Sight reading skills

Dear Oboists, (or flutists)

If you are highly accomplished and wish to keep up your sight reading skills and/or expand your repertoire, I invite you to check out this excerpt of White Water Lily - from the book VISIONS - which I composed and is commercially available via the www.oboebrilliance.com, www.forrestsmusic.com and the links provided on my shop page to the publisher in France, Fortin-Armiane.

Music of this difficulty for you and much easier or somewhat easier for your students are available for sight reading, study, teaching, and performance enjoyment through Oboe Brilliance which I have composed. I’m at your service to help expand your 21st century oboe library and help you keep your private playing fulfilling.

If you have a special need or concern that you’d like to see addressed in one of my 73 progressive oboe études - my 5 year project 2020 - 2025 PLEASE let me know. NOW is the time to voice your need, opinion, etc. for the benefit of our oboe family of tomorrow.

At this time I’m offering custom sight reading and custom oboe practice work outs to interested oboists of any level wanting a little boost to their private oboe playing lives. Now is a great time to keep it fresh and exciting while polishing up - dusting off - or just changing it up a bit.

Yours in service to oboe playing LOVE,

K.J.P.
March 25, 2020

PS ( I am also offering LISTENING TO YOU service via SKYPE - you play, I listen and provide feedback, questions, coaching….I offer this to any level oboist. By appointment and this is for love donation to be paid at your convenience after the session, if you can and wish. )

Importance of perpetual bolstering of sight reading skills

Dear Literate Musicians,

One of the top most important skills literate professional musicians AND literate hobbyist musicians need to perpetually bolster (in order to move forward in capability, stay in shape and further the art form) is SIGHT READING. Now, at 55 years of age, as a composer, oboist since 1974 and music teacher since 1992, I ask myself, HOW can - I - best serve the unmet or under met needs of our OBOE FAMILY moving forward in the 21st century during this time of social isolation, and while so many are offering so much….? My answer - helping ALL oboists including accomplished professionals - move forward with their sight reading skills and in continuing to compose pedagogy and repertoire for the oboists of today and tomorrow.

To do this most effectively - please email me directly kathrynjpotter@gmail.com with subject SIGHT READING and tell me of your present skill level so I may directly send you images of music for you to sight read and or suggest books I’ve composed for you to purchase.

($ - I offer this sight reading service free and request that those who can pay me for my time or make a contribution somehow if its “pinch free” do so with a donation through the PayPal link on the Oboe Brilliance website here www.oboebrilliance.com and please - if you or your students play my music books, buy and don’t copy if you can afford to buy the book. My expenses as a composer exceed beyond 10X any money I get for book sales, performances, or commissions. ALL donations greatly appreciated and needed. Thank you.)

SIGHT READING BASICS
1) Sight read music that is below your skill level - ideally - be able to read music that you can play a line accurately with no more than 3 - 5 mistakes

2) Before you begin to play - look over the page - notice patterns - and overall structure:
meter
key signature
form and structure like repeats …'“ Road map”
changes in style, form, tonality or accidentals, construction

3) What’s the gist and overall relationship with time and pace of the piece?

4) Once you begin to play:
keep your pace - always move forward (never stop or go backwards or repeat)
only play what you can play
drop what you can’t play

5) review piece silently and play through it silently

6) Play the same piece over again following the same above rules for about 5 more times, each time playing more and more better and better.

SIGHT READING to stay in shape:
1) Follow the above rules with music within your present skill set - meaning - stay within your comfort and knowledge zone.

SIGHT READING to expand your capabilities:
1) Follow the above guidelines except - introduce music to yourself that is off your radar, with a composer or style that is new to you, and with some challenges beyond your present level of capability. - this is where I can help you get UNCOMFORTABLE and grow - for some, or get happy if you desire to embrace a challenge or something new.

Our “Achilles Heal” as teachers/students/artists is that we don’t know what we don’t know.
Once we think we know something - we can learn that there is “another way to cook an egg”

I think SIGHT READING and introducing a new composer’s music into our lives gives us tremendous advantages.

1) A new way to understand what we already know. For example - a new treatment of an old scale - or a new treatment of a new scale, meter, or lack there of…
2) A new PSYCHOLOGY of interacting with the written page.
3) A new form of construction - or an old form of construction with a new relationship with time….

Sight reading offers us the joys and challenges of a new relationship within an old relationship. It’s a love affair with the unknown.

