ABOUT PRACTICING
The word technique is most often used in reference to a player’s ability to play lots of notes fast. That is part of it. Technique is the ability to control all aspects of playing the instrument. Technique involves all of the elements relating to physically playing the instrument, musical thought, and efficient practicing. The building of technique relies on a determination and commitment to the long term proposition of never ending devotion to continuous practice. One needs to make this a priority if the goal is to reach the highest levels of musical performance. You should accomplish something at each practice session in order to continually be on a road to higher proficiency. Mindless repetition is not a good way to approach practicing. Focus in on the problem at hand and zero in on an effective way to fix it.
Hard work pays dividends
Practicing normally includes technical development, musical etudes, and instrument repetoire. Basic technical building blocks - scales, trills, arpeggios, intervals, long tones, crescendo and diminuendo, articulation, etc. - should be life long exercises.
My preferred method of scale practice is to play the scale starting with each note of the scale over the entire range of the oboe. The scales are done in five note, one octave, and two octave groups. If the tonality is F Major you would start on the low B flat with each of those groupings. Then you go to low C, low D, etc. through the applicable range. Stay in the key signature. In this manner you are practicing a variety of patterns that contain major, natural minor, and other modes. Make sure that you also get to harmonic and melodic minors. Obviously, composers don’t only write scales starting on the tonic note. Arpeggios can be practiced using the same approach. Utilize root and inverted positions as well as extending the range of the arpeggio. Trills should be measured in eighths, triplets, sixteenths, sixteenth triplets, and the door bell.
Three less common practice items
There are three not always practiced items that I feel are quite beneficial in helping to develop high level performance skills – transposing, memorizing and improvising. These, along with learning to see note groups and phrases when reading music, can help you get away from the syndrome of playing one note at a time and thereby getting bogged down. Additionally, the development of hearing skills is crucial to any performer.
Transposition can be done with any music. Obviously, if you use a learned etude or other piece you are familiar with, transposition may not be so daunting. When starting this work I suggest using simple material and transpose at a close interval such as a whole step or half step. I think transposing upward is psychologically more comfortable, but do transpose down as well. You can gradually progress to more active music and further tonalities.
Memorization has long been a tradition for concert soloists. A major benefit for anyone who plays something from memory is that it gets you off the page. You are much freer to “play the music” since you are not encumbered by reading. Certainly there are strategies of how to go about memorizing, but for beginning this exercise use short four or eight bar phrases rather than trying to conquer a long etude or movement. Developing confidence by having success will help you continue this discipline.
When it comes to improvising, I’m not saying to become a great Jazz artist, although you are free to do so, if you wish. By experiencing improvisation you develop a much deeper understanding of the music making process and hone some very pertinent skills. You are, in essence, composing in real time. Even the simplest of improvisation is beneficial. Making up melodies that work with a major triad, for example, can give you a feel for the differences of root, third or fifth of a chord. How do they convey the tonality? Using a tonic and dominant based progression enables you to feel the pull of certain notes such as thirds, sevenths, leading tones, etc. This will certainly help you in playing any music as you become more in touch with the shapes and directions of phrases; and you understand why. As you practice scales and arpeggios of all sorts, you can incorporate more harmonic material into your improvising. Again, I suggest going at it slowly when starting so that you develop comfort and ease, experience success, and gain confidence. Your ear improves, your interpretive skills improve and your technique improves.
Rhythm
Rhythm is the single biggest problem area I hear in students. I have come to believe that we learn note values in an ineffective manner. In order to understand a whole note or quarter note, any note value, one must know what it contains. A student cannot play accurate rhythms or place notes following a tie if there is no understanding of the inner divisions that exist. While I recognize that a beginner has a great many inherent problems I urge that teaching the inner works of rhythm take place as early as possible. It is truly discouraging to see high school and college level oboe players with no concept of rhythm.
