Using the 6 Easy Oboe Duets for teaching
When I first started teaching private oboe lessons I had a hard time finding duet books that worked well for my early intermediate students. Most of my students weren’t used to playing with another oboist because they were usually the only one in their band classes. As a result, they struggled with trying to play in tune and blending with other oboists. So, I decided to create the 6 Easy Oboe Duets.
This book contains six short duets for early intermediate level players. The range is about two octaves (low C – high Bb) and each of the duets are two minutes or less. Featured composers throughout the book include Mozart, Telemann, Bach, and Beethoven.
Important Teaching Concepts to discuss throughout the book
- Breathing! So, most band kids are used to playing in big sections where they can lay out if they get tired. Obviously in a duet they don’t have that luxury. Even though these duets are short they can become very tiring if the student is not taking in a proper breath of air. So these duets would be a great time to talk with your student about the importance of air support and proper breathing because the music will suffer with out it.
- Style! Some of these duets will feature passages filled with staccato notes. Most students will want to play the staccato notes to short which would not sound good in the context of the piece. So, this would be a good time to talk with them about the importance of different styles and types of staccato notes.
- Pitch! There are a lot of moments in this book where the two players will be in unison or octaves with each other (particularly after cadences). So this would be a good time to talk about listening down to the lower octave and matching pitch with your partner.
So, I hope you find the 6 Easy Oboe Duets useful with your students and happy practicing.
Your Neighborhood Friendly Oboist,
Jessica Wilkins
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