Reply To: Need help for flat oboe player

[nafmeadmin]

Don’t underestimate the power of listening. As an oboist myself and now a band director, I didn’t understand the concept of actively tuning until I was halfway through high school. In my experience, even though the concept had been explained to me I’m sure at least a thousand times or more in different settings by different directors while I was playing different instruments, it took a concert “aha!” experience for my lightbulb to go off. Does your oboist play in isolation? Sometimes directors will have students go study by themselves when they are faced with the challenge of a new instrument, especially one the director doesn’t play or feel confident teaching (my experience). This can actually be detrimental to players. There is so much to be said for the benefits of listening to really good performances and players! I think we sometimes underestimate what a really complex, confusing, intricate system music performance is, and how much we’re asking of our young players. You may find that taking a few steps back to really lay the groundwork of musical understanding saves a great deal of time in the long run.