Syllabus

Oboe Methods
MUE 222

Instructor: Dan Schwartz

e-mail: dan.j.schwartz@gmail.com

In the class, basic oboe teaching/playing techniques will be covered. Much of the
teaching/learning will be accomplished through demonstration and participation. You
will be expected to be able to produce a good characteristic oboe tone with good
intonation. You will be expected to know the fingerings and to be able to play assigned
scales and exercises evenly at a reasonable speed. You should be able to demonstrate
proper hand/finger position, posture, embouchure, and breath support through both your
playing and your explanations of how to play. You will be responsible for the material in
handouts and class discussions.

Expectations:

- To attend every class and participate

- To practice regularly and be prepared

I cannot stress enough how important being prepared for class will be throughout these
seven weeks. This means showing up to class, able to play all assigned scales and
exercises without a fingering chart. I do not expect you to have total control in the early
weeks of this course, however I do ask that you know all the fingerings needed for that
week. This will most likely require you practice 30 minutes a day.

In regards to your practice schedule, I ask that you do not practice right before class. It
will fatigue your embouchure too much, especially early on, and we will not be able to
play enough in class.

Grading Scale:

A: 94-100
A-: 90-93
B+: 87-89
B: 84-86
B-: 80-83

Anything below a B minus results in no credit.

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Attendance Policy:

Students must attend all classes. With such limited time and the amount of
material covered in one class, students cannot afford to be absent. That being said, I
understand if you are ill or need to be gone for a legitimate reason. You must let me
know you will not be attending class ahead of time. Email me at least one day before
class, and the absence will be excused. Only one absence, excused or otherwise, can be
tolerated.

Materials:

Reeds supplied by instructor

Oboe supplied by ESM
Bring a film canister, pill bottle, or shot glass to soak reeds in before class

Grading:

Weekly preparation and performance 70%

3 Part Final Exam 30%

Week 1

Soaking/preparing the reed for playing

Over soaking the reed
Assembling the oboe
Swabbing the oboe
Crowing the reed
Embouchure formation
Learning to play with reed alone - matching pitches
Mary Had a Little Lamb on reed
Glissandos on the reed
Tonguing on the reed
Holding the oboe properly
Breath support
Play D major scale on oboe
Play C major Scale on the oboe

Assignments:

 Practice at least thirty minutes a day!

 Learn the C and D major scales in two octaves (D major only to high ‘B’)
 Compose and be ready to play a short exercise/tune in C or D major (8 measures)
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 Learn all assigned exercises handed out in class

Week 2

Continue embouchure development

Play Mary on the reed
Match pitches on reed
Play chromatic scale on reed C down to G and back up
Play D scale
Play C scale
Play Mary Had a Little Lamb in G on the oboe

Playing Assignment:

 Review C and D major scales

 Eb scale (one octave)
 F scale (one octave)
 Compose a tune in F or Eb Major (8 measures) to be played in class
 Learn your peer’s C or D major exercise to be played in class

Week 3

Continue embouchure
Review scales
Reed exercises: pitch matching, Mary and chromatic C to G

Assignment:

 G scale (one octave)

 E scale (one octave)
 Compose another 8 measure melody for class (G Major)

Week 4

Scales assigned so far:

C D Eb F G E

Continue working on issues as needed

Assignment:
 All scales assigned so far plus Ab major (one octave)
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 Compose an 8 measure duet in a key of your choice

 Any exercise handed out in class
Week 5

Scales assigned so far:

C D Eb E F G Ab

Continue working on issues as needed

Assignment:
 New scale Bb major, start on third-line-of-the-staff Bb and go up
 Chromatic scale two octaves (C-C)
 Compose another 8 measure duet in any key
 Begin learning final exam solo

Week 6

Play all learned scales

Play through assigned solo pieces
Review for written exam
Study for a teaching demonstration

Week 7

Final playing exam:

All scales, including chromatic scale

Solo piece
Solo/duet composition

Final written exam: what to expect :

- Study class notes from lectures and discussions

- Study daily class handouts.

