I am at Eastern Music Festival. For those who don't know, it's a pretty big deal. There are eight oboes here, and I'm sitting beside people who go to Eastman and Cincinnati Conservatory. It's absolutely amazing. The orchestra is definitely better than any one I've ever been a part of...almost as good as ICSO. But it's hard to tell. But the chance to perform Barber's Second Essay for Orchestra and Prokofiev 5 within a week of each other is pretty fantastic.
After a morning of intense frustration, I've had two major breakthroughs in my playing today. The first is how I think about the oboe and my air; that rather than using the intensity of my embouchure to control the sound, I should use the intensity of my air to fill the reed and the sound. Second, I need to trust myself more. I know I have problems with rhythm, and I've let that get in the way of playing the music. Instead of playing where I know is right, I think too much and count too much. Everything gets bogged down and I end up coming in late or early. Music isn't about math, it's about sound and interlocking parts. So if I think of it as a puzzle rather than an equation, it becomes more playable.
It's amazing what one lesson can do. It's amazing that someone different can say something, the same thing you've heard a thousand times before, and suddenly it makes sense.
It's kind of a liberating feeling.
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