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Re: beginner oboists

Author: vboboe
Date: 2008-11-09 15:25

... i second the idea of a very easy reed to start on, although that doesn't necessarily have to be plastic since learning to pre-wet oboe reeds is an important little ritual for oboe students to learn early, along with the ritual of careful assembly / disassembly & swobbing their instrument

are their reeds actually soft enough for them? and/or wetted up enough first?

can they freely squawk the reed OK before attaching oboe? Or is getting anything out of the reed by itself a challenge?

have you played their oboes to determine resistance in the instruments?

if their oboes are hard to blow for you, that's horribly discouraging to kids, and discouragement is an emotionally loaded deterrant to youthful progress

if they don't get results soon, they won't want to keep coming back for more of the same and will plead with their parents to quit lessons ...

If the reeds and oboes are OK, then maybe teacher could become deviously artful?

picking up on the possibility they're nervous or shy and/or uncomfortably unfamiliar with everything, how about a less formal approach, adopt a more casual approach, more organic, cut down to kid-size?

10 & 13 are still kids, even if they want to seem grown-up already, so silly funny nonsense can still appeal to them

why not try a funny or silly kid's song as a warmup to squawk their reed in rhythm, teacher maybe conducting with a toy magic wand or something just as funky, goal to get them giggling and laughing, then help them identify their laughing muscles to blow the oboe ... with a silly and funny duck song?

After that, maybe cue any future weak blowing attempts with your toy magic wand ... 'i'm gonna tickle your ribs ... laugh ... use your Ha-ha muscles"

just letting them waggle their fingers any way they like over the tone-holes with resulting squeaks and weird sounds, while their embouchures are in the beginner's stage and can't blow very long, makes it easier for them to get something out, rather than nothing while trying too seriously hard to get an authentic note as written on the staff

This associates happy feelings with getting results = important connection

... be creative, goal in mind, encourage more laughter until they are comfortably relaxed with you each lesson and until they can really honk their horns with confidence, then you can move on to the real substance of oboe lessons

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