- Expect questions regarding embouchure, air, breathing, hands

and fingers, fingerings, playing on the reed alone, reed care and
preparation of reed for playing, dynamic control, articulation,
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vibrato.

Oboe Pedagogy:
Strategies and concepts for dealing with beginning players

Reed placement/Embouchure:

 DEVELOP EMBOUCHURE FIRST. Then move on to other concepts. Have to

get embouchure first, or nothing else really matters.
 Developing the embouchure with beginning players:
Have students say “home.” Be sure there is enough lower lip cushion!
Have them visualize drinking a milkshake with a straw.
Step by step building:
1.) Cover the lower lip with the upper lip.
2.) Point chin down
Think “ooooh”
Walrus tusks are another good visual.
Make student whistle and freeze that embouchure.
 Don’t let beginning students play heavy reeds. This will force the chin and lower
lip to push up to close the reed.
 Instead, play a lighter reed that is smaller but balanced.
 Corners of the mouth in and collect the reed.
 Reed exercises can help. Play pitches (low, middle, high) to develop embouchure
strength. Good for students of all ages.
 Where you are on the reed is key. Cannot just say “play on the tip.” Reeds have
sweet spots- find them.
 Instead of fighting with reed placement in the mouth, experiment and say, “Let’s
just see how much resonance we can get!”
 Helpful to know which notes play the best with the right placement on the reed.
This should vary from oboe to oboe.
 Reed placement will shift when playing intervals. Cannot just hunker down and
force the intervals to fit your embouchure. To see this- play B to C and F to F#.
These are hard to play very well in tune, as true half-steps. Reed placement will
shift.
 Embouchure:
Is a place for the reed to sit
Controls and allows vibration
Allows for intonation
 As time goes by, embouchure develops to be very subjective
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Breathing/Support:

 Take all you want, but use what you take

 Don’t take excessive breaths
 If you’re getting overly tired, take a deep breath. You are probably breathing too
shallow
 Support the air without pressing
 Character of the air counts (ex. Brahms Violin Concerto). Support with beauty.
 Long tone exercises:
Support with vibrato
Support without vibrato
Support with pressing- useful for high fast noodling.
 Circular breathing. Even without breaths, the music needs to breath.
 Don’t hold your air after the ends of phrases. Chest and throat should not be tight
at the end of a line. No giant/painful exhales at the end of phrases.
 Complete the phrase with your mouth, not choked air. This can be practiced in
the Strauss Concerto, mvmt 2. Play phrase by phrase. End one phrase without
choking the air. Breathe in, and then move on to the next phrase.
 Concepts to examine with older students:
Where does the air go when you breathe in?
How does your body move?
Fill up like a science beaker. Narrow on top, fat on bottom.
 Be wary about tinkering with breathing in students. It is best to really only
address problems, like shallow breathing, or tightness in throat or chest.
 Do not say, “THIS IS HOW YOU BREATHE.” This will get students caught up
in the mechanics of a process that needs to be natural.
 How you use the air determines mood and tone
 Don’t use the same air all the time. Varied air = varied color! (Concept for older
students)
 Relate to students to solve these problems.
 Especially for young players, keep it EASY! Nothing technical.

Intervals/Pitch:

 Every single note matters.

 Taste the notes
 Do large intervals slowly and see what your face does. Learn how it feels.
 On warm-up, start with one note and every note that follows is an interval! Play
them in tune.
 Some students voice pitches naturally. Others do not.
 Tuner good to find single notes. Dartboard exercise (isolated pitches, hit a bull’s-
eye).
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 Sing it. Do throat to falsetto. Your tongue changes to hold up high notes. Same
thing with the oboe.
 Test harmonics against real notes
 Everything you play with someone else is an interval. Don’t forget.

