Just got back from taking the kids to “Out of Africa…” It’s a zoo/safari hidden in the middle of nowhere in Cottonwood AZ.

I have to admit, I’ve been to a lot of zoos and THIS left them all in the dust.

I saw more animals (lemur, lions, leopards, rhinos, bear, and more) in a two hour period than I’ve seen in my entire life.

It might sound funny, but my trip reminded me of the oboe. And how important it is to GET OUT and live.

A lot of people who play this instrument spend a lot of time practicing… or even hunched over a reed desk trying to make the perfect reed.

I was one of those people. And while hard work is important, my music really flourished when I finally started LIVING life and letting it come out through my playing.

Here’s my recommendation:

Go live your life. Enjoy it. And live it fully. That’s going to do more for your music than just about anything.

Play the music, not the instrument.
- Author Unknown

Boy how true… especially for us oboe players who spend so much time trying to get along with such a finicky instrument.

How often have you spent more time trying to play the oboe than you have trying to play the music through the oboe?

I know I’ve done it many times. And it’s always somewhat comforting to remember what’s really important. It’s not the clicking and clacking of the keys, or this fingering or that fingering… that truly matters.

It’s the music that comes out because of (or even in spite of) those things. It’s the music that matters.

My teacher always said, “You’re not an oboe player. You’re a musician who happens to play the oboe.”

It might sound like those are just words, but they’re not. In fact, understanding and living that phrase is a secret to understanding what being a musician is really about.

What are you going to focus on? Playing the oboe… or making the music?