Ok now that we've gotten that out of the way . . .
I had a great chat with Patty last night (sorry that I just disappeared, we had some trouble with our internet connection). It appears that I am not some kind of oboe idiot. She has to remind her students to keep their corners in and their chins flat too. YAY! I am normal!
Practices have been going ok. I feel like I am slowly digging out of my slump. The going is still very slow but I think I have finally understood the concepts that had been eluding me mentally. Now I can work on making them happen naturally. I guess that's one of the bad things about being an adult student. I need to rationalize things first before I commit to them. It's too hard for me to just "let go" and let them happen. I guess I've learned not to trust my body or something. Hopefully as I get better I'll build more confidence in my muscle memory.
When I first started playing oboe I couldn't quite understand why it had the reputation of being so darn hard to play. Having transfered from another (marginal) woodwind I was able to produce sound and learn where the notes were remarkably fast. But now that I've been spending almost all of my practice time playing just one note and trying to do crescendos on it without going sharp, it's all becoming crystal clear to me. I just hope I don't start having recurring nightmares about my tuner's needle . . .
I bought some more supplies today. That's always fun. There are some predatory people out there who know how obsessed we can be about our instruments. I have to stay away from all those websites because they sell so many damn cool gadgets. I did ok because I ended up getting only one gadget in addition to the two items I needed. You gotta love this reed soaker. Teehee.
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No problem with the quick exit, Hilda; I know things go wrong with connections (had that happen!) and I also figure sometimes conversations just stop ... just the way IM works sometimes!
I had a reed soaker like that. I finally gave it to a friend; I didn't change the water frequently enough and it bugged me. Now I use a shot glass (I prefer glass to plastic) and I HAVE to empty it that way!
I have a "horror story" about reed water. Once, when symphony was having a concert, the clarinetist started choking ... happens sometimes just because we can't swallow while playing and we start choking on our own saliva! ... he then quickly reached over and grabbed the principal bassoonists reed water cut and DRANK the stuff. She RARELY changes her reed water. Who knows what he drank!
Now I do actually drink my water sometimes, but of course it's brand new at each session, and it only gets my reeds put in it. Sometimes, though, I wonder if even that is a bad idea!
And remember ... corners forward, chin flat! ;-)
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