Barret Etudes:

 6th graders shouldn’t really own Barret. Only for very serious young players.
 Don’t get the Shuring edition
 Serious older players should own the Vade Mecum eventually.
 No. 1- Downbeat of measure 2 is the arrival. Even after the dim.
Diminuendos in Barret mean “don’t drive through.” Does not necessarily
apply to dynamics.
Measure 3- play a looong line
Have space before ‘F.’ It’s special.
The eighth notes of measure 1 can be grouped 1 and 3
High ‘A’ is bigger. Bigger leap.
Use all passing notes as dolce
Use slurrings as written.
Quick grace notes, wait for them.
Don’t bump first note
Don’t bombard early players by being too fussy. Let them play.
 No. 2- This is the perfect place to introduce the notion of ( + - ). Stressing the
first note and softening the second in note groups of two notes. No. 3 also is great
for this
 No. 4- You can either lead the first note or play and lift. In measure 4, accent on
beat 2 means lift beat 1.
 No. 5- We have lift again on quarter note for accented beat 2. Gradual
diminuendos, not fp.
 No. 11- Don’t be mechanical. Play the pickups to bar 2 late. Save them to play
them quicker. Make a moment! Has great opportunities for character changing in
this etude. Good to teach character shifting.
 No. 12- Go ACROSS bar line with legato into bar 3.
 No. 15- Lift on dotted eighth on beat 2 and all dotted eighth sixteenth note
groupings. Error in part- play C# in bar 4
 No. 17- The staccato in the last note of the slur is a release, not a tongued note
 No. 34- be mysterious. Play music not notes.

Baroque Ornaments:

 Fill in 3rds
 Add sequences
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 Add mordents and inverted mordents

 Have an arsenal of gestures to choose from!
 When writing a cadenza, use definable rhythms. Don’t ornament out of time.
 Handel g minor and c minor sonatas are great first pieces, used as introductions.
Add a few ornaments but do not overdo it for young players. A little goes a long
way here.
 Musica Rare publishes the authentic Handel Oboe Sonatas: c minor, f minor, and
Bb major
 c minor is a great teaching tool to show playing across the bar line with no bumps.
 Listen to Baroque music! This helps you build a vocabulary of how gestures
work.
 Also listen to the cadenzas in Mozart Piano and Violin concertos.
 NEVER have the attitude “if it’s not in the part than I wont play it.”
 But don’t disregard and throw away the actual music either. Find the balance.
 In the Telemann Methodical Sonatas, he wrote the ornaments himself. Good to
use for reference.
 Seeing a “+” indicates trill or ornament.
 Play the ornaments like they’re new, not stodgy.

Instrument assembly:

The oboe comes in three pieces: the top joint, the middle joint, and the bell. The top joint
is easily recognized since it has the small hole at the top where the reed goes. The bell is
the small, cone shaped piece, and the middle joint is what’s left over. To assemble, put
the bell on the bottom of the middle joint, and then put the top joint on top of the middle
joint. Putting the bell on first is most comfortable, since students and professionals often
jam the bottom of the oboe into their leg when assembling.

While this is not rocket science, there are serious issues that need to be addressed in this
simple procedure. Warning- DO NOT GRAB AND TWIST THE OBOE BY THE
KEYS. If you squash the keys down, they will bend, and the oboe will not work
(requiring an expensive trip to the repairperson). This is, unfortunately, very common. If
the oboe does not want to go together easily, put some cork grease on the cork and
everything should slide together smoothly. When taking the instrument apart, DO NOT
GRAB AND TWIST THE OBOE BY THE KEYS. Try to touch as little metal as
possible. You will find it is impossible to avoid all mechanisms completely and will need
to grip some metal, particularly on the middle joint. Just be gentle, and do not grip too
tightly.

Before packing up (and often many times throughout rehearsal), it is essential that a
student swabs out the oboe. Simply take the reed off the oboe, and pull a swab in and out
from the bell of the oboe. There is really no difference between a silk swab or a cotton
swab, however, students need to be careful not to pull a swab through the top joint and
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get it stuck. Cotton swabs will most likely never get stuck, since they are too thick to
really get far enough through the top joint. Silk swabs can, so they should never be
pulled all the way through the oboe. This can also harm a wooden oboe by
unintentionally expanding the bore (the inside shape of the oboe). Also make sure the
swab does not have a knot in the silk or the thread before trying to pull it through. This is
very common and the knot can get stuck. As a band/orchestra director, it might be worth
the $50 to have a swab extractor in the office. This can be purchased at any oboe supply
shop, such as RDG Woodwinds or Forrests Music and may come in handy more than you
would think. Do not be alarmed to see an oboist swabbing out with a feather. This is an
alternative to a swab and some teachers prefer their students use this method.

Picking an oboist for the band:

When advising students on which instrument they should play, it is important to know a
few things about the life of an oboist. Oboe is a very slow developing instrument, one of
the slowest I would say, and it takes a long time for an oboist to grow out of the honking
phase, particularly with a less-than-stellar private teacher (if they even take lessons!).
Oboists need to be very patient and diligent. Without both, serious progress is unlikely.

The role of the oboe in band an orchestra is often a solo instrument, so the student should
be prepared to be playing alone and often playing as the center of attention. Once beyond
the middle school level, each oboist is typically playing his or her own part. There is no
safety net of being a section player, so the student should be prepared to work on his or
her music since they are the only one playing it. Oboists need to be bold, coming in off
fifty measures of rest by themselves. Aside from beginning each orchestra concert with
the first solo of the night, the tuning ‘A,’ an oboist should plan to be in the spotlight.
Nerves of steel are a must.

In the long run, the oboist must know how to make reeds. In the meantime, student must
be prepared to buy and maintain their own reeds. This can often be very expensive and is
a definite factor that should be considered when beginning oboe.

Quick note about fingering charts:

Student model oboes often lack certain key options. Some of those options being a third
octave key, used for extremely high notes, a low ‘Bb’, a left ‘F’ key, and certain trill
keys. Without a low ‘Bb’ students are forced to plug two holes in the bell with their
knees to get that note out. The transition to actually having a ‘Bb’ key is a welcome and
relatively smooth one. The left ‘F,’ however, may cause people more trouble. Without a
left ‘F,’ students will be using forked ‘F.’ While that fingering is occasionally used in
very fast passages, the tone color on forked ‘F’ is too dull to be used in a lyrical passage
where the note is held. A professional uses left ‘F’ far more than the forked option. The
transition to primarily using left ‘F’ may be awkward and will take time. All this being
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said, fingering charts, which are obviously geared to beginning players using student
model oboes, contain certain fingerings that are not the best options, especially when it
comes to trills. If the student has a more advanced model, encourage the more advanced
fingerings and trill options. Students playing on beginning models will often find
themselves just trying to figure which trill fingering sounds the best. With such a limited
mechanism to choose from, I actually think that is just fine.

Posture and Finger Position:

Make sure a student sits up straight and doesn’t collapse at the chest. The chest should be
out to allow ample space to take in air. Do not hold the oboe against the body while
playing, nor should it be too far out. The oboe and body should approximately make a 30
to 45 degree angle. I wouldn’t recommend playing beyond the 45 degree angle. The
elbows should not be tucked against the body either, nor should they be re-enacting the
chicken dance. They should hang comfortably at the player’s side, close to, but not
touching, the body.

Regarding finger position, the hand should always be relaxed. Never play with gripped
fingers. There should be a nice curve in all fingers. No flat fingers. Don’t lift the fingers
far off the keys while playing; keep them close to the mechanism. Don’t jam the fingers
down to play notes. You really only need enough pressure to make the pad seal. Don’t
over extend wrists in either direction, and keep them loose.

