The Musician in Training: Some advice for the new school year.

Summer is sadly winding down,  but many of us are looking forward to a new semester.  I always think the new academic year in early fall is a time of great excitement and renewal, and for me is like   most people'sNew Year's Day on January 1st.  It's a time to reflect on past accomplishments and consider how we want to improve ourselves and our careers. With that in mind,  I thought I'd write a post to all of you music students out there with a little advice on being a student.

(I got to the "22nd grade" as a doctoral student,  so I had lots of experience!)

• First and foremost, remember that you are both a student scholar and a  musician in training. Keep your goals in mind with all that you do.

•  You'll likely have some auditions at the beginning of the school year for ensemble placement. This isn't a test to see how you match up with others in your studio or school. This is an opportunity to test YOURSELF to see how much you've improved. Don't compare yourself to others or be jealous if someone gets a better placement than you. Only compare your playing to where YOU want to be. And I don't mean who gets first chair, etc. That's petty stuff that no one cares about in the really big picture. Think about skill attainment, improvement on  specific techniques,  repertoire that you want to master, opportunities to seek out, etc. Then go get it! 

•  Get organized! Write out your schedule in a weekly calendar. Know when your classes are and then WRITE in the times that you plan to STUDY and PRACTICE and MAKE REEDS. Then stick to it. 

•  No really, I mean it. Stick to your schedule. That way you'll look back on the day with a sense of accomplishment instead of feeling behind. 

• Find a quiet place to study, away from the music building, reed room, or any other distractions. The school library is built for this! Use that time to really study and learn all that your classes have to offer. Turn off your cell phone. As a scholar in training, your study time is yours alone.

•  If your teacher asks you to purchase specific music and reed materials, do so!  If some of the materials are too expensive for you,  be honest and TELL your teacher that you have financial constraints. They can often help you come up with an alternative plan or order fewer supplies, etc. But if you don't tell the teacher and don't show up to reed class or lessons with the proper music/supplies,  it will just seem like you're not interested or unorganized. For music, order it through interlibrary loan until you can buy your own. Find a way to work around your problems.

•  Realize that your teacher has your best interests in mind. When your teacher gives you an assignment that you don't like,  don't whine or avoid it. Your teacher was a student at one time too, but they also know from direct experience what it takes to get a job. Listen to what they have to say and do what they assign.

• If you don't understand what your teacher is teaching you, ASK for clarification. Even if you think you'll feel/ look "dumb." You only look "dumb" if you DON"T ask,  because then you'll surely not   understand the concept. Teachers are here to help you and usually like to know when they need to clarify a point.

•  Never be afraid to stop in a professor's office hours. Stop in for extra questions and help. Really,  PLEASE! I can't tell you how many times I've had no students stopping in during office hours even though I KNOW some students are struggling. Office hours are YOUR time that you've PAID for as a student.  

•  Minimize distractions while practicing. Turn off your cell phone. If there's a window on the practice room door, either put paper over it or turn your back to it so you don't see other students in the hall. Resist the urge to chat half of your practice away with others in the practice room areas. You can't count that time as practice! And let your friends know that when you're practicing, to not disrupt you. When you are in the practice rooms......practice.

• Get enough sleep. You're probably thinking,  "yeah right!  I'm a busy music major! We don't sleep!!" If you have a schedule, stick to it, and still don't have time for everything you do,  then do less. Cut out the extra clubs, gigs, etc until you have a sustainable life. Remember that this is YOUR time as a musician in training to learn as much as you possibly can.

•  Eat well. The junk food you've eaten as a teen won't sustain you very well as a musician in training. You're an adult now.  Eat veggies and fruits and only consume as little caffeine as is necessary (it can really affect nerves/performance anxiety). Foods with lots of sugar and fat will only make you feel lethargic and unfocused. So very not fun.

