April 8, 2025 • 21 mins
What makes a good music student? There are so many thoughts around this -- and even the question about what is "good," but here are 3 things that I have found make me a better music student in my day to day life studying at a conservatoire. This is part 2. Click here for part 1.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Confident Musicianing
Podcast.
My name is Eleanor and I am aBritish American oboist studying
at the Royal Conservatoire ofScotland literally my dream
school and it took me a long wayto get there.
I applied and auditioned for 12schools in three different
countries.
It was a lot of hard work but,oh my gosh, so worth it.
(00:24):
I want you to have theconfidence to work hard in
achieving your goals, so comewith me as we go on this journey
together.
So sit down, pull up a chair,take a seat or, if you're on the
go, welcome to the ConfidentMusicianing Podcast.
(00:50):
About a year ago, I was tryingto figure out how I was going to
move to the UK and startstudying oboe at a conservatoire
, and when I was doing all ofthis, there was a little voice
in the back of my mind that waslike I really want to become the
best music student I can be.
I hope I can do that.
I hope I can become a goodmusic student.
Now the idea of a good musicstudent is really subjective, I
feel.
What even is good?
I think that's different foreveryone, but now that I am well
(01:13):
underway in my first year, Ihave picked up a few things, a
few traits, a few skills, ideasthat have helped me become a
better music student, and todayI want to share three of them
with you.
This is part two of this idea.
Part one has three more traits.
(01:33):
So if you haven't watched thator listened to that, please do
go do that.
I will link it in thisdescription, in the show notes
below.
But today we're going to diveinto three more traits of a
music or the music student thatI have become in terms of like
the traits that have helped mebecome a better music student
than I was, say, when I startedstudying at a conservatoire.
(01:58):
So let's dive right into this.
The first thing is being ableto take thoughts and criticism
from everywhere.
When I was studying oboe beforeI studied at a conservatoire I
had one oboe teacher and I had alesson with him every single
week and I really enjoyed thoselessons and they were great.
(02:18):
But that was my only input, Isuppose.
I mean, I was in youthorchestra as well, but in terms
of playing the oboe, that waskind of like my my input, and it
was from one person.
And now studying at aconservatoire, I have so many
inputs.
I have my private teacher.
But then if I'm in an ensembleclass, then there's someone um
(02:41):
teaching that.
If I'm in a performance classand I'm doing a performance for
a group of other students, thereis a teacher that gives
feedback for that.
I get feedback from otherstudents as well.
There's just so much input, somany places of input, and I
think at the beginning I was abit like, oh my gosh, there's,
(03:03):
there's so many voices, there'sso much input.
How do I, how do I work throughit, how do I feed through it?
And I think that that skill ofbeing able to take lots of ideas
, try them and then decide whichones you want to stick with and
which ones you want to maybelet go or put put on the back
burner if you need them later,let go or put put on the back
(03:28):
burner if you need them later,that's really, really helpful.
And I it's interesting as wellbecause I feel like you know my
teacher before I moved to the UK.
He kind of gave me he gave melots of really good oboe
thoughts and advice and, like Iam so grateful for those lessons
, so grateful, but I think, adifference between him and the
(03:49):
teacher that I study with now,which is not like a good or bad
thing, it's just a different wayof teaching.
But the teacher that I studywith now gives me ideas to play
with and then I can decide whatI want to do.
And that still I I'm like, ohmy gosh, how do I decide what do
I do For me?
(04:10):
I think, because I have such abackground of kind of learning a
specific way, the idea of ateacher giving me two, three
ways to do something and then medeciding which one works the
best for me was a whole new idea, a whole new idea.
And so, because of that and alsojust the input I have, kind of
(04:34):
well, I'm starting to developthis ability, this skill of
being able to take a lot ofdifferent thoughts and filter
them and decide which ones Iwant to do.
And a great way of doing thatis writing like all of it down,
all of it down.
So, for instance, um, with my,with my private lessons, you
know, or like my lessons throughthe conservatory with my
(04:55):
teacher, um, I write down all ofthe ideas he has and then I try
them out and then, like heasked me to do, I pick which
ones work best for me.
And I also do that with, say,ensemble classes and performance
classes.
I get so much input and I justwrite it all down so I have it
(05:16):
all, just in case I want to lookback on it.
I have it all and then I try itout or some of it out, and the
stuff that sticks.
I try it out or some of it out,and the stuff that sticks.
The stuff that helps is is iswhat helps, and sometimes other
things don't stick as much, andthat's okay, and it's not
necessarily like, oh, this ishard, I'm not going to do it.
It's like, oh, you know, thismaybe isn't working for me as
(05:40):
much in terms of the reads orsomething like that, or maybe
some of the things, um, much interms of the reads or something
like that, or maybe some of thethings, um, especially for me,
because I I get, um, some, somepain from a chronic illness I
have sometimes, um, so sometimesthose things don't help me
right and because it causes pain.
So things like that, justreally filtering through, that
is a skill that I am learning todo and it can definitely be
(06:02):
overwhelming.