Troubleshooting Water in the System:

Often players, young and professional alike, encounter water in the keys of their oboe.
You will definitely know when this happens, since it sounds like the note is being played
under water. It will gurgle, noticeably. There are a few ways to get the moisture out.
First, a swabbing may do the trick. However, this usually is not enough (spinning a
feather through the bore of the instrument actually works better than a swab, since it can
get into the nooks and crannies of the keys). If this is not sufficient, find which tone hole
the water is in. To do this, isolate which note gurgles while playing the oboe. Keep your
fingers playing that note and look at the tone hole immediately below the last key your
finger is pressing down. That is usually where the spit is. If the gurgling occurs on
multiple high notes, the water is in one of the octave vents. Blow into the tone hole from
the outside of the oboe very hard. Do not be shy. If the water still persists (which is
usually the case), you will need to disassemble the oboe, pick up whichever joint has the
water in it, put cigarette paper under the pad where the water is stuck, and press down
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every key and plug the bottom of the joint with one finger from your other hand. Blow
into the top of the joint, it will feel like blowing into a wall, and lift the finger that will lift
the pad that has water under it. Flutter the finger like you are trilling while continuing to
blow very hard. I know it sounds confusing, but eventually you will get very fast at
figuring this out.

Oboe Method Books:

Gekeler Method for Oboe, Book One and Book Two, by Kenneth Gekeler. Published by
Alfred Music Publishing. Book One is where all beginning oboists should begin, and
Book Two proves a useful method for the intermediate player.

Once beyond the very beginning stages, almost every oboist will work through The
Barret Oboe Method, published by Boosey & Hawkes. The book contains scale and
articulation studies, as well as grand studies and forty progressive melodies. The
melodies and grand studies have a bass line accompaniment that turn out great as little
duets. The accompaniment also requires students play in tune as opposed to just plowing
through mindless etudes. This method book is basically considered the “Oboe Bible.”

Foundation Studies for the Oboe, by David Hite, published by Southern Music Company.
This is not a melody based book; it is simply scale based. This very inexpensive study
can be worked on by the beginning oboist and will still be used later in their career. The
book was even required for my master’s degree. Foundation Studies has scale studies in
all keys, major and minor, and works on arpeggios, various chord outlines, broken scales,
and scales in thirds, fourths, all the way to scales in octaves. While I don’t recommend
beginning players play ‘Db’ major scales in sevenths, the earlier exercises are definitely
accessible.

48 Famous Studies for Oboe or Saxophone, by W. Ferling, revised by Albert Andraud,

published by Southern Music Company is also an essential book to have at the high
school level. In Illinois and other states I have worked in, the All-State excerpts were
chosen from this book. This is an advanced study in phrasing and technique, a must-have
for the serious student. The book progresses through each key, major and minor, with
one slow and one fast etude per key. While many etude books are considered dull and
boring, the music in this method is actually quite beautiful (and challenging!). This book
is often required for undergraduate auditions in oboe. Students will have to choose a
slow and fast etude for their audition.

Vade Mecum of the Oboist, by Albert J. Andraud, published by Southern Music

Company. This book not only has 230 technical studies for the oboe, it is also a
staggering collection of the most common and often audition-required excerpts for oboe
and English horn. The book is fairly expensive and should not be owned unless the oboe
student is very serious, with intentions of majoring in oboe in college.
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There are certainly hundreds of other orchestral and oboe method collections. The
methods listed above are the core group and will certainly satisfy the needs of the pre-
college oboist
The Reed:

To crow the reed:

Place the soaked reed in your mouth with your lips on the thread and blow. A soft air
stream should produce a pianissimo C. Increase the air pressure to produce a louder
sound (crow) with the C an octave higher also present. If there are multiple "gross"
sounds present, the reed is too open and out of control. If the reed crows sharper than a
C, it will be impossible to play the oboe down to the proper pitch. (You will play sharp -
and you can't help it.) If the reed crows flatter than a C, you will have to use a biting
embouchure to get the pitch up, and therefore, you will probably play sharp because you
are biting uncontrollably. (You will also play sharp because you are biting up, and you
also can't help it.)

