by Howard Niblock

Because I am an oboist and the oboe teacher at Lawrence Conservatory of Music, the approach to practice outlined below is oriented specifically to the particular requirements of undergraduate oboe students. I am confident, however, that the essence of this approach is applicable to any instrument; indeed, many concepts can be adapted usefully for the study of any skill that must be practiced systematically in order to be mastered--musical or otherwise. In fact, as many of my students will attest, I have long been convinced that what goes on in the practice room is closely related to what goes on in the batting cage and on the driving range!

There are two fundamental principles upon which my philosophy of practice is based. The first of these is that all effective practice must be highly disciplined. This statement will probably strike most readers as unremarkable, even obvious; but I think that a few words explaining exactly what is meant by "highly disciplined practice" are in order. Disciplined practice is both regular practice and organized practice. To perhaps belabor another obvious point, there is no substitute for practicing every day; but while practicing every day certainly would seem to qualify as "regular," this alone is not sufficient. Effective practice is both more and less than just daily practice. The best results are obtained when each day's practice is strictly and coherently organized (detailed suggestions are offered below). It is also extremely important to understand that disciplined and regular practice is not the same thing as obsessive practice! As performers, our greatest enemies are anxiety, frustration, and tension, and single-minded obsessiveness is more likely to produce these than to alleviate them.1 A truly well disciplined musician has the composure and self awareness necessary to recognize when she is too tired to continue practicing profitably; she will first plan tomorrow's schedule to include whatever work has not yet been completed today, and then go right to bed. Also, a truly well disciplined musician will include periodic breaks in her practice schedule, in order to reduce the likelihood of excessive fatigue, or worse--overuse injuries. Finally, a truly well disciplined musician does not characteristically forego opportunities to unwind and have fun with friends: when a group of people asks her to go out before she has finished practicing, her most useful line is "I'll meet you there in an hour." To forego her practice in order to party obviously would be harmful to her playing, and she might even experience guilt that could make the party less fun; but entirely to forego the party in order to practice is not good either--it can lead to bitterness and to burnout. Striking the right balance is part of what it means to be a well-disciplined musician. In my view, the continued discipline that is necessary for effective practice is the principal reason why students who have been successful in music performance are quite often able to achieve success in other fields as well.

The second fundamental principal of my philosophy is that our highly disciplined practice must always be focused on the right kind of goals. As musicians, we set high goals and standards for ourselves (or at least we should); as students we want to learn the great concertos and to win competitions or prizes, and as professionals we want to secure a good job. These are necessarily among our most significant career goals. Of course, such lofty goals are difficult to achieve, especially since music is a highly competitive field. I have already mentioned that our greatest enemies are anxiety, frustration, and tension. All three of these are easily produced whenever we go into an individual practice session mentally focused on our major career goals: anxiety is generated because of the difficult and competitive field of music; frustration is generated because of the awareness of our own shortcomings; and tension is generated because of the anxiety and frustration! To put my main thesis in a nutshell: our daily practice goals must be different from our career goals! Practice goals should focus on small details. In order to avoid anxiety, frustration, and tension, in practice we must strive for goals that we might actually achieve in the time we have available! For example, if Ralph (an ambitious young oboe student) is in the early stages of learning the Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto, and he has allotted the next an hour and a half to practicing it, he would do well simply to forget about his eventual goal of mastering the entire piece. Instead, he should focus on specific details, such as playing the opening E's well in tune, getting perfectly smooth slurs between A and F# (a devilishly nasty aspect of this piece), capturing exactly the right nuance in the opening cadenza, and perhaps increasing his comfortable tempo for the eighth notes in the last movement by just one metronome notch over yesterday. Small goals such as these can be achieved in an hour and a half, and Ralph will emerge from the practice session still unable to perform the Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto, but nevertheless having made some clear and tangible progress toward that larger eventual goal. Thus he is more likely to feel good about himself with respect to his very ambitious career goals, which after the practice session is over he is again permitted to focus on! When Ralph feels good about himself for this reason, he is far less likely to experience anxiety, frustration, and tension.

There are a number of practice aids that can be highly beneficial if they are used properly: I would especially mention mirrors, electronic tuners, and metronomes. Each of these practice aids can help us focus more clearly on the small details that should be the object of our attention in practice. The mirror helps us to see clearly specific aspects of posture, hand position, embouchure, etc. that are otherwise either difficult or impossible to monitor by ourselves. The electronic tuner helps us to focus on the precise intonation of particular notes and intervals.2 The metronome helps us to track our progress through minute increments of tempo; and it also helps us to sustain the always essential discipline of very slow practice. Indeed, a metronome is not merely helpful or beneficial--it is absolutely essential. I would never want to be without one.

As the foregoing implies, setting detailed goals and actually meeting them by the end of a practice session is far more more important as a measure of daily progress than the mere accumulation of elapsed clock time. Many people, however, find it difficult (indeed as I once did) to discipline themselves adequately in their practice without any reference to clock time whatever. This is especially important for making out a weekly schedule; indeed, time for oboe practice (and for reed making) must appear on your weekly schedule. I would argue that, for performance majors, individual practice is the second most important scheduled time of the week (next to your lesson). This point must be stressed as strongly as possible. Treat each practice time you schedule throughout the week in the same way that you treat performances, rehearsals, and classes--as an absolutely firm commitment! It is, after all, a commitment to yourself and to your own success; and it is a part of what highly disciplined practice means. Ironically, I believe it is almost a concealed disadvantage to attend a school where practice rooms are sufficiently plentiful so that students are not required to schedule times in them. So in conclusion I offer below suggested minimum time allotments for daily practice and reed making. I say these time allotments are minimums because they should be sufficient if the time is used wisely and efficiently according to the principles outlined above. If the time is not used efficiently, then twelve hours per day may not be enough! These suggestions are just that--suggestions. They are not meant to be followed slavishly to the minute; on the contrary, your specific daily goals will always necessitate slight adjustments. Finally, the allotments below are intended to serve the needs and career goals of music majors, but any non-major who is serious about oboe performance should pay attention to them as closely as possible. Of course, many non-majors have an interest in playing that could be described as primarily "recreational"--that is, they play "for fun." But it holds true for anyone that the better you play, the more fun you will have in the long run.

Ia. FULL CREDIT (HOUR LESSONS) FOR UNDERCLASS STUDENTS, APPROXIMATELY 3 1/2 HOURS DAILY MINIMUM

Ib. FULL CREDIT (HOUR LESSONS) FOR UPPERCLASS STUDENTS, APPROXIMATELY 3 1/2 HOURS DAILY MINIMUM

IIa. HALF CREDIT (HALF HOUR LESSONS) FOR UNDERCLASS STUDENTS, APPROXIMATELY TWO HOURS DAILY MINIMUM

IIb. HALF CREDIT (HALF HOUR LESSONS) FOR UPPERCLASS STUDENTS, APPROXIMATELY TWO HOURS DAILY MINIMUM

1One might argue that, on oboe, the risks of frustration or tension are perhaps greater than with most other instruments, since normal playing can produce feelings of internal pressure that many people find disconcerting or uncomfortable, at least initially. I believe that a key to good oboe playing is learning to be comfortable, relaxed, and even to find pleasure in these feelings of pressure.

2In my opinion, many students use the tuner to substitute for their ears rather than to train them. Use of an electronic tuner is generally more productive when you listen to the tone it produces and match your pitches and intervals to it (which is precisely what you must do when you perform with other musicians anyhow), as opposed to letting it listen to you and simply tell you that you are either flat or sharp.