Metronome and tuner
Both the metronome and tuner are very useful pieces of equipment, but both should be used without becoming crutches. When you are performing, those devices are not there. The metronome can be used to play the inner pulses of beats right from the earliest levels. It can be an aid in keeping steady tempo and when breaking down difficult passages. Ultimately, though, reliance on a metronome or conductor to keep time for you is unacceptable. A musician should not need assistance in that way.
The tuner can also be advantageous as a practice tool. Use it first to find correctness on one note or an interval. Primarily, use it with your eyes shut. Open your eyes only to see if you were accurate. You must learn to hear with your ears, not to rely on the visual.
Improving
Repetition is a key to learning and it is necessary to be correct each time. Allow yourself the luxury of playing it right no matter how slow you need to play it. Not only does this approach build technique, but it also builds confidence. In any performing endeavor – music, theater, film, sports, etc. – confidence is very important. As you become accurate at each speed it gets easier to increase the speed. Also, it is sometimes necessary to practice something in varying rhythms, articulations, etc., in order to distinguish what is and isn’t correct. Don’t forget that even a succession of equal value notes is a rhythm. Accuracy is imperative. It is more efficient to practice slowly and accurately than it is to be quicker and less consistent. Glossing over the assignment usually leads to having to do it again and, more dangerously, opens the door to having to unlearn an error. This is more difficult and frustrating than doing things right the first time. Children learning the alphabet or multiplication tables have to repeat them many times over a long period of time in order to learn them. Golfers spend hours and hours on the driving range perfecting their swing. Training your fingers to play the patterns that make up musical passages requires the same effort. Playing it right 2 out of 3 times is not enough. 10 out of 10 is better. 100 out of 100 is much better. This is work, not play.
The purpose of practicing divides into two areas - learning the music and performing the music. In the first, we break the whole into tiny pieces such as sections, phrases, measures and beats. We work these fragments until we can piece them together. In the second, we play from the beginning to the end without stops. We need confidence in our ability to do this in order to perform. The first performance should be in the practice room, not on stage.
Practice new techniques separately from playing music. When you are able to play both the old and the new on demand, the new can be successfully incorporated into your playing as a choice. Simply trying to work it into your playing will not be successful as it is easy to revert back to old comforts. Learn the new completely.
Finally, focus your mind and energy when practicing. Use intense concentration and don’t let your mind wander in between repetitions. Keep at it and keep on task.
- Accomplish something at every practice session -
Hard work pays dividends
Practicing normally includes technical development, musical etudes, and instrument repetoire. Basic technical building blocks - scales, trills, arpeggios, intervals, long tones, crescendo and diminuendo, articulation, etc. - should be life long exercises.
My preferred method of scale practice is to play the scale starting with each note of the scale over the entire range of the oboe. The scales are done in five note, one octave, and two octave groups. If the tonality is F Major you would start on the low B flat with each of those groupings. Then you go to low C, low D, etc. through the applicable range. Stay in the key signature. In this manner you are practicing a variety of patterns that contain major, natural minor, and other modes. Make sure that you also get to harmonic and melodic minors. Obviously, composers don’t only write scales starting on the tonic note. Arpeggios can be practiced using the same approach. Utilize root and inverted positions as well as extending the range of the arpeggio. Trills should be measured in eighths, triplets, sixteenths, sixteenth triplets, and the door bell.
Three less common practice items
There are three not always practiced items that I feel are quite beneficial in helping to develop high level performance skills – transposing, memorizing and improvising. These, along with learning to see note groups and phrases when reading music, can help you get away from the syndrome of playing one note at a time and thereby getting bogged down. Additionally, the development of hearing skills is crucial to any performer.
Transposition can be done with any music. Obviously, if you use a learned etude or other piece you are familiar with, transposition may not be so daunting. When starting this work I suggest using simple material and transpose at a close interval such as a whole step or half step. I think transposing upward is psychologically more comfortable, but do transpose down as well. You can gradually progress to more active music and further tonalities.