LET ME TAKE YOU THERE, IF YOU DARE.

Cheers - and stay healthy -
Yours in oboe playing LOVE,
K.J.P.
March 23, 2020

PS(Drink hot tea regularly while practicing please!!!!, wash your hands and wipe down all metal surfaces - like KEY WORKS - as the corona virus can live up to 9 days on metal surfaces. OUR OBOE FAMILY NEEDS YOU TO LIVE AND BREATHE.)

a man with a flute

Dear Ones,

Some of the students I’ve had in the past have healed or reclaimed somewhat from significant abuse from their childhood through their own determination and courage willing them forward onto a pilgrimage involving music in some way. Especially the male adults.

One of the senior citizen students I’ve had the opportunity to be employed to be a private music teacher, was a retired Christian pastor who was finally pursuing a life long wish to play the flute.

As a boy, he was forbidden to play the flute as it was deemed shameful and inappropriate for a boy to play that instrument. (Meanwhile women at that time weren’t holding orchestral or professional positions of being a flautist either….but that’s for another blog.)

He was in his late 60’s and suffered from a very weak short term memory. For weeks he would come to his lesson, and not even recognize that some of what I was teaching him was review. I feared he was beyond hope and I began to question the morality of taking this man’s money. His wife was an oboe student and she assured me that he practiced at home usually about 5 to 10 minutes most waking hours. He was very devoted.

I decided to be patient and wait a couple more months to see if he’d make enough progress to justify the money he was spending, or to have a real heart to heart with him.

Anyway - fast forward - his consistent hard work started to “pay off” in terms of he was making progress and bit by bit playing the flute. He was getting a sound, getting endurance for phrasing, remembering fingerings and developing - some - dynamics.

BUT

He grew more and more frustrated because technique aside, he wasn’t being expressive. He just wasn’t connecting his heart with his sound. It was noise, not music. He had a mini melt down, because he’d always wanted to play the flute he saw NO moral reason for him being denied the ability to study flute - so his studies were guilt free - yet he felt trapped. Now that he was doing all he could, he hit a wall of ability and feared he’d never play - really play - the flute before he would die. He was feeling impatient also, and that isn’t helpful either.

This gentleman was a retired pastor so he was familiar with hymns and biblical characters. I said, secretly pick one of the following three biblical characters, and play this hymn the way you’d imagine one of the characters would sing it, but play exactly what is written. ( I gave him the most contrasting of three characters I could think of because I was afraid I’d have NO idea, which one he’d pick!) Well, clearly he picked the holy mother and he did extremely well expressing HER character as he’d imagine.

So, my point is, we all have hearts and we are all musical, the trick is finding what we love to access our own ability to “sing” or emote or express our hearts. Sometimes it helps to express ourselves, our hearts through our adoration which isn’t blocked to enter the vast sea of our own emotional sea of expression.

In time, he was able to express more and more of his own heart without requiring to move sideways through adoration of another.

Much of my work with adult students was therapeutic in assisting/witnessing them overcome toxic pedagogy or limiting beliefs of their youth. Fortunately because of their own dedication and love of music, I was able to help them through the wall they willed to fall down.

Very rewarding honor to witness these successes in the heart. There is healing in music.
I am grateful that moving forward, humanity is liberating itself from such narrow ideas of what it means to be a boy or a man.

My oboe teacher, Peter Hertling told me about how in some native American cultures, a boy ready to become a man would go out on a vision quest, fast, have a vision, then make a flute while out on the vision quest. When (if) he returned to the tribe, he’d play on the flute and expression of his vision, on his flute which he forged, for the tribal elders. After hearing the music, he would be given his adult man name.

It was a rite of passage. To go alone in the wilderness, fast, pray, have vision, forge a flute, return, express and choose to be a part of the tribe.

There is a beauty and wisdom there.

Thank you.
K.J.P.
February 17, 2020

Little Pink Heart by KJP

Dear Ones,

Welcome to my imaginary world! Here we are, week of Valentine’s Day, so I thought that I pull out from the archives a painting called “Little Pink Heart” gouache on canvas board. It was painted in September of 2017. It’s one of my very first good “keepers”! It is 10” wide and 8” tall. It looks better in real life and there is a painted border not shown in the photo which takes the painting to a higher level. You also don’t need a frame.

Little Pink Heart

gouache on canvas board by K.J.P.

I hope it inspires you, I hope you get something out of seeing it. I love to share.

