websites with contact forms. There weren't any online oboe forums. If you wanted to know how the oboe was played in France, you had to go to France. Nowadays you can just login and ask. It's a good time to live.
If your reeds leak, tie better blanks. Don't patch up leaks. Correct the mistakes that are causing the leaks in the first place.
When you practice, don't just play. Practice with purpose. Every exercise should be a deliberate attempt to improve a particular aspect of your playing. If you're not getting better, you're probably getting worse.
The crow and look of a reed are useful diagnostics, but both can be misleading. Sometimes a good reed crows oddly, and sometimes a bad reed crows perfectly. Sometimes a good reed looks odd, and sometimes a bad reed looks perfect. So don't aim primarily for a certain crow or look. Both are merely means to an end. Ultimately, reeds are meant to be played.
Keep your reedmaking priorities straight. Scrape first for response, intonation, stability, and flexibility. Then for tone. Tone is important, but function is even more important.