I talk a lot about what it was like for me to go from being a professional “student” to a professional oboe player. Like every journey, it had its ups and downs. Often times there seemed to be more downs than ups. It’s not like we are given a map or anything to make the route a little easier.

Looking back, it was all for a reason.

Looking back, I can connect the dots between all of the ups and the downs and understand why each one needed to happen exactly as it did to bring me to where I am today.

If you are an oboist out there looking to figure out where you belong… to discover your own voice, then give this video a few minutes of your time.

It’s a Stanford commencement address given by Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple Inc.) in 2005.

I remember reading this a year ago, about a week after Jobs gave it. But thanks to YouTube, now you can see the real thing.

I just got done reading through the recent issue of The Double Reed and found all of the letters remembering the life of John Mack. I thought I would add mine to the mix…

I went to the John Mack Oboe Camp one year and I came away with a tip that has affected my life in a very profound way - both inside and outside of music. It is something I truly think about almost every day.

I actually went to the camp as an auditor - I didn’t play, I just watched. I was brand new to the oboe and although I had a lot to learn, I didn’t have a whole lot to contribute yet. So my teacher suggested I just show up and soak it all in.

Boy was that a good decision.

At one point in one of John Mack’s masterclasses he said something like this:

Accept the challenges, then figure out how to meet them.

For some reason, I remember that exact moment. And following that simple tip from Mr. Mack has attracted more joy and fulfillment into my life than I ever imagined possible.

Back when I decided to make a tape for the Gillet Oboe Competition, I was in my sophomore year at college. Boy was that a funky year.

I was in the middle of that funk where things you are working on with your teacher are beginning to affect your playing, but your old habits are still trying their best to hang on. The result can be the temporary onset of sheer torture. For me, it was a tough year. There were a lot of things that I simply needed to wade through.

I remember when I decided to send in my tape, I had no clue how I was going to prepare all of the repertoire.

I remember that year was a Bach sonata, Shinohara’s Obsession and the Dutilleux Oboe Sonata…

It was rough.

But I decided to do it anyway. I accepted the challenge and then I figured out the details.

Although I didn’t win the competition, (or even make it to a second round) the simple act of preparing all of that taught me more than I ever dreamed.

So thank you, Mr. Mack. I am fortunate to have gained from your wisdom.

Your words have added to my life in a way you will never know.

Yesterday I was listening to the 9/16/06 NPR interview with Liang Wang, the new Principal Oboe of the New York Phil. The piece was called “Oboist Liang Wang: His Reeds Come First” and really focused on communicating just how important the art of reedmaking is to being a great oboist.

Liang Wang is 26 years old and has already played in some of the greatest orchestras around.

Hearing him play and talk got me really thinking about why some players audition for what seems like their entire lives and others win audition after audition.

I am sure Mr. Wang makes great reeds.

I know that his playing sounds beautiful. Very smooth and singing.

But there are probably a lot of oboe players that might have that said about them.

So how did Liang Wang end up as Principal of the New York Phil while everyone else was sent home?

I heard the answer as I listened to the rest of the interview.

What came through was his attitude. Cool, calm, collected and confident.

You might be thinking, “Of course he’s confident, he just won the New York Phil job!”

Or you might be thinking, “Some people are just great audition players. They can play perfectly when it counts.”

And you might be right thinking both things.

But here is my question for you:

Is your attitude a product of your circumstances or does it determine your circumstances?

In Mr. Wang’s case, did his attitude and confidence come from winning the job, or did it help him to win it?

Where does attitude come from?

It comes from your thoughts. From the repetition of the same thoughts over and over. It comes from you telling yourself the same things over and over.

Thoughts turn into feelings and attitudes which determine your actions. And it’s actions that determine your reality.

But it all starts with what’s in between your ears.

Here’s a quote that sums it up nicely:

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t . . . you’re right.”
—Henry Ford

You can hear the complete interview here: Oboist Liang Wang: His Reeds Come First

It snowed for the first time last night in Batesville.

Today it’s freezing.

Definitely feels like the holidays (unless you grew up in Florida, Texas or somewhere else warm .

Here’s an excerpt from a Christmas poem, Twas the Day of the Concert, we just got done putting together.

We’re not selling it, but we are giving it away…

Here are the first two stanzas:

Twas the day of the concert when all through Sue’s house,
The sound of her reed making was waking her spouse.
And the noise from her scraping and clipping and crowing,
Was causing the pain in his head to keep growing.

He said, “Don’t you think you could stop for a minute?
I keep having this dream and your reed tools are in it.
The knife keeps on yelling it’s taken for granted,
The cane tells old stories ’bout the day it was planted…

You can read the rest when you order our new sightreading guide, Play It Right The First Time, before December 24.

We’ve just put the finishing touches on our new book, “Play It Right the First Time: The Oboist’s Guide to Becoming a Master Sightreader in Just 10 Minutes a Day.”

In the book, I talk a lot about rhythm and pulse, and how very important that is to being a great sightreader. When it really comes down to it, having great rhythm and a rock solid (yet flexible) inner sense of the pulse is half the battle.

To really get a good idea of what pulse feels like, I always turn to the music of Bach. For me, there is no composer better at creating that sense of constant, effortless rhythmic motion.

Here’s an example of my husband on the organ accompanying some trumpets in an arrangement of a Bach Cantata movement.

The piece is in 3 so the pulse is a bigger, slower one. But you can almost picture the “big wheel” spinning around and around. Of course the wheel is a bit lopsided, which gives you that added emphasis on the downbeat.

Developing your own inner sense of this idea is key to becoming a master sightreader.

Take a listen…

Last Sunday, my daughter Talula Skye was born.

Here’s a little picture of the cutie.

She came right on time and was born into a quiet corner of our home. My husband caught her in the water and we haven’t let her out of our hands since. It was a miraculous experience - one that I will always remember very, very, well.

One of the most amazing things about having children (in addition to being able to hold them and love them) is the magic they have to make what you thought were problems in your life just melt away into unimportant details.

Talula’s already done that for me.

And I’d like to share a little bit of that “magic” with you:

The next time you run into an oboe problem, something that has really got you down, just remember this…

It will pass. In fact, in two or three weeks you’ll probably look back and wonder why it got you so upset in the first place. Enjoy the moment you are in, right now. You never get it back. This is your only chance to appreciate it.

Just some random thoughts from a happy oboe mom.

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.