Like many of what I love to paint, it is what I call an imagined landscape. It is inspired by the U.S. South West landscape as I so very much love the rugged rocky terrain and hues of pink. The land has heart to it and mystery.

If anyone is interested in buying the original for $240. just email me at info@kathrynpotter.com with subject saying “Little Pink Heart” and make your bid.

Approaching painting from the psychology as a musician is really sweet. For decades I am used to practicing for HOURS which is time well spent for the joy of making music, cultivating the craft …. for the sake of music and resulting in nothing tangible afterwards to show.

When I began painting regularly and passionately in 2017, it was for the joy of painting. Having anything resulting after time spent painting is simply an extra plus! Painting for paintings sake!

It’s really lovely having something to share sometimes after time spent painting. For me, it often feels like swimming in color. Swimming in a new world!

The side effects are enthralling. Painting opens my eyes and heart to more and more of the visual beauty around me - light, shadow, hues, shapes, depths. The world has become GORGEOUS - in every way.
I’d keep painting even if I never ended up with something visual to share simply because it makes me a happier, more loving, more appreciative and aware of the beauty in this glorious creation in which we live, person.

It helps me relish life and beauty. If you don’t paint already - you might find it worth your while. There is a joy to be found in it.

That right there is enough, however, I’m so please to have something to share which at times inspires others as well. That just “hits it out of the ball park”. YAY.

Thanks for visiting.

Best wishes to all,
KJP
Feb. 12, 2020.

Joy in a world gone mad

Dear Ones,

During this age of madness, this age of extinction, this seeming apocalypse, we the vital, creative, force of humanity must give ourselves permission and purpose to feel, experience, create and share joy - true joy, not distraction - during these troubled times. It’s like creating an eye of a hurricane, or mild weather and respite, fresh air to breathe and fresh water to drink, perfectly ripe delicious fruit to eat. WE NEED THIS!

This is our job. In so doing we revitalize our emotional bodies, our nervous systems, we revitalize the good feelings, we tend the garden of love, harmony, beauty, joy, pleasure, devotion, cooperation and all that is deeply inspiring. This is important, sacred, soul watering work. Let it be worship if you are so inclined.

Be an alchemist. Transform the angst into a compost for this garden. Don’t stuff it, sweep it under the carpet or deny it - USE IT - create contrast, create healing. This helps you, this helps all who interact with you.

BOLSTER the good feelings. Turn stress into fuel to exercise the muscles of positivity.

To be real and successful about it, we can treat it like a massage - touch the pain intelligently and lovingly, release it and replace it with glowing love and beauty. In this way we raise consciousness and create healing. We allow joy and well being. We pull a weed of negative energy and with alchemy, transformation it into something beautiful, delicious, joyful.

Have a multi course emotional meal of many flavors of emotion, and follow it up with a naturally ripe, delicious sweetness of joy. Let your emotional heart free, let it soar above the clouds of doom and gloom from time to time and fly in the sun shine, under the stars.

The following works available express joy:
FEBRUARY: in the “Mother and Son Mask Project”
Flying with Ravens into the Sun - oboe quartet no. 2
Many flowers in the 100 Flower Series (along with many other moods!)
(Works in the 100 Flower Series are:
Illuminations
Arc en Ciel
A Dozen Roses
Visions
Duet #2 (of 7) in “The Secret of Ravens”

The new set of duets for oboe, or oboe d’amores, or oboe and oboe d’amore: “Springtime Dances” will be premiered Sunday March 8th, 2020 in Paris - see home page. Later this year they will be commercially available. Many of them are joyous as well.

Best wishes.
K.J.P.
(Feb.1, 2020)

The secret to inspired artistic expression

Dear Ones,

Artistic expression as understood as a sharing of one’s internal passion through an art orm, is achieved by having the artistic tools of consciously connecting within oneself to sincere love and having the tools of technical elegance to share the transformation of the intangible, inaudible love into artistic form of some kind.

BUT HOW?

Here is a true story to demonstrate this.

Before I had my own music studio, I drove to student’s homes and taught them there. One of my very first students was what seemed like an impossible case.

First of all, he didn’t ask for oboe or flute lessons, he asked me if I could teach him how to play the Shakuhachi. I said that I only teach what I know, and I’ve never played one…however, until he found a proper Shakuhachi teacher, I could teach him what I do know, and that is diaphragmatic breathing, proper posture, how to get in touch within himself, meditate, focus the mind and develop better concentration - would he be interested in that? I’d only charge him 50% since I couldn’t play the instrument.