•  Get some exercise. Add it into your schedule. As a college student you likely have a recreation center/pool/fitness classes that are really affordable. Use these resources to become a strong, healthy scholar musician in training. This will have important benefits for years to come. At the very least, take short practice breaks by taking a walk. Get out of that music building and breath some fresh air. The exercise will clear your mind and help you focus on your next endeavors as a scholar and musician in training.

• Your fellow students are your colleagues NOW and are your FUTURE colleagues/contacts in our great profession after you graduate. Be supportive of one another and learn from each other! You'll be amazed at how many doors can open to you by being a good person and reliable colleague NOW. That big job you apply for just might have a former classmate on the hiring committee. They'll likely remember you, so make sure it is a positive memory. 

• Form study groups with the strongest students. Learn how they learn. Take mini lessons from older students whom you admire. Learn how they learn.

• Be kind to those struggling; they may not have had the advantages you've enjoyed. Share with them what you know and teach them how to succeed.

• Work hard, but enjoy the process. Have fun with your fellow classmates and make some great music!

That's all for now. I'm SURE I'll have more to share soon.

Oboe and out,

The Oboist

Practicing: the oboe doctor's prescription for optimal improvement

Practice.  It's what gets us to Carnegie Hall,  makes permanent (not perfect), and how we oboists spend many hours of our lives.

But what are you actually doing during that practice time? Sitting in a practice room with your instrument at your face making sounds for hours at a time each day doesn't magically get you to your dreams.   (Believe me,  I tried that for quite some time when I was younger!)

A bassoonist in undergrad used to proclaim as he headed to the practice rooms, "I'm going in there to get AWESOME!!" For this "awesomeness" to be achieved though,  it helps to have a plan. Below are six ideas to incorporate to help you progress and a practice "prescription" to provide structure to your practice sessions.

1. Identify your goals: both short and long term
2. Identify how you are going to reach your goals
3. Practice with your goals in mind
4. Observe and assess your progress
5. Reflect on your practice session
6. Plan your next practice session: give yourself a practice "prescription"


1. Identify your goals: both short and long term
Maybe it's a question of fate or free will,  but I believe that you have some control over how you design your life. I'm always reminded of John Updike's novel, Rabbit, Run.  The protagonist in the novel is on the run and stops at a gas station. When the station attendant asks him,  "where do you want to go?"and Rabbit responds with something like,  "I don't know." At that the attendant quips, "The only was to get somewhere, you know, is to figure out where you're going before you get there." I read this over 2 decades ago,  but the idea really stuck!

Identify your long-term goals first,  then develop a plan of attack for reaching them. Think about what you want to be doing over the years. Maybe you want to enjoy the oboe, perform in your community/church and have a career outside of music. Maybe you want to be a school music teacher. Maybe you want to perform in a world-class symphony orchestra or chamber ensemble. I clearly remember writing in a high school sophomore English class that I wanted to perform, teach oboe at a college,  and I wanted to make a difference in the lives of musicians. At the time I had no idea how to get there, but over time (a decade!) I made choices that prepared me for all of these things.

Whatever you decide you want to do, be realistic about your goals. If you set your goal to play Principal Oboe in the New York Philharmonic by the time you are 22,  you'll have to realize that Liang Wang expertly fills the principal role in the orchestra and will likely stay there for his career. Your chances of winning a position in a major symphony are almost as good as winning the lottery,  so cultivate your playing to the highest level but keep an open mind as to how you might contribute your talents to the world. 

Be flexible too,  as your goals may change over time as opportunities arise. Life presents us with many doors, and when we are presented with new opportunities we sometimes can't see how all of the passageways will connect to our goals.  There so many ways to create a meaningful life with music,  but you have to be open to creating them.

Next,  identify your short term goals. These are the small steps that build and lead you to your bigger goals. Some short term goals may be to increase your practice effectiveness, develop better technique, fix embouchure problems,  learn a specific piece/set of etudes, seek out and get into a summer festival, prepare for a successful college audition, etc., etc. Come up with goals that are attainable over a few weeks or months. These short term goals will give your practice sessions a daily purpose and (hopefully) motivate you to practice.

