Yesterday I was listening to a recording of some organ music of all things (my husband plays the pipe organ) and I started thinking about all of the things that I really love about music and the oboe.

I love playing with friends. I love the bond that happens between all of us as we create together. It’s hardly work.

As I thought about each of the things that draw me to music, it suddenly occurred to me that the things I was listing were the things that I do well - things that just come naturally to me. Things that I don’t have to really work at, I just enjoy them.

One of the biggest challenges with learning is that most all of us are raised to concentrate on improving our weaknesses instead of developing our strengths. Most schools teach you that. Most people believe that is the way to succeed.

And each one of those people mean well. I’m sure that they do want to see us succeed.

But in life, it’s my experience that focusing on your weaknesses isn’t the path to enjoyment and not the way to get where you want to go.

You are a unique oboe player. You do certain things better than most other oboe players. Other players can do certain things better than you.

That’s life.

Life is not about competition, it’s about communication. It’s about enjoying the journey, not getting to a particular destination.

What are your strengths on the oboe and how can you enjoy them and develop them into even bigger strengths?

When my husband and I sat down the other month to discuss the future of MKL Reeds, we both had the feeling inside that something needed to change.

You know when you just have that feeling inside you but you just can’t put your finger on it? As a musician, you are probably more in tune (no pun intended) with noticing that feeling than most people.

Well, that’s where we were.

And then the solution became clear. We had to think bigger, much bigger…

Of course, we love helping all of you with oboe reeds.

Just the other day, my husband was on the phone with a client who has been purchasing reeds from us for a few months now. She called to thank us for giving her back the freedom to just sit down and play the oboe - something she hasn’t been able to do for quite some time. She said it almost made her cry…

I am not telling you this to brag. But I am telling you this to help you understand why we do what we do. The reason we do this work is for clients like this - to connect with someone on an emotional level.

That’s what musicians do right?

We do this work to help people.

But now, instead of just helping you with oboe reeds, we are expanding our vision to help you become a happier oboe player.

And that means a lot of different things to a lot of different players.

One of the things we are doing to make our vision real is to publish a new newsletter focused on helping you achieve whatever Oboe Success means to you.

Actually, that’s what we call it, Oboe Success Tips.

It is a special free gift reserved exclusively for our Reed Report subscribers.

If you are already a Reed Report subscriber, you automatically qualify. If not, sign-up and help us help you to become an even happier oboe player than you are already.

Most of you know that, a few weeks ago, my family made a change and moved from the big city of Chicago to the little town of Batesville Indiana.

The city of Chicago is beautiful, and Batesville is even more beautiful, in a different way.

Right now, as the leaves are changing and the air is turning crisp, it is hard to ignore all of the inspiring things that are staring right me.

The next time you are feeling “uninspired” with your music, just take a moment and focus on some part of nature. Something that “just works.” Something that is perfect just the way it is.

Let nature inspire your music so your music can inspire others.

Here are just a few examples of the inspiration I found just down the street from my home this past weekend:

If you aren’t planning to learn reedmaking now or anytime in the near future, the best thing you can do is learn how to scrape the reeds that you do buy.

To do that, you’ve got to know the parts of a reed.

Here’s a very simple diagram that will make it clear if you are just starting out.

Get the Oboe Reed Diagram

Feel free to pass it on to anyone that can use it

For the advanced players, just having a simple chart like this where you can put a big red X over the areas you need to keep your knife away from can be a good reminder.

I’ve solved many a reed problem by just remembering the basics.