He accepted provided I accepted a gift of a shakuhachi which I could try to figure out how to play…

DEAL

This man was working towards reinventing and healing himself.
He was cleaning himself up from years of cocaine abuse which was cultivated while serving in the US military, which was preceded by years of schools for “derelicts” which was preceded by years of intense physical and psychological abuse from his father.

He had NO prior artistic experience.

I thought, hmmm, the door to success is through love, which is probably best accessed through the back door - MEANING - indirectly so he doesn’t avoid it or sabotage it.

The good news was that he was humble. He didn’t have a high opinion of himself. He was not arrogant. In fact, he could barely life with himself. The way he served his country was to sit in a silo and push the button, not knowing if it was a drill or if he was actually launching nuclear missiles and wrecking death, dreck, torture and havoc upon creation.

His military training was helpful in that he followed my leadership incredibly well.
I said sit like this and BOOM - he sat just like I said. He was most obedient and cooperative. This certainly expedited his progress. Maybe he wasn’t so hopeless after all!

He nailed posture and breathing in his first lesson. He learned how to focus his mind on performing the physical function of using breathing as a way to relax muscle groups and direct his air stream.

I taught him the 5 step focus>
Step one: focus mind on breathing and posture: observe and know when you are inhaling and exhaling. Follow the breath with the mind

Step two: continue step one and pay attention to all you can hear.

Step three: continue step two and deliberately breathe deeper and slower, also scan body head to toes and relax any unnecessary tension - let it melt like ice cream in the sun.

Step four: continue step three and pay attention to the feel of air around you

Step five: continue step four, put fingertips together pinky to pinky and so on and open eyes, including eyesight.

The strategy to invasive thoughts was to let them pass like something out of a train window.

That was his only daily homework for a week one.

Next week, we added the instrument after 5 step focus because I had figured out how to make sounds with it. (I still only charged him 50% - while I could play it, I couldn’t really PLAY it like an accomplished Shakuhachi master, or adept student for that matter - however, but could be expressive.)

Patiently, we worked on sound production. At first it sounded awful. I said - remember what it sounds like now, book mark it as a perspective point. It will improve. Plants don’t grow overnight.

He listened to what he created, observing nuances of changing sounds - research and observation. Cause and effect. PRACTICE with patience, while keeping form and staying within mediation - step 5.

Over time, he got the hang of it and I instructed him to look outside his picture window to something he thought was beautiful.

HE LOVED TREES.

(Note to self.)

His assignment and practice was to - while in the 5th step of meditation- play a note, while observing the trees.

Another week, we added more notes. He was improvising/listening/observing the sound. Play notes while playing to the trees.

Another week, he would tell a story to the tree, or cloud of whatever.

He also loved to read stories.

Note to self.

We worked on story - beginning, middle, end with sound. A note is a story, a phrase is a story, a few phrases a story.

Three months from the first lesson or so, he was moving around the instrument with more capability.

I asked him to improvise a sonic portrait of the tree - imitate the movement, color….

IT WAS ARTFUL, SKILLED, AND SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!! He told an expressive story with sound. He made a gorgeous portrait of the tree. He expressed himself.

I stood up, shook his hand and said, “Nice to meet you sir. Congratulations. Mission accomplished. You just played YOUR heart and it is beautiful. You expressed your love of the tree. No charge for today’s lesson.”

At that I walked out of the house while he cried.

Years later, I bumped into him at a flea market. He looked GREAT - very healthy and he was accompanied by a very beautiful and kind and sensitive looking woman. They both appeared to be genuinely happy together and he and I light up like Christmas trees when we saw one another.

He learned and achieved inspired expression.

Peace,
K.J.P.

Alchemy

Dear Ones,

ALCHEMY is the consistent underlying art form in this pilgrimage as a creative being - whatever - the medium or task; teaching, composing, blowing wind through a pipe, painting, even meditating….

The process of ALCHEMY demands courage and love in order to harvest the plethora of emotional ingredients to use in the food of music, painting…etc. PATIENCE is demanded of us to develop the technical elegance of skills to transform these ingredients of sound, feeling, sight, relating…

Although it takes time to cultivate technique - if the “IT” is there - that special something …. that ability to courageously TASTE the ingredients of AUTHENTICITY, the IT will come through.

