A.Dip (Vancouver Academy of Music)
B.Mus (University of British Columbia)
Diploma in Music (Kwantlen)
Elizabeth Brown is an oboist, flautist and gardener. Born and raised in Powell River, British Columbia, she holds a Bachelor of Music from UBC and an Artist Diploma from the Vancouver Academy of Music. She seeks out exciting music to play wherever and whenever she can.
Elizabeth enjoys teaching because of the fresh perspective students often bring to her own playing. She feels that learning music should be an enjoyable and enriching experience led by the student’s own goals and dreams.
Get to know Beth…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: Sailing, gardening, skiing, canoeing
Musical influences: The Ocean, Beth Orson, Albrecht Mayer, Bjork
Favourite food: sweet & sour meatballs
Least favourite food: Brussel sprouts. ew.
Favourite music: currently K.Flay
Favourite song: Possibly Maybe – Bjork
Favourite movie: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring
Favourite movie music: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Favourite musical theatre/opera: The Threepenny Opera – Kurt Weill
Best quote from your teacher: “What makes me happy as an oboist is not necessarily what will make you happy.”
Favourite quote:
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
? Frank Herbert, Dune
Favourite book: Dreams underfoot – Charles de Lint
Latest Homework from Beth
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Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Cooper
Warm up: put a metronome on 60 or use the second hand of an analogue clock (if you have one!) and play low D, middle D, High D and back down again with each note getting 4 beats. See if you can do it in one breath!
Barret Forty Progressive melodies No. 1: (pg 57)
Good sight reading!
- Try to play through the whole exercise once at the beginning of your practice time just to figure out the notes
- then practice each section tapping the quarter note beat on one leg and singing the oboe part. Make sure you subdivide the 16th notes
- hold the quarter notes the full value, and try to decrescendo on the ends without dropping the pitch to make the ending more graceful
Barret articulation Exercise (pg 46)
Embouchure tips:
- put as little reed in your mouth as possible; you will have to vary this to control pitch and tone somewhat, but always try to keep less reed in your mouth
- with the reed on your bottom lip, roll your lip over your bottom and top teeth, then surround the reed so that it doesn’t leak air by bringing in the corners of your mouth like a reverse pout!
- think “Ah” to drop your jaw on lower notes
- when slurring to a lower note from a higher note think “Eeee Ahhh”
- lower notes need the reed to be able to vibrate freely – this means less pressure on the reed
If the tuning is not steady on the repeated articulated notes, try them ‘on the air’ without touching your tongue to the reed. think ‘Haa Haa Haa Haa’ this should be done without taking in air in between if possible – as though you are laughing.
Scales!
New: C Major 2 octaves.
- Don’t worry if the low C wont come out all the time
- play it slowly and make sure you know where your fingers are going before switching notes.
- Crescendo to the top, decrescendo on the way down
Bb Major
- Try to practice with a metronome
- Crescendo to the top!
G minor (harmonic and melodic)
- Try starting at the top, going down and then back up (this will be tricky with the harmonic!)
- set the metronome to a tempo you think is right for this scale, and if you make a mistake, take the tempo down 2 notches. Only increase after you play it once without fingering mistakes
Preferred Books for Beth’s Students
Click to buy them here, and they’ll come right to your house! What could be easier?
Gekeler Method
The material in the Gekeler Method for Oboe is divided in two parts. The studies in Part I are for the purpose of developing musical style and interpretation; those in Part II are for the study of scales and intervals, and for improvement of articulation.
Gekeler Method
(See notes for book One)
80 Graded Studies
80 Graded Studies for Oboe is two books that bring together a broad selection of repertoire in a variety of styles. The studies are arranged in order of increasing difficulty, according to a carefully planned technical progression.
The Really Easy Oboe Book
Song book including: March of the Ducks * Daydreaming * Holiday Trot * The Brook * Mellifluous Minuet * Nocturne * Spring Song * Elizabethan Lament * The Barrel Organ * Siciliana * Dance of the Scarecrows * Ballad * Jovial Jig * Berceuse * Children’s Waltz * Wistful Waltz * Chrismtas Song * Comedy * A Winter’s Tale * Country Dance.
Oboe Music to Enjoy
Firs Book of Oboe Solos
First Book of Oboe Solos is the oboe solo part separate from the complete score of the First Book Of Oboe Solos (0571503721) that contains piano accompaniment. This book is a collection with the true beginner in mind, arranged and edited by Janet Craxton and Alan Richardson, introducing oboe players to an unusually wide range of music. All 26 pieces have been chosen to encourage attention to the basic technical aspects of oboe playing, and are organised in approximate order of increasing technical difficulty. The book helps young students take account of both technical and musical considerations from the very beginning.