2. Identify how you are going to reach your goals.
If you are a student,  a teacher can help you with this part, but draft a plan for yourself first to present to your teacher. This shows initiative and will be a very useful skill to develop when you don'd have a teacher.  If you are on your own and don't know how to reach your goals,  talk to other musician colleagues to help you with some ideas. Or,  write me with your your proposed plan of attack and I'll happily give you feedback.

3. Practice with your goals in mind
This part is up to you.   Constantly be mindful of the big ideas you want to concentrate on.  If your teacher is working with you on air use or embouchure formation, etc,  bring your attention to these ideas as you practice through your technical exercises, etudes and solos.  Have you heard the saying,   "you can bring a horse to water,  but you can't make them drink"? If you have goals and know what you have to do to achieve them,  it's up to you to get practicing to go get them!

Keep your practice prescription handout (below) on your stand to keep you on track. Jot down questions and observations that arise during your sessions. This will help with #5,  as you reflect on your session and also be something to share when your teacher asks in your next lesson, "how did your practice sessions go? Do you have any questions for me?"

4. Observe and assess your progress during your practice session. 
Far too many students leave the assessment part to their teachers.  How many times have I heard a student stink it up playing wrong notes or rhythms and then look helplessly at me for help when they already know the problems?   The purpose of a lesson is to bring problems to your teacher that you haven't yet found ways of conquering for their suggestions,  and to also receive feedback/ideas that you haven't yet considered.  I can't underscore the importance of the last sentence!! That way lessons are a time for learning NEW IDEAS/SUGGESTIONS,  not a rehashing of something you've already heard (this is a waste of your time for both you and your teacher if you want to make optimal improvement!)

 The sooner that you take responsibility for your own improvement, the faster you'll find yourself making REALLY MEANINGFUL progress.

One way to assess yourself is to record yourself and listen to it.  Really listen. Then assess what you heard. Are the notes in tune and is the rhythm absolutely accurate? Is there clarity in your attacks, and all articulations in general?  Are your musical/expressive intentions as obvious in your recording as you thought they were while you were performing it? (This last one is often eye-opening!!)

It's best to record only a few minutes of music in each practice session. First,  if you record your entire practice session,  then you'll have a few hours of listening to do,  and who really has time for that?  Second,  by recording only a few minutes,  you'll be able to really critically identify a few key areas to immediately improve upon during the same practice session.

Take a few minutes to practice through the section again. Use a metronome, use a tuner, bring your full awareness to what you are doing physically and creatively.  Then re-record yourself.  Did you fix the issues? If not,  practice some more, re-record, and repeat the assessment. If your practice methods don't seem to be creating improvement,  discuss this with your teacher/mentor/fellow musicians for suggestions. Using a recording device for just a few minutes each day can bring huge improvements to your ability to listen to yourself and take responsibility for your progress.

Another way is to develop in yourself the ability to critically listen to yourself while playing. Almost as if you are listening from outside of your own body.  If you hear things that need improvement,  do your best to make those changes as you play.  This brings an immediacy to your awareness on what to improve. Then go back to the problem areas and re-work as needed.

A third way to assess how your practice is going is to play for another friend/colleague. You may *think* you have totally mastery of a difficult passage,  but can you play it in front of someone else?  If you are a college student have a few practice buddies, friends with whom you play a little of  your lesson material for each week. We sometimes did this at Indiana University during my undergraduate years on the day before our lessons and it really paid off! An oboe buddy would listen to me and try to think about what Marc Lifschey, our oboe professor, would say.  It helped us listen more critically, anticipate what our teacher would say (and fix the problems so he *hopefully* wouldn't have to say them! ), and taught us how to give constructive criticism to one another. Win, win, win!