But I think once we decide, youknow, I'm gonna write all of
this down and then I'm gonna tryit, I'm gonna give it all it's,
it's you know it's time, andthen I'm gonna decide what fits
with me and what doesn't.
And that is a really, really,really new skill for me, but
it's a very interesting skill.
I think I kind of had a prething for this skill, like a
(06:26):
like a pre introduction to it,when I did trial lessons, and I
have a few podcast episodesabout trial lessons.
If maybe that's something thatyou want to learn more about or
maybe it's something you'redoing, um, those will be linked
down below in the description inthe show notes.
But a lot of the times when Ihad trial lessons like I had
trial lessons with like 12different teachers and, of
(06:49):
course, if you're going to havea lesson with 12 different
oboists, there's going to bekind of conflicting advice,
right, someone's going to sayone thing and another teacher is
going to say the exact opposite, because oboe playing is a
spectrum, right, especiallybecause I had, you know,
teachers from different schoolsof oboe playing as well.
So, like a lot of that advice,I mean, some of it was just
(07:10):
conflicting and so I had todecide what did I want to do,
and so that was also a very goodway of doing that.
So the idea of taking a lot ofadvice from a lot of different
places, filtering it through tocreate your way of doing things
and that can always change, thatcan always change, all right.
(07:32):
The next thing is understandingthe different types of practice.
This, I think, is so helpfulfor me as a conservatoire
student, especially if I haveoverworked myself or I need to
be quiet.
You know, I live in a flat andmaybe it's late at night and
maybe I can't play the oboe.
(07:52):
Then I need to understand thedifferent kinds of practice.
So if all I did when Ipracticed was play the oboe,
then, to be honest, I wouldn'thave grown so much so far.
Okay, let me say that again, ifall the practice that I have
ever done was actually justplaying the oboe, then I
(08:12):
wouldn't be as far as I am now.
It is the incorporation of lotsof different kinds of practice
some with the oboe, some withoutthe oboe that have helped me
become a better oboist.
So let's dive into this.
So when I practice, I tend toplay the oboe.
I tend to play the oboe, butlet's say, if I'm struggling
(08:33):
with a tricky passage, I mightdo it mentally.
And mental practice.
I have a podcast about that aswell, so I'll link that in the
description below in the shownotes.
But mentally, you know, what Ido is I put the oboe back in the
case and I kind of go throughit in my mind.
Sometimes I use my fingers soif you're watching this, you can
see and I just like push myfingers down or like put
(08:56):
pressure on them that would bepushing the keys down and I like
practice slowly.
And the thing about mentalpractice for me at least, it's
very helpful to make it veryslow, because it's not
necessarily about playing theinstrument very slow, because
it's not necessarily aboutplaying the instrument, but it's
about making the connection inyour mind.
So doing it really slow andthinking through can be really
(09:18):
helpful for practice.
And then when I pick up theoboe, it like your brain.
It's kind of like your brain islike solidified and it's like
okay, you know, this is whatwe're going to do and it
definitely helps.
For me at least, that issomething that I really enjoy.
In mental practice there's alsolike score study.
(09:40):
Score study can be reallyhelpful as well.
That doesn't include the oboe,but you know if you're saying
trying to memorize a piece andyou need to understand how, say,
other instruments fit in, thenscore study is a great way to go
if you want to analyze thepiece.
You know, maybe you'rememorizing it and there's a lot
of different arpeggios and youjust want to remember what kinds
(10:01):
of arpeggios that can help you.
You know, remember it and maybeyou don't necessarily need your
instrument for that um, butmaybe you'll need it later.
So maybe you you do mentalpractice or you do score study
or you listen for a bit, andmaybe you do that when you need
to be quiet, because it's latein the evening or maybe because
your oboe is getting serviced orwhatever instrument you play,
(10:24):
um, or maybe it's just cause youjust need to do this and then
in the next session, when youhave your instrument, that can
really help that session.
Right, it's really helpful.
Um, active listening as well.
You know, maybe you'relistening with the score, maybe
you're not.
Maybe you're listening and alsokind of fingering through in
your mind.
Um, maybe you're just trying toget the tempo in your in your
(10:45):
mind.
Maybe you are trying tounderstand a rhythm.
That's something.
If, if I struggle to get arhythm as it's written, maybe
something's throwing me off,maybe another instrument is
throwing me off.
A lot of times I just listen toit, and that can be very
helpful as well.
Just listen to the same fourbars over and over, and over and
over and over and over.
Maybe I clap through it, maybeI sing through it.
(11:07):
Singing can be helpful for meas well.
Just sing through it, then Ican get it in my head and then
the next time I play the oboeit's better.
So for me, understanding thedifferent kinds of mental
practice, or different kinds ofpractice, including mental
practice, can be so helpful andhas been so helpful in my, in my
(11:31):
practice so far.
