Do your students know how to play effective phrases?
I’ve done sectionals with a bunch of students over the last two weeks on their CMEA music, and I keep noticing a pattern of students...
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Mar 2, 20232 min
Do you know the 3 elements of fast articulation?
Here in CA, we’re about a month (maybe a bit less) away from CMEA festival, and I imagine that in other states you’ll be on a similar...
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Feb 16, 20233 min
A medium-soft reed is good for high altitude playing!
Last week after I sent the newsletter version of last week's post “Medium Soft Reeds Aren’t the Answer”, I got an email from Khara Wolf,...
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Feb 9, 20234 min
Why medium soft reeds aren’t the answer.
It’s the second week of the month, and I’m hearing a lot of new reeds in lessons this week! That is great news for some students (who had...
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Feb 2, 20233 min
Do you know how much oboe reed should go in your mouth?
Happy February! You may be thinking that it’s time to bring a clinician in to “sell” the oboe to your class, so you can fill out your...
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Jan 26, 20232 min
Do your oboe students rotate their reeds?
I’ve been checking in with my beginner students this week about their newly broken in reeds (they were assigned to break in 1 or 2 new...
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Jan 19, 20232 min
Do your students know the difference between rod screws and adjustment screws?
In December, as part of my holiday gift to my students, I gave each of them a little eyeglass repair kit. The screwdriver was the...
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Jan 12, 20232 min
Return to playing after a break
This is my first week of teaching lessons after the winter holiday break, and so far I’ve had only one or two students who practiced the...
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Dec 15, 20223 min
How to retain your new oboe students
Last week I gave you my short-list of the perks of playing the oboe (if you missed it, you can check it out here), and this week I...
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Dec 12, 20222 min
Are you a paper and pencil teacher?
Do you prefer to write things down on paper like I do? I tried to migrate to all digital, but my iPad is too big and heavy (I got the big...
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Dec 7, 20222 min
The perks of playing oboe
We have just a few weeks left to teach in this calendar year! 🎉 And I know you have concerts galore, and maybe you have to turn in...
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Nov 29, 20222 min
What oboe reeds do I recommend to students?
As it’s the second day back to school for most schools, it’s also prime winter concert prep season, and thus it’s super important to...
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Nov 22, 20224 min
Do you need an oboe-specific repair person? An Interview with Angela Wells
You already know that oboes are super touchy instruments. It seems like looking at an oboe funny can make it go wildly out of adjustment...
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Nov 17, 20223 min
Do your students know the 6 steps to winterize an oboe?
I originally wrote these steps for my students and their parents, so feel free to forward this post directly to your students so they can...
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Nov 2, 20223 min
Do you know how to get water out of an oboe tone hole?
Here in San Jose we got a rain shower yesterday, which caught me by surprise, but reminded me that the weather is changing across the...
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Oct 25, 20221 min
Do your oboe students play with good tone?
Now that we’re really into the semester, you’re probably working on tone with your students. Good news! I have a ✨FREE ✨resource for your...
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Oct 19, 20224 min
Do you know how to travel with an oboe?
We know that oboes seem to be so delicate that they’ll break if you look at them funny. So as we gear up for fall Festival season and...
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Oct 12, 20222 min
Do NOT waste your money on this brand of oboe
Over the last 9 months 4 of my students have been handed brand new Nobel brand oboes by their school or youth orchestra organization. The...
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Oct 4, 20222 min
Do you know the secret behind oboe articulation?
It took me - no joke - 8 years of private lessons to learn this secret and understand how to execute proper articulation on the oboe! I...
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Sep 28, 20223 min
Do your wind players warm up at home?
I’ve been doing in-school sectionals with middle and high school students over the last couple of weeks, and I’ve been noticing a...
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