Posts by Ethan Kind

This ebook, An Alexander Technique Approach to Oboe Technique, is published on this website in a PDF format. It is very detailed and practical, and it will give you the physical tools you need to take the limits off of your ability to create the accurate oboe technique you want without sacrificing your body.
This ebook is also for sale on all AMAZON websites in a KINDLE format.
Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. (MOVEMENT THERAPY)

Why is playing the oboe consistently very softly through a passage difficult for many oboists? Is playing the oboe pianissimo INHERENTLY difficult, and there is nothing you can do about it?

First, I’m going to describe what oboists do that makes playing the oboe very softly for sustained periods hard. Second, I’m going to describe the remedy, so that playing the oboe pianissimo for long passages can be effortless. It should be effortless, shouldn’t it?

A prevalent belief among oboists is that to play very softly, they need to KEEP themselves from playing too loudly. So, by definition, it is easier to play at a moderately loud volume than it is to play very softly. IT TAKES ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT OF MUSCULAR INVOLVEMENT TO PLAY THE OBOE SOFTLY AS IT DOES TO PLAY IT LOUDLY.

Many oboists are used to playing moderately loud. So, why is playing pianissimo harder than playing mezzo forte? Because, many oboists believe playing very softly is about pulling back on the reins with effort. They believe they have to muscle the diaphragm to keep from playing at whatever the oboist’s most effortless volume is.

Think about it. If you believe you have to KEEP your diaphragm from playing the oboe too loud, then you are using muscle to keep yourself from using too much muscle. This is crazy. Is there a better solution? YES!

Why not use the least amount of muscle to play softer. You gain conscious control over the musculature of your diaphragm by not using more muscle when you play pianissimo. You do this by lovingly ordering your body to do the same work to play pianissimo, by not FORCING the external torso musculature to tense more to control the ascent of the diaphragm to play pianissimo.

This will only work truly effortlessly, if you realize there is no direct connection between a thin stream of air to play pianissimo and tensing the external musculature of the torso to keep your support going in the very soft passages.

One last point: What determines how softly you can play? Is it your technique or the oboe? It is both. If you use the least amount of muscle, then it is the oboe, the embouchure, and the speed of the air stream that will determine how softly you can play. Simply, at a certain point the oboe will not produce a sound, with the small embouchure and when the high speed of the air stream gets to a certain speed on the oboe.