To produce a tone on the reed alone (this is not crowing):

1. Hold the reed in your right hand with the index finger on top of the thread,
thumb underneath the cork and the tip of the reed on your lower lip.
2. Make sure that the angle of the reed to the head is approximately 45 degrees.
3. Make a whistle with the lips/face muscle. Notice that the corners go forward
and the chin goes downward. The molars are apart in the back of the mouth.
4. Exert a small amount of pressure onto the tip of the reed into the lower lip
with the index finger.
5. Encircle the tip of the reed with the lip whistle inverted and blow a small but
fast stream of air through the reed. The pitch that comes out will probably be
around a b flat.
6. Roll the lip and reed inward, press slightly more with the index finger and blow
a smaller but faster stream of air until the pitch of the note gradually reaches a C.

Embouchure Exercises:

1. Lip push-ups. (Smile-pucker-smile-pucker, etc.) (E-U)

2. Chew up and down motion. (Wah-wah)

HINTS:

FIND YOUR CORRECT LIP PLACEMENT ON THE REED

USE ENOUGH AIR.
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KEEP YOUR CHIN DOWN AND FLAT.

WHISTLE THE REED OUT WITH YOUR EMBOUCHURE.
KEEP YOUR HEAD UP.
BREATHE DEEPLY FROM ABDOMINAL AREA, NOT THE CHEST.

Practice matching pitches from G through C on the reed.

Practice playing a chromatic scale on the reed from G up to C and C down to G.

Pieces to Know:

 CONCERTOS:

o Mozart, write your own cadenzas, Cimarosa (originally a piano piece),

Marcello (originally in d minor, but now in c minor by Alessandro. C
minor is better key for modern oboe), Handel G minor, Haydn Concerto
(not necessarily written by Haydn), Vaughan-Williams, Albinoni (avoid.
Op. 7), Bellini, Strauss, Alwyn, Malcom Arnold, CPE Bach, JC Bach in F,
Bach Double, must be in c minor, Corelli, Corigliano, Dittersdorf,
Goossens, Foss, Jacob concerto 1 and 2, Telemann, Vivaldi, Zimmerman
HARD, Harbison, Zwilich, Martinu, Ewazen, Michael Hurd, Lebrun,
Wolf-Ferrari concertino, Hummel, Donizetti EH concerto, Piston Suite

 SONATAS:

o Saint-Saens, Poulenc, Hindemith, Handel c minor, g minor, F major,

Bb Major, Telemann A minor, JS Bach g minor, Vivaldi c minor, g
minor, CPE Bach g minor, Arnold Cooke, Dutilluex, Holliger,
Loeillet, Telemann Partitas, Fantasies (don’t buy transposed versions),
Durati 5 pieces and Duo Concertante, Sammartini g min, Grieg, Stefan
Wolpe, Howells, Patterson Duologue, Nielsen, Schumann Romances,
Jacob Sonata and Sonatina, Paladillhe, Britten Temporal Variations,
Insect Pieces, and Six Metamorphoses, William Grant Still Incantation
and Dance, Michael Head 3 Pieces, Dring 3 Piece Suite, Krebs Sonata
with organ, Koehlein, Casterede, Krenek, Berio Sequenza

 CHAMBER:

o Mozart Quartet, Barber Summer Music, Britten Fantasiquartet,

Francaix EH and trio, Jacob Qaurtet, Bach, Bliss, Finzi, Reicha,
Boccherini, JC Bach Quartet, Ezra Laderman Quartet, Yuri Weiner,
Takemitsu, Mozart Serenades and Divertimenti, Dvorak Serenade,
Gounod Petit Symphony, Beethoven Octet, Arnold Quintets, Irving
Fine Partita, Francaix trio/quartet/quintet, Poulenc Trio, Hindemith,
Ligeti, Janacek Melodi, Loeffler Rhapsodies, Ibert, Nielsen, Krommer,
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Previn Trio, Musgrave Duo and Trio, Bach Trio Sonata, Prokofiev
Quintet, Martinu Trio, Nonet, Piston Divertimento, Noel-Gallon Suite,
Villa-Lobos Quintet/Quartet, Foerster Quintet