8/12/2019 Oboe Warmup

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Tone and Control

Begin with the slow D Major scale shown below. There are four goals:

Each note should have the most beautiful, easy, resonant sound possible. Use minimalembouchure tension and no vibrato - all the control should come from the air.

Each note should be in tune. Usually, if the sound is working, the pitch will be good also.There should be the most perfect legato between notes. Move your fingers with great care,

keep them close to the oboe, and don't let the air die between notes.Each note should sound like each other note. Not only should adjacent notes have the same

tone color, but the high register and the low register should also sound alike.Do this exercise three or four times, or until you're satisfied with the result. Listen carefully, andinsist on the most perfect execution possible. When the D Major scale is really beautiful, switch toa D-flat Major scale and try to get the same results.

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Long tones are next. Be sure you accomplish the following:

The beginning and the end should be as soft as possible. My teacher, John de Lancie, likenedthe attack at the beginning to a "hot knife going into butter," and the end to "smoke risingin the air" you can't be sure when the smoke ends and the air begins.

The forte in the middle should be as loud as you can play without forcing.There should be no dips or wiggles or wavers in the sound.

Pitch must remain constant.The long tone needs to be active throughout. Don't start soft, get loud, stay loud, and get soft. Itshould always be getting louder or softer.

No vibrato. If a trace of natural vibrato appears at the very top of the tone, that's fine.Again, do this three or four times, or until you're satisfied with the result.

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Here are two variations to try after the steady tone is really good. The first is moderately difficult,the second is extremely difficult.

8/12/2019 Oboe Warmup

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Technique

Technical warm-ups are next. I begin with scales: all major and minor scales (three forms). Therange of the scales will differ from individual to individual. I recommend full-range scales(composers rarely oblige by writing them neatly from tonic to tonic). Start from the tonic, go toyour highest note, go down to B or B-flat, and back to the tonic. Younger students should be ableto play with facility to high E-flat. More advanced players need facility up to high G. Use themetronome and set it at a speed where you can play the scales smoothly, evenly and cleanly.Never exceed a speed that you can control. Ease and facility will come from well rehearsed,frequently repeated correct motions. Speed without control is frightening. I play sixteenth notes at112 on the metronome, but this and other metronome speeds should be regarded as suggestionsonly. Begin at a tempo where control and smoothness are possible.

Then, major scales in broken thirds. Again, play them full range beginning and ending on thetonic. Sixteenth notes at 92.

Then, the first two pages of the Vade Mecum of the Oboist . I play them at 116-120, but if you'venever learned them, you may have to start at half that speed.

Then, practice articulation. I just use an easy scale (F Major or G Major) and play it for one octavewith four (or eight) repetitions on each scale degree. Start at a speed you know you can manage(I start at 100 playing sixteenth notes), and increase one click at a time until you reach maximum.Then (and this is important), go back down one click at a time until you're out of the danger zoneand can play with freedom and relaxation. For variety, use the exercise on page 16 of the VadeMecum and apply the same practice method, changing the speed every four measures.

You may want to vary this routine to suit specific needs: diminished arpeggios, whole tone scales,pentatonic scales, scales in broken fourths, scales in broken octaves, etc. could be included ifyour repertoire demands it. Also, there are many good books - Bleuzet, Gillet, Debondue, etc. -that include a daunting variety of scale exercises.