Valparaiso, Indiana

Step Six-Making practice fun

Remember to treat your oboe like your best friend-spend time with it every day for 30 minutes.  Many method books for oboe have a CD enclosed and extra CDs to purchase.  Listen to the CD one one line at a time as you read the new oboe note names, fingerings, and new techniques.  Follow the directions on the CD so that you can hear the sound of the tune or exercise before you begin playing your oboe with the CD.

For the beginning oboist practicing for 15 minutes, take a short five-minute break and listen to your CD while fingering the notes, and then practice for an additional 15 minutes. This is the best way to organize and enjoy your practicing.  Eventually you can add five minutes on to your practice time with less break time until you can practice 30 minutes non-stop.

You will want to look in a mirror to check your posture, hand position, and embouchure.  Be sure your left hand is on the top and your right hand is on the bottom with curved fingers.  Try not to breathe after every note.  For most of the one-line tunes and exercises in the beginning of your book you will only need to breathe one or two times.  Be sure to exhale old air first and inhale fresh air second.  The oboist always has too much air backed up; thus, you do not have to gulp in large amounts of air to play the oboe.

Always start your oboe sound by tonguing the reed like saying “TA” or “DAH.”
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For information on becoming a distributor call 219-464-3390 or email info@stradellareeds.com.

Students and oboists, our reeds are available at several locations and online. See our website for purchasing information: http://stradellareeds.com/find_us