Response (And Not My Reeds)

I am of the opinion that at a certain high level of oboe playing, everyone really is saying the same thing. After a certain point, there is not a lot of new information that I am going to get about say, breathing, from a single masterclass, or even a week. Of course, I will learn so much about breathing, because every teacher has their own way of explaining things, and each has particular brilliant insights into how to approach the issue mentally, how to visualize, or how to "get into" your own body in such a way that minimalizes tension. But the basic bits - how exactly the ribcage and the lungs work together, how there needs to not be tension in the upper body/shoulders, how the breath should be deep or full or some other modifier - those are the same. Sure, maybe ED says she feels tension in one part of her stomach and JH says it's totally relaxed - you gotta figure out what is right for your body. There are two types of knowing, which we unfortunately have only one word for in the English language.

type A: I know that this bowl is on my desk.

type B: I know Beethoven 7 very well.

I am saying that under the surface, the type A information about playing the oboe, about making reeds, is baaaasically the same. That is not a blanket statement, and I allow for sure for exceptions (ie the European style of oboe playing, completely different beast). But, to really internalize type B knowledge is no easy task. It's super easy to internalize the type A knowledge: "The sides of the tip of the reed should be thinner than the middle of the tip." Sure, I only have to hear that once to know it (type A). And every teacher after the first one is going to say, "Taper to the sides" "Taper off the plaque" "Thin the tip and clip" "Scrape the sides and corners of the tip". So in this case, I am not hearing anything new. This is true. I am not acquiring new information. But I am being reminded. I am hearing the information in new ways, which will make new connections in my brain. The information is being reinforced. I am taking the advice of the second teacher, and his wording along with my first teacher's wording, and having a new physical experience of scraping a tip, with a new mental composite of advice. The type A information, through various points of view and physical experiences, begins to internalize into something natural - something you KNOW, type B know.

So I do maintain, that I probably have acquired 80, 85% of Type A knowledge about the physicality of American style oboe playing and American style reeds. It is rare to get new information. I don't think this is presumptuous. I think everyone in my place, who has gone to the same amount of masterclasses, summer festivals, and taken lessons with the same variety of teachers, could easily claim the same, whether or not they realize it. I would say my dear friend Megan, a performance major a year younger than me at my university, has the same amount of type A knowledge about playing the oboe. "At this point in my education" means - a college level oboist.

Type B? I am so so so so far away from the oboists I admire, teachers and performers.

The good news is, all you have to do is practice. To turn A knowledge into B knowledge. How do you make the transformation? Consciousness. Paying attention. The A knowledge is there, and self 2 KNOWS what to do (going Inner Game of Tennis on you here haha). Self 2 KNOWS. I promise. As long as you paid attention when the teacher said what he or she said, that info is stored away nicely in your brain. The human brain is an amazing thing! The hardest part of playing the oboe, "at this point in my education" (haha I guess that does sound a little elitist, but come on, I know elitist, I hang out with conductors, and I ain't elitist) is trusting myself. I am NOT saying that is the only hard part about playing the oboe. Of COURSE not. The oboe is really difficult! But the hardest part is being aware enough and having enough trust in your own brain.

Again, super easy to say. Easy to have the type A instruction "Trust yourself." Hard to do. Hard to make that into type B knowledge.

Here are some comments Austin made in a convo about this topic with me! Very insightful, and some good examples from the mysterious field of string playing that I know (type A or B haha) verrrry little about.

• there are only so many ways to say "play with a straight bow"
• but I think it's totally valid to say you learned something new when you figure out how to make a more beautiful sound
• by tweaking said bow arm
  • now of course there are rules that apply to everyone
  • you will never (unless you want a certain sound which most people would qualify as inferior) get a better sound by playing with a crooked bow
  • but the translation of knowledge that can't really be put into words... is troublesome

And of course of course there aren't even "rules" for playing an instrument. Of course of course people are always trying to find better ways of doing things, which means they have to break "rules" - I mean, American oboe reed style didn't come from nowhere! But in this narrow context of conservatory playing, orchestral training, or what have you, there is a certain "right" way of doing things that you have to at least start by complying with to a certain extent if you want to survive in the oboe world - and this is the information that we often get in masterclasses, etc. Same thing applies to society too. Some rules you must follow if you want to be accepted by the crowd. Maybe you value breaking those rules more than you value acceptance by the crowd - in some cases, a very, very good thing for humanity. But if this is true, you can't complain about not being accepted by the crowd. So it goes.

There are only 12 pitches and 11 dichords.