Hi Reader,

Too often, I come to the oboe FAST, URGENTLY, in a hurry to get my practicing done, to jump into the interesting rep, to get ready for rehearsal after a commute. A minute ago I was in the car, in the kitchen, shooing my child out the door for school.

I need something - a transition period - to get me into the work I have to do. The work of sound, of pitch, of ease, of control. I need to find myself on the oboe before I can BE the oboe for someone else, whether that’s the conductor in front of me, my colleagues, the audience - or simply the composer who, dead or alive, has given me a page of instructions about how to be the oboe for HER.

The Long Tone is that transition. It gets me in touch with my air, my sound, my instrument. It tells me about my reed du jour. It allows me to explore my vibrato, my tone colors, my pitch floor. And it gives me a minute to focus my mind, to slow my heart rate, to come back to the intuitive understanding that my breath is my sound. That my body is the instrument. That what I feel and think is what will come out.

The Long Tone is the meditation that calms me down and wakes me up. That lets the outer world, the busy, the crazy fall away so I can give my attention to THIS one thing.

I don’t always take the time to do long tones at the beginning of my session. But every time, always, it’s better when I do.

This is how I can come to a place of peace, of focus, of artistry. The long tone is meditation.

You can join me for some long tone meditations, mindful scale work, and communal expressiveness- I'm running Warm Up Your Warmup every day next week and I'd love to see you there!

In other news...

On Crushing Classical this week, you can hear my interview with Ashley Killam. She talks about the way she's created her own arts administration career by following threads, by talking with people about what they need, by consistently leaning toward the things she loved to do and learning how to do things she didn't know how to. This episode should be wildly inspiring, both to artists who NEED an Ashley and to artists who want to BE an Ashley. I know I was inspired!

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Thanks for reading! I love you all - stay safe out there!

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Happy Oboe-ing,

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Jennet

PS- Do you need a spring refresh for your playing? Warm Up Your Warmup starts NEXT WEEK.

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