Care and Feeding of a New Oboe

As you know from my last post, I recently bought a new oboe from Carlos Coelho Woodwinds.  (Sorry, this is a bit of a commercial for him.  I think he's just great!)  I bought my English horn from him about 5 years ago and have been very happy.

Along with my new oboe, came a goody bag.  (Love the goody bag!)  In it was a screw driver, cork grease, an instrument stand, 2 Loree stickers, and a silver polishing cloth.  There was also a beautiful purple, silk swab.  It seems like such a shame that it's only going to be used for a spit rag! 

Each new oboe from Carlos also comes with a 2-year warranty for cracks.  This is great because if an oboe is going to crack, it'll do it in the first year or so.  If it makes it past 2 years,  you're usually home free!  Oboes are notorious for cracking.  I think this is because of the really small diameter of the bore in the top joint.  The air pressure is too great and, along with the sound waves vibrating through the wood, it's just too much for the instrument to take.

In order to prevent cracking, it is very important to break in a new oboe properly.  Here are the instructions from the Loree factory.


How to Break in Your New Instrument (from Loree factory):

• In the beginning, play the instrument for no more than 10-15 minutes at a time.  Swab it, return it to its case, and keep the lid closed.  A few hours later or the next day, you may repeat this procedure.  each week, you may add 5 or 10 minutes playing time.  After about 3 months, you should be able to play it as you wish.

•  On chilly days (or in a cold room) always warm the instrument before playing it.  This may be done by holding it against your body for a few minutes, or cradling at least the top joint in you hands.  If the oboe was left in an unheated area on a cold day, you must not play it until it has had a chance to warm gradually.  (I can vouch for this.  The one time my old oboe cracked, it was in a freezing cold practice room.)

• During the break in period, we recommend you to oil regularly the bore of you new instrument (about one a week).  Be sure first, that the bore is well dried and cleared of moisture.  Then, put some drops of "F. Loree" natural bore oil, preferably on a feather, and apply a light coat of oil gently inside the instrument.  After a few months, you can progressively reduce to oil your instrument.  (Note:  There are oboists who are dead-set against oiling the bore.  My opinion is that you should oil it in the beginning to keep moisture from getting into the wood.  Once broken in, I personally don't keep oiling it.)

 Additionally, Carlos has his own set of instructions for breaking in a new oboe.  Here's what he says:


Suggestions for Breaking in and Care (from Carlos):

• Warm up instrument to body temperature.
• NEVER warm up the instrument by blowing hot air into the bore.
• **Start by playing low notes only.
• SWAB!!!  We recommend a silk swab.  Try swabbing from the top joint to the bell.  It will prevent to pull back all the water through the top joint and your swab will never get stuck!  Swab constantly, especially if the weather is dry.
• Start by playing only 10-15 minutes at a time a couple of times a day during the first week.  Increase playing time 5 to 10 minutes a week.
• Clean and oil the mechanism about every 8 weeks.  Try to keep the wood clean.
• We do recommend oiling the bore.  It may be necessary ti oil the bore on specific occasions.  Let's talk first!
• Keep swabbing........swabbing.....!

My New Baby

So it's not a child from India yet (sorry to disappoint), but it's an oboe from France.  Yes, I unexpectedly bought a new oboe last week!  It was time for a new one since I had had my old oboe for 12 years now and, as all good oboists know, they blow out in about 10-15 years.  The sound (of my old instrument) was starting to spread and the pitch was less reliable than before. 

How does one accidentally buy a new oboe?  Go to an oboe party, of course!  (Like a tupperware party, but with oboes.)  A colleague of mine had 8 Loree oboes shipped from Carlos Coelho Woodwinds to his house.  Several local oboists came and tried them out.  Some brought their old instruments to sell.  Anyway, one of the AK models stood out to me.  I went back and forth between the AKs and the Royales before eventually deciding on this particular AK model.  I know, most oboists prefer the Royales because of their BIG sound and sturdy feel, but I decided not to get one.  Here's why...... 


Why I chose the AK over the Royale:

• When I play with an orchestra, I usually play second oboe so I shouldn't out-boom the principle oboist.  Also, when I play first oboe or solo gigs, it's usually in chamber groups, opera, or church solos which require a sweet sound.  A big, boomy sound is not really what I need.
• I felt that the Royales kind of boxed me in.  I like the flexibility of the AKs and I like that it allows me to bend the pitch easily if I want to.
• My old oboe is an AK and I have loved it for 12 years!  
• The sound of this one was similar to my old one, but better!  (Darker, and more focused)
• The low notes played like warm butter.
• I feel more comfortable on the AK and it shows in my playing.
• The Royales cost $1000 more.  I had to ask myself, "Does this really sound $1000 better than the AK?"  My honest answer was no.

If money was no object, I would've bought one of each.  But---until I win the lottery, the AK is my instrument.

I kept my old oboe.  It makes me feel safe to have a spare.  If I have to send one off to be repaired I can still play on the other one.  Also, if I have an outdoor gig or something I can play the old oboe with no worries!

BTW - I'm a Loree girl.  I've played other oboes but I really prefer the sound of the Lorees.

Copland's 3 Planes of Listening

This week I am doing listening exercises with my students and I came across something I think is worth sharing.  The American composer Aaron Copland wrote a book in 1957 entitled, "What to Listen for in Music".  In this book, he describes what he calls the "Three Planes of Listening".  While there is no new information here, I have found it useful because it's so clear.  It helps my students focus and really hear more deeply than before.

The Three Planes of Listening:
1.  The Sensual Plane - It's not what it sounds like.  The sensual plane is the level where you're aware of the music, but you don't listen enough to really make a judgement about it.  It can even be background music.  When you notice instrumentation or the quality of the sound, that's the sensual plane.  Most people never listen to music outside of this plane.

2.  The Expressive Plane - In the expressive plane, you notice how the music makes you feel.  For example, you might notice that a minor key may make you feel down and a major key might make you feel up.  Also, fast music might make you feel nervous.  In this plane, you can visualize what the music might represent.  (Like a storm or a beautiful sunny day.)  Sometimes, I have my students draw or paint a visual representation of a piece of music that I play for them.  I wasn't aware of it at the time, but I was helping them to hear music in the expressive plane.

3.  The Sheerly Musical Plane - This is the plane at which most musicians, conductors, critics, music teachers, and judges listen to music.  In the purely musical plane, you can separate the music into elements such as tempo, pitch, dynamics, key signature, time signature, form, chord analysis, etc.  It contains all the jargon as well.

It helps me to be aware of these 3 planes.  When I listen to a student play, I usually am listening on the Sheerly Musical Plane while most parents listen on the Sensual Plane.  This explains some of the discrepancies in judgement that sometimes occur.  Also, sometimes it's helpful for me to just sit back and listen on the sensual plane just for the enjoyment of it. 

Next time you listen to any kind of music, try listening on the three levels and see if it changes the experience for you.  I'd love to hear what you think.

Sometimes, you can go back. (Temporarily)

This past weekend was really cool for me because I got to hang out with some old college buddies of mine.  You know the saying, "you can never go back"?  Well, sometimes you can!  Several people came in from all over to attend a special alumni weekend at my university.  It really was just like old times.  Hanging out with the same people in the same places made the time just melt away.  Now, I'm back in the real world and am wondering if I dreamt it all.

This got me wondering:  Why do we like to have reunions so much?  I mean, we all have current friends we hang out with, right?  ...and one would presume that we've developed past our old colleagues and have become different people than we were then.  Those old people won't know the "new" us.  Why have college and/or high school reunions?  I have to say, I also recently hung out with some old high school buddies too and had a fabulous time.  Why is it so fun?

I think it's because when we see these people, we feel grounded.  We met them at a time when we were still developing and were dreaming of what we would become in the future.  The possibilities were endless.  As we age, our possibilities seem to shrink and reality sets in.  Seeing your school colleagues makes you feel like you have possibility in your life again.

It's also fun to see what people you knew way back when are doing now.  When I find out how successful some of my colleagues are, it makes me feel like that too is possible for me.  Minds open, possibilities present themselves, new thoughts form.  
Plus, I adored those people back then and I adore them now and it was just plain FUN to see them again!  :-)

The Plan

This week I got some not-so-great news about my ongoing adoption process.  (For those of you who don't know, I am adopting from India.)  We applied over a year ago.  (Last March)  We were told that it would take 10 months for a referral, then another 10 months for the government to process the paperwork before we were allowed to bring our child home.  So, 20 months total.  A long time, but doable. 

Well, after forking over tens of thousands of dollars and hearing nothing in over a year, I contacted the adoption agency.  It turns out that now the wait time has increased to 18-24 months  THEN the 10 month processing time.  So it could take 34 months total.  Plus, I thought the time started from when we applied.  Nope.  It starts from when we're approved.  We were approved  in July 2009.  (It takes a few months to do the homestudy and to take all the online parenting classes you have to take.)  So that means we've been waiting 9 months from then.  (Not eleven like I had thought.)  So it will take another 2 years before we get our child.  Two years!! 

What's even worse it that they do not allow concurrent adoptions so I cannot adopt a local child in the meantime without them putting this one on hold.  Also, if a miracle happened and I were to magically become pregnant, they would also stop the adoption until the child was 1 year old.  (Which means they stop the wait time too!  This is madness because I could hypothetically have a two-year-old by the time this adoption goes through without them stopping it.  Argh!)

After sitting with this and thinking, I've come up with a plan of sorts.  I am 35 and I am hearing the loud ticking of that clock and I do not want to waste 2 years of what's left of my fertility (so to speak) waiting on this adoption  that might not actually happen.  (Because who knows what they'll decide in 2 years' time?) 

So here's the plan:

1.  Continue to get as healthy as possible.
2.  HAVE FUN this summer and visit friends in Florida and Ireland.  (Because once kids are in the picture, trips like this are not likely to happen.)
3.  Once I get back from said vacation, go back to the fertility clinic and try all that crap again.  I have lost 30 pounds since the last time I tried fertility treatments so I'm hoping my body will respond better.
4.  Add acupuncture to the fertility treatments.  I've read that combining acupuncture with fertility treatments can increase the success rate by as much as 65%.  Plus, I've had some success with acupuncture helping my migraines so I'm hopeful that it will help with this too.

This way, I'm at least trying in the meantime while I wait FOREVER on my Indian baby.  At least if fertility treatments don't work again, I'll have the adoption going on the back burner.  

You don't have to go far to enter a totally different world.

I was struck today about how close you can be to a place, yet so far.  At one of the schools where I teach, I can literally see the acupuncture place that I go to from the window of my classroom.  How can utter peace and relaxation be just a stone's throw away from a place that is so....not?  By just going a block down the road, you can be in a totally new world.  Crazy, if you think about it. 

Also, I was thinking today that I really love teaching kids.  Sure, I could probably make more money doing something else, but I really get to see the good in what I do.  My students can make me laugh, can make me furious, or sometimes can make me very proud and happy.  With kids, you never know what the day might bring.  You might get thrown up on, get yelled at, cried on for no apparent reason, or sometimes they might floor you by doing something fantastic that you never saw them do before.  Things can turn in an instant.  This makes me feel alive.

Market Finds of the Week

Okay so I seem to have lost my blogging mojo lately.  I don't know what my deal is but I can't get the motivation to write about anything lately.  When I first started this blog, I couldn't wait to write about all sorts of things.  Now, I can't get the motivation to sit down and write.  It's  not like nothing has been going on.  In fact, I've been crazy busy.  I guess when you're busy, you're just too exhausted to write about the day's goings on when you get done with them.  Hopefully, this is just a passing phase.

The only thing I really want to write about these days is what I get at the farmer's market, which is a shame because apparently no one else is interested at all in reading about it.  Oh well.  It makes me happy so I'm going to do another farmer's market post today.

First of all, Ted got his hot cross buns!  Don't they look awesome?  I had to smell them all the way home so I couldn't resist just having one bite just to taste.  They really are super scrumptious.  Ted immediately snarfed three of them!

Check out these flowers.  I think they're called Delphinium (?).  Anyway, I call them by their other name, "pretty blue flowers" and I couldn't resist them.

I found some even better eggs than last week.  These are from free-range chickens who are also eat grass and bugs in addition to their feed.  This makes the eggs more nutritious and healthy.  You can't really tell in the picture but the yolks are seriously orange.  This is how egg yolks are supposed to look, but we have gotten used to the pale yellow color which indicates lower nutrient levels.  Also, if you look at the egg in the middle, it is slightly green.  The lady told me that this egg came from a particular type of chicken that lays green, blue, and sometimes rose-colored eggs.  Cool.  I made scrambled eggs with them when I got home and eating them was a whole new eggsperience!  (Sorry---couldn't resist.)  They are much eggier and sturdier than other eggs. 

I won't bore you with all the veggies and other things I got today.  I did get some goat meat to try.  I'm curious to see what that's like.  Anyway, I just seem to be excited about food lately.  Who knows why?  Now I really know what Julia Child meant when she said that shopping for food is more thrilling than shopping for a dress!