Because I think if, if I justplayed the oboe when I practiced
number one, I wouldn't be asgood, um, and number two, I
would have really struggled, youknow, kind of pain-wise, like
let's let's talk about that,like, let's be honest, like kind
of like I would probably have abit more pain than I do, I'd
(11:52):
probably be overworked.
So, having that balance and I'mnot saying never pick up your
instrument when you practice,the bulk of your practice or at
least for me, the bulk of mypractice is playing the oboe,
and then I add these things inas well and that makes it so
that I can practice if I don'thave my oboe.
So, understanding the differenttypes of practice so important.
(12:15):
And the last thing is seeingthe value in learning things
that aren't directly related toplaying your instrument.
Oh my gosh, this is a reallygood one.
I have classes that are aboutoboe, right, like my lessons, or
like ensemble practice orensemble classes or maybe
performance class.
(12:36):
All of these things are aboutplaying my instrument and that's
very important.
That's why I'm at aconservatoire.
But I also have classes aboutmusic theory, music history,
about kind of the professionalskills I need to enter into the
music world, and I think it canbe really easy to kind of put
(12:56):
those classes aside, as do wereally need them?
And I say yes, we really doneed them, because maybe I can
play oboe so well.
I'm not saying that I can Notyet, I'm still working on it but
let's say I just focus all mytime and attention to oboe, oboe
, oboe so well.
I'm not saying that I can notyet, I'm still working on it.
But let's say, let's say I justfocus all my time and attention
to oboe, oboe, oboe.
The whole time.
I was at conservatoire and Igraduate and I'm like so good,
(13:18):
right, um, but if I just devotedall that time to oboe and maybe
my oboe skills are are reallyup high and then my actual
professionalism skills are quitelow, how am I actually going to
survive in, you know, the musicworld if I don't know how to,
you know, write an email, well,etc.
(13:39):
So, or have a good biography,or have good promotional
materials, or know how to Idon't know network things like
that.
That's really important as well, and I think going to a
conservatoire that isn't just amusic conservatoire the
conservatoire I go to does um,drama, does what else do they do
?
Jazz?
Um, although jazz is music, butlike they don't just do
(14:02):
classical, they do jazz music,they do Scottish traditional
music, they do um drama andacting and ballet and musical
theatre and all of these things.
So it's just a melding, part ofso many different things that
people are doing, and I think Ican learn at least one thing
(14:23):
from every single person there.
You know, even if they are aballerina, I can learn something
that might help my musicianshipthrough movement, right.
So I think it can be reallyeasy to just be like all right,
I'm here to practice, I'm goingto lock myself in a practice
room for the whole day and I'mjust going to practice and
practice and I'm not going tolisten to, like any you know,
(14:45):
thoughts or advice from, say,you know someone who doesn't
play classical music, and I'mjust going to focus on this
because this is what I've gottenhere for Um and for me I that's
just not how I function and Ithink it's so helpful for me to.
Yes, I need to practice and Ipractice every day and I, you
know I make sure that I havethose, those hours to practice.
(15:06):
But I also find, you know,studying for my, you know, music
professionalism classes, justas important.
Or understanding the historyand the context behind what I'm
playing, just as important.
Or understanding the historyand the context behind what I'm
playing, just as important.
Or maybe I get coffee with youknow a student who is not in my
(15:28):
discipline who can offer me youknow well, hopefully, hopefully
it's mutual um, but who can kindof give me um their like, show
me their knowledge and theirwisdom in whatever they have to
do, and I can learn somethingfrom them as well.
So I think going to aconservatoire, for me at least,
(15:49):
is not just about locking myselfup in a practice room.
It's about creating connectionswith people who maybe I
wouldn't have createdconnections with learning from
other people, putting value andemphasis in the classes where
maybe I don't have an oboe in myhand but I'm learning important
skills and advice and thingslike that.
(16:11):
That can be so, so, soimportant.
So I think you know it's soeasy to just go, let's just do
this, but I think it's sohelpful to have all of this
information from everyone and tounderstand that I can learn
something from anyone andeveryone you know, even if they
(16:32):
have nothing to do with playingthe oboe.
All right, really quickly,before we do our recap, I want
to share something with you thatkind of ties in with the second
point about different kinds ofpractice.
Now, I think with differentkinds of practice, it can
sometimes be a bitnerve-wracking or confusing if
(16:54):
we feel like, okay, how much ofeach practice am I doing?
Am I doing too too much mentalpractice, or maybe I'm not doing
enough mental practice, ormaybe I'm doing too much, you
know, physical practice with theinstrument, and I think a great
way to work through that and toreally find your perfect
balance of the different kindsof practice you want to do and
also just have effectivesessions is to plan your
(17:15):
practice, and this is why I wantto tell you about Notable.
So Notable is a practice.
Well, it's a company that sellspractice journals and I got my
Notable practice journal aroundlike the beginning-ish of my
year studying at a conservatoireand, honestly, it has
(17:36):
transformed my practice fromkind of disorganized, confused,
not knowing what I'm actuallydoing in the practice room, to
something that is effective,focused, and I know when I
finish my practice