Cooper

Good work on the first octave of D major!

Breathing

Practice breathing when you’re not playing the oboe this week. Do this maybe 3 or 4 times in the morning when you wake up, or before bed. This will help you increase your lung capacity! Try it standing, sitting, laying on your back. Do you feel like any one position makes it easier?

• Take a big breath in – as much air as you can, then see if you can take in a little more
• Hold it for a second.
• Breathe out with a steady stream of air, as though you are playing the oboe – try to keep it steady and the same speed and go for as long as you can – time yourself by counting or watching a clock
• When ALL the air is out of your lungs, try to squeeze just a little bit more out
• Hold it a second.
• Repeat!

Scales

D Major

• Practice the first octave up and down all slurred.
• See if you can do all the way up and down in one breath
• Work on the upper octave, but don’t worry too much if the B natural drops down
• Don’t spend more than 10 minutes on the upper register

Pieces

Gymnopédie No. 1

It’s really getting there! You have the notes, now it’s about focus and endurance.

• Work on the problem spots first
  • The high A naturals
  • Tonguing the F sharps
  • The first and second endings
• Take a 5 – 10 minute break to rest your lips
• Try to run though the piece once without stopping
  • Remember not to go too fast use a metronome to remind you of the tempo you want
  • If you make a mistake, try to keep going in tempo
  • Finish the piece as though you have an audience – smile!
  • If things fell apart during this run through, spend a little time working on them separately before trying another full run through
  • Don’t do more than 4 run throughs per practice session