5. Reflect on your practice session and use this to inform how you will structure your next practice session. Spend a few moments to think about what went well,  what went better than expected, and what went worse than expected. 

 6. Plan your next practice session: give yourself a practice "prescription"
This is a fluid process, one that might change day-to-day to meet your specific needs.  If your technical studies didn't go so well,  maybe they need to be practiced a little slower/differently next time. Or, if something went better than expected,  try to figure out WHY,  then incorporate  this technique for future sessions. Most importantly,  write your next prescription down at the end of your practice session so that you have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish before your next session even begins. 

I've drafted a Practice Prescription below for a week of learning. This is organized for someone taking weekly lessons with a teacher, but feel free to modify it to best suit your needs.  For instance,  if you are not taking lessons,  you obviously won't need that part. Or,  if you are focusing on solo repertoire or orchestral pieces instead of etudes,  your prescription will look slightly different than this one.

**************************************************************

Practice Prescription

Date:

New ideas from last lesson:

Short Term Goals— for the next few weeks and what you are doing to achieve them:

Long Term Goals—over the semester and years and what you are doing to achieve them

Day 1:

Practice Prescription for today: list the time you anticipate to spend on each of these segments, specific pages or sections to learn, main ideas to concentrate on, metronome speeds, etc.

Warm Up:

Technical Studies:

Etudes:

Solo Repertoire:

Ensemble music (chamber and large ensemble):

Other:

***************************

Assessment: record a short portion of your practice session (1-5 minutes). What did you learn from listening to this? What are you most proud of? What needs the most work? Practice the segment then record again.  Have you noticed any improvements?  How will this inform your next practice session?

***************************

Reflection: take a few minutes to think about how your practice session went.  Assess what went well, better or worse than expected? How will this inform your next practice session?

Before you end your practice session, use what you’ve learned from the reflection to fill out your practice prescription for tomorrow.

Day 2:

New ideas from last lesson:

Short Term Goals— for the next few weeks and what you are doing to achieve them:

Long Term Goals—over the semester and years and what you are doing to achieve them

***************************

Practice Prescription for today: list the time you anticipate to spend on each of these segments, specific pages or sections to learn, main ideas to concentrate on, metronome speeds, etc.

Warm Up:

Technical Studies:

Etudes:

Solo Repertoire:

Ensemble music (chamber and large ensemble):

Other:

***************************

Assessment: record a short portion of your practice session (1-5 minutes). What did you learn from listening to this? What are you most proud of? What needs the most work? Practice the segment then record again.  Have you noticed any improvements?  How will this inform your next practice session?

***************************
Reflection: take a few minutes to think about how your practice session went.  Assess what went well, better or worse than expected? How will this inform your next practice session?

Before you end your practice session, use what you’ve learned from the reflection to fill out your practice prescription for tomorrow.

Day 3:

New ideas from last lesson:

Short Term Goals— for the next few weeks and what you are doing to achieve them:

Long Term Goals—over the semester and years and what you are doing to achieve them

***************************

Practice Prescription for today: list the time you anticipate to spend on each of these segments, specific pages or sections to learn, main ideas to concentrate on, metronome speeds, etc.

Warm Up:

Technical Studies:

Etudes:

Solo Repertoire:

Ensemble music (chamber and large ensemble):

Other:

***************************

Assessment: record a short portion of your practice session (1-5 minutes). What did you learn from listening to this? What are you most proud of? What needs the most work? Practice the segment then record again.  Have you noticed any improvements?  How will this inform your next practice session?

***************************

Reflection: take a few minutes to think about how your practice session went.  Assess what went well, better or worse than expected? How will this inform your next practice session?

Before you end your practice session, use what you’ve learned from the reflection to fill out your practice prescription for tomorrow.

Day 4:

New ideas from last lesson:

Short Term Goals— for the next few weeks and what you are doing to achieve them:

Long Term Goals—over the semester and years and what you are doing to achieve them

***************************

Practice Prescription for today: list the time you anticipate to spend on each of these segments, specific pages or sections to learn, main ideas to concentrate on, metronome speeds, etc.

Warm Up:

Technical Studies:

Etudes:

Solo Repertoire:

Ensemble music (chamber and large ensemble):

Other:

***************************

Assessment: record a short portion of your practice session (1-5 minutes). What did you learn from listening to this? What are you most proud of? What needs the most work? Practice the segment then record again.  Have you noticed any improvements?  How will this inform your next practice session?

***************************

Reflection: take a few minutes to think about how your practice session went.  Assess what went well, better or worse than expected? How will this inform your next practice session?

Before you end your practice session, use what you’ve learned from the reflection to fill out your practice prescription for tomorrow.

Day 5:

New ideas from last lesson:

Short Term Goals— for the next few weeks and what you are doing to achieve them:

Long Term Goals—over the semester and years and what you are doing to achieve them

***************************

Practice Prescription for today: list the time you anticipate to spend on each of these segments, specific pages or sections to learn, main ideas to concentrate on, metronome speeds, etc.

Warm Up:

Technical Studies:

Etudes:

Solo Repertoire:

Ensemble music (chamber and large ensemble):

Other:

***************************

Assessment: record a short portion of your practice session (1-5 minutes). What did you learn from listening to this? What are you most proud of? What needs the most work? Practice the segment then record again.  Have you noticed any improvements?  How will this inform your next practice session?

***************************

Reflection: take a few minutes to think about how your practice session went.  Assess what went well, better or worse than expected? How will this inform your next practice session?

Before you end your practice session, use what you’ve learned from the reflection to fill out your practice prescription for tomorrow.

Day 6:

New ideas from last lesson:

Short Term Goals— for the next few weeks and what you are doing to achieve them:

Long Term Goals—over the semester and years and what you are doing to achieve them

***************************

Practice Prescription for today: list the time you anticipate to spend on each of these segments, specific pages or sections to learn, main ideas to concentrate on, metronome speeds, etc.

Warm Up:

Technical Studies:

Etudes:

Solo Repertoire:

Ensemble music (chamber and large ensemble):

Other:

***************************

Assessment: record a short portion of your practice session (1-5 minutes). What did you learn from listening to this? What are you most proud of? What needs the most work? Practice the segment then record again.  Have you noticed any improvements?  How will this inform your next practice session?

***************************

Reflection: take a few minutes to think about how your practice session went.  Assess what went well, better or worse than expected? How will this inform your next practice session?

Before you end your practice session, use what you’ve learned from the reflection to fill out your practice prescription for tomorrow.

Day 7:

New ideas from last lesson:

Short Term Goals— for the next few weeks and what you are doing to achieve them:

Long Term Goals—over the semester and years and what you are doing to achieve them

***************************

Practice Prescription for today: list the time you anticipate to spend on each of these segments, specific pages or sections to learn, main ideas to concentrate on, metronome speeds, etc.

Warm Up:

Technical Studies:

Etudes:

Solo Repertoire:

Ensemble music (chamber and large ensemble):

Other:

***************************

Assessment: record a short portion of your practice session (1-5 minutes). What did you learn from listening to this? What are you most proud of? What needs the most work? Practice the segment then record again.  Have you noticed any improvements?  How will this inform your next practice session?

***************************

Reflection: take a few minutes to think about how your practice session went.  Assess what went well, better or worse than expected? How will this inform your next practice session?

Before you end your practice session, use what you’ve learned from the reflection to fill out your practice prescription for tomorrow.

What questions/comments/observations do you have for your next lesson based on your week of work?

Keep your practice prescriptions in a binder and place the daily prescription on your stand next to your music. That way your goals will always be right in front of you and you'll have a place to write down ideas and questions as they arise. Over time the prescriptions will become like a sort of diary that traces your learning and improvement.

I hope you find this helpful for your progress. Now go get awesome!


Oboe and out,

The Oboist