At 54, I feel like I’m in an interesting perspective point along this journey as a student/teacher/life long creative….

As I go forward I am exploring more and more this ALCHEMY .

E VERY year, there is a new harvest of GRAPES (emotions - the pas de deux of relating to the macrocosm as a microcosm).

How do you grow your grapes? How do you harvest? How do you stomp the grapes, barrel them up, store, ferment, bottle and serve?

In the work “DREAMS OF THE BLACK SWAN” a trio for flute, oboe and bassoon - I consciously did a lot of alchemy. It helped. I sat down and tasted a lot of bitter and painful emotions. The thorns and daggers in my heart. With as much patience, courage and compassion as I could muster, I listened to the echos of these torments. I listened to my younger self, as if I were listening to a younger student whom I loved and cared about. That strategy helped. It was like ruff tangy tasting of bitter grapes from the barrel that were left to ferment.

Next, with compassion, I listened to inspiration to transform the pain into sound, lovingly. To do this lovingly, I had to FEEL and RESPECT the difficulty of these feelings, give them wings so they could fly away with beauty.

Another way to put it, is to acknowledge the pain, grind it like a mortal and pestle with loving attention and make a paste.

Add inspiration - and you have wine. Add technique and you have a bottle of containment - i.e. the written page.

Not all feelings are sweet. Not all music as food is a light desert, nor should it all be. We have cuisine - we have emotions, we have sonic food for a FULL COURSE MEAL complete with wine.

As I travel this pilgrimage as a creative, it helps me a lot to have some skills so I can transmute via alchemy the slings and arrows and agonies of the human experience into sound.

Now, that it’s been years since composing “DREAMS OF THE BLACK SWAN” I find myself needing to do more alchemy (every year is a new season of grapes - as well as many other ingredients in the garden of life - . Now I am using my “grapes” as I compose 100 Longings for oboe d’amore - these are solo works.

So - if you are an artist of some medium, how do you embrace this blog for your own benefits?
Sit quietly and listen to the most painful feelings of your life experience like you are listening to a younger person you truly love. Do so courageously - do not be afraid to feel - emotions are like wind storms - THEY PASS - emotions are not solid, they flow like water - courage is your life raft. If you are afraid then either wait until you are stronger or older or get help you can trust. If not - then shelve it - until you are ready. THERE IS NO HURRY. You can barrel up your bitter grapes into a casket for a later time (like I did) and if and when you are ready, listen compassionately to yourself, and then follow it up by practicing your craft be it composing, or painting, or dancing in silence or writing poetry or shaping clay or cooking a stew or planting bulbs in the garden - sewing, knitting - writing a letter to your younger self or older self or best friend or become your best friend or become a loving best friend to someone else, or take a dog for a walk…go fly a kite and celebrate the listening and liberation of the shadows of your heart set free.

From despair to beauty is a wonderful thing. From bitterness to deliciousness is a glorious gift for yourself and if you wish - you can share your art with others.

BEST WISHES for peace, and the growth of love consciousness.
The more we can embrace our own bitter feelings and shadows, the more we can be loving and compassionate. It takes COURAGE. Empathy and awareness and courage - real emotional face the music - courage are the building blocks of loving higher consciousness leading to peace and well being for us all.

K.J.P.

January 24, 2020

46 years - feeling grateful

Dear Ones,

This past week, I recognized the 46th anniversary of my first oboe lesson. Here is what I wrote on Facebook. Thought I’d copy and past to make this blog. ENJOY

Today (January 7, 2020) marks the 46th anniversary of my very first oboe lesson, which I had to wait 5 - intensely - LONG years for, until I was (almost) old enough to start playing!

I asked my teacher (a jazz saxophonist named James Cassera) How do you play the oboe!!!?!?!?

He said, (in a steady incredible crescendo) “Well, you take a
R E A L L Y deep breath, pucker up, and blow kisses to God baby!”

He was quite the sight. An American born Italian Stallion with broad shoulders and an open shirt revealing a chest adorned with the Catholic saints on gold chains interwoven with his plethora of chest hair. Full side burns, bell bottoms, and gorgeous shoes. Thick luscious dark curly hair. Square smokey sun glasses.

He was very warm and kind man. Loved music, loved children, very community oriented. When the other adults were trying to convince me to play flute or clarinet, I insisted upon the oboe. He was best friends with my ballet teacher, Miss Judy who was a goddess among women and a Shero in my life, which is how he heard about this little girl determined to play the oboe! He took pity on me and said - I’ll get you started until you can find a proper oboist to teach you.

So, I took a really deep breath, and played the longest note to the end of the universe that I could with ALL MY ❤️. I remember it was an E because I couldn’t quite get my right ring finger to cover the D key - so that was the best I could do. It tickled my lips and I broke out into a peel of giggles afterward.

It was a thrill. And here I am, playing, teaching, and composing for this honker with gusto to this day!

It’s a marriage. It’s a significant relationship. It’s my hiking stick in the pilgrimage of life. It’s a prayer stick and constant companion as I wander through life.

It’s opened doors to studying, music, composing and meeting beautiful beautiful people whom I love dearly.

Thank you 17th century French musicians Jean Hotteterre and Michel Danican “Philidor” who modified the louder shawm (the prevailing double-reed instrument) to invent the original oboe. 🥳💗

I feel grateful - really grateful - to the set up in childhood enabling me to play in public schools and competitions and extra ensembles in addition to steady weekly lessons my parents gave me. The state of NY had great programs in the 70’s and 80’s through NYSSMA (New York State Schools Music Association) which James Cassera was later the president.

The NYSSMA competitions helped tip over the beginning dominoes to help me get the scholarships I needed to study oboe and my ultimate goal - composing in college and conservatory.

If you’re an oboist, and still reading, please tell me what you want to see created in Études and feel is important for me to keep in mind as I work on my 2020-2025 progressive oboe Étude project.

Now is the time to speak up!

Paying it forward, I wish to create more for the oboists of tomorrow.

I feel grateful for all the music composed and existing for us oboists to play today and realize that we owe everything to what we inherit from our teachers, composers and those who come before us.

Thank you, hugs and kisses to all the oboe makers, reed makers, composers, teachers, music dealers,
event organizers, and those who FUND the fun which is serious fun and makes a critically important aspect of human life possible.

My first composition teacher’s (Karel Husa) very first question to me was, “If all your friends were fighting in a war that they believed in, would you fight or compose?” I said instantly “compose” he was taken aback. “How can you be so sure?” I said, if composers stopped composing every time people went to war, we wouldn’t have much music. Besides, I’m a creator not a fighter.

If you’re still reading, you might want to visit my website (www.oboebrilliance.com same as www.composerKJP.com) as I just started a new decade of blogging. You don’t HAVE to be a person who plays oboe or composes only to get something out of it. But you’ll get even more out of it if you do ... I HOPE! 🙏

The 73 Progressive Étude Project 2020-2025 and IN ADORATION OF THE EARTH

Attention OBOISTS: You’re invited to participate in the 2020 - 2025 Oboe Brilliance 73 progressive Étude project!

Moving forward into the 21st century, I am devoted to composing 73 new progressive oboe études for our precious oboe family of today and tomorrow.

The book, IN ADORATION OF THE EARTH is the first book of progressive oboe études I composed. These études were specifically composed for my students and myself years ago based on individual needs. This book was first published in 2010.

Now- I wish to take this further and ask you for help and participation please if you’d be so kind.

Here’s how you can participate if you wish:
Make a recording of yourself playing one or more of the études in this book. (It can be a simple iPhone in your practice room recording) email it to me to info@kathrynpotter.com
and tell me what NEED you would like a new Étude I compose to address. Feel free to elaborate.

I especially would like to hear from experienced performers and teachers who are well versed in the method books out there.

Thank you in advance if you wish to participate. If you don’t have this book already, you might want to buy it and add it to your teaching /studying library . It introduces - in a kind and creative way - basic 20th century needs - 1/4 tones some multi phonics, pitch bending, playing without bar lines, top octave... odd key signatures and unusual use of tonality and lack there of while enhancing imagination and love of our natural world, specifically, animals.

Designed for oboists of all ages and technical levels. Something for everyone.

I wish to do better than this in my next book, so feel free to add your criticisms and advice as well as praise.

As an oboist since January 7th, 1974 and teacher since 1992 - I am painfully aware that I have more to learn and yes, I keep practicing!!!

All help appreciated!

This book (IN ADORATION OD THE EARTH) is available on my website (see shop page) ForrestsMusic and from the publisher - in France - impossible to find on their site so if you want to buy from them, use the link on my shop page to get a direct link for your convenience.