Memorization has long been a tradition for concert soloists. A major benefit for anyone who plays something from memory is that it gets you off the page. You are much freer to “play the music” since you are not encumbered by reading. Certainly there are strategies of how to go about memorizing, but for beginning this exercise use short four or eight bar phrases rather than trying to conquer a long etude or movement. Developing confidence by having success will help you continue this discipline.
When it comes to improvising, I’m not saying to become a great Jazz artist, although you are free to do so, if you wish. By experiencing improvisation you develop a much deeper understanding of the music making process and hone some very pertinent skills. You are, in essence, composing in real time. Even the simplest of improvisation is beneficial. Making up melodies that work with a major triad, for example, can give you a feel for the differences of root, third or fifth of a chord. How do they convey the tonality? Using a tonic and dominant based progression enables you to feel the pull of certain notes such as thirds, sevenths, leading tones, etc. This will certainly help you in playing any music as you become more in touch with the shapes and directions of phrases; and you understand why. As you practice scales and arpeggios of all sorts, you can incorporate more harmonic material into your improvising. Again, I suggest going at it slowly when starting so that you develop comfort and ease, experience success, and gain confidence. Your ear improves, your interpretive skills improve and your technique improves.
Rhythm
Rhythm is the single biggest problem area I hear in students. I have come to believe that we learn note values in an ineffective manner. In order to understand a whole note or quarter note, any note value, one must know what it contains. A student cannot play accurate rhythms or place notes following a tie if there is no understanding of the inner divisions that exist. While I recognize that a beginner has a great many inherent problems I urge that teaching the inner works of rhythm take place as early as possible. It is truly discouraging to see high school and college level oboe players with no concept of rhythm.
Metronome and tuner
Both the metronome and tuner are very useful pieces of equipment, but both should be used without becoming crutches. When you are performing, those devices are not there. The metronome can be used to play the inner pulses of beats right from the earliest levels. It can be an aid in keeping steady tempo and when breaking down difficult passages. Ultimately, though, reliance on a metronome or conductor to keep time for you is unacceptable. A musician should not need assistance in that way.
The tuner can also be advantageous as a practice tool. Use it first to find correctness on one note or an interval. Primarily, use it with your eyes shut. Open your eyes only to see if you were accurate. You must learn to hear with your ears, not to rely on the visual.
Improving
Repetition is a key to learning and it is necessary to be correct each time. Allow yourself the luxury of playing it right no matter how slow you need to play it. Not only does this approach build technique, but it also builds confidence. In any performing endeavor – music, theater, film, sports, etc. – confidence is very important. As you become accurate at each speed it gets easier to increase the speed. Also, it is sometimes necessary to practice something in varying rhythms, articulations, etc., in order to distinguish what is and isn’t correct. Don’t forget that even a succession of equal value notes is a rhythm. Accuracy is imperative. It is more efficient to practice slowly and accurately than it is to be quicker and less consistent. Glossing over the assignment usually leads to having to do it again and, more dangerously, opens the door to having to unlearn an error. This is more difficult and frustrating than doing things right the first time. Children learning the alphabet or multiplication tables have to repeat them many times over a long period of time in order to learn them. Golfers spend hours and hours on the driving range perfecting their swing. Training your fingers to play the patterns that make up musical passages requires the same effort. Playing it right 2 out of 3 times is not enough. 10 out of 10 is better. 100 out of 100 is much better. This is work, not play.
The purpose of practicing divides into two areas - learning the music and performing the music. In the first, we break the whole into tiny pieces such as sections, phrases, measures and beats. We work these fragments until we can piece them together. In the second, we play from the beginning to the end without stops. We need confidence in our ability to do this in order to perform. The first performance should be in the practice room, not on stage.
Practice new techniques separately from playing music. When you are able to play both the old and the new on demand, the new can be successfully incorporated into your playing as a choice. Simply trying to work it into your playing will not be successful as it is easy to revert back to old comforts. Learn the new completely.
Finally, focus your mind and energy when practicing. Use intense concentration and don’t let your mind wander in between repetitions. Keep at it and keep on task.
- Accomplish something at every practice session -