Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Let's all breathe...

...a sigh of relief. After the two groups of methods class students (oboe and clarinet) played for each other yesterday (which I wasn't happy about, as I could have used those extra 15 minutes in class), they switched instruments and I began my second round of teaching. Learn the oboe in 5 classes! (*no money-back guarantees here) Class #1 went remarkably well. All seven of the students (the eighth was absent) were able to produce sounds on their very first try. We did some breathing exercises specific to oboe playing and applied those to their first notes. Everyone's initial embouchures looked good. We just didn't get to learn all the fingerings I wanted to get to in that first class (C1-C2). Instead it was more like G1-C2 with no chromatics in between. So that was their homework for Wednesday. Learn the fingerings for a chromatic scale (C-C before getting to half-hole...we'll hopefully get to that next class), practice exhaling and inhaling while playing (that probably sounds silly to non oboists), and practice playing on the reed alone in front of a mirror.

So far, stellar students. We'll just see if they did their homework by next class (Wednesday).

Must get ready for my day! I'm going over to a friend's house to make her lunch before she leaves me with her colicky baby to go grocery shopping. It may be one of the last times I get to hand off a crying baby back to someone else to deal with! Soon it will be my turn! (And let's all hope there's no colic...)

No comments: