When I first started playing the oboe, I had no idea that salespeople didn't always have a firm grasp on the different types of reeds. Could they even tell the difference between an oboe and a clarinet? Sometimes I wondered... This is a real conversation I had with the salesman at a music store when I first started playing oboe: "I need 3 medium-hard oboe reeds." He looked at me and said, "is that like a 2 1/2?" I had no idea what he was talking about, but trusted that since

Hey kids! How boring is it to work on tone? So so soooooooooooo boring.... (I'll add frustrating, horrifying, and did we already mention boring?) If there is one thing that all students hate to do, it's work on tone. I might spend an entire 60-minute lesson working with a high school flutist on how to produce a warm, full tone. I might spend 30 minutes working with a beginning oboist on how to produce a sound that just resembles an oboe. Unfortunately for the kids, this is an

​ ​"How Much Should My Child Practice?" Every year I get asked this same question, and my answer remains just as confusing as ever: "Better to practice a little a lot than a lot a little." (One of my new 4th graders claims to know what this means, which makes me so happy) One thing I hear, year after year, from a lot of students is: "my parents make me practice a half hour a day." While the time limit is set with the best intentions, it doesn't always bring about the best res