I had the privilege of working with a handful of oboe and bassoon students at La Honda Music Camp a few weeks ago, none of whom have...

As we’re getting back to basics, I thought we should revisit the half-hole and what your students should and should NOT be doing with...

It’s the Summer Semester here at the Gessner Oboe Studio! My students and I have been getting back into normal practice routines,...

I’ve scheduled this to publish while I’m enjoying some R&R with friends and family in the Midwest. While I’m relaxing, let’s get into my...

Happy Summer! In the Bay Area, most of the schools I serve have wrapped up their academic year, or are finishing this week. I’m currently...

As we start to count down the number of days left in the school year (9 days of instruction left for me!), I’ve started to bring up...

This week I have been reviewing goals and celebrating student wins! I’m so proud of the hard work my students have put in all year, so I...

It's another short one this week! Here are your Top 4 reasons that oboists play flat: Air is too slow/warm/pointing downwards - Speed the...

It’s recital week here in the Gessner Oboe Studio. About half of my students are going to perform solo pieces this Sunday at our studio...

Too much mouth pressure - Move the teeth a little bit further apart to release pressure on the reed. Too much reed in the mouth - Play...

After taking last week off (I miraculously managed to check my email only once a day!), I'm feeling rejuvenated and ready to face the...

When I ended last week’s blog with “I’m not sure how I’m going to use this new information to teach vibrato”, I didn’t expect to have a...

I got some really interesting feedback on my vibrato newsletter/blog two weeks ago! In the process of fielding comments on Instagram and...

I’ve started working on intonation with my more advanced students in a really interesting way the last few weeks: incorporating the tonic...

Hey I’ve been having such a cool semester - so many of my students were beginners last year and are finally ready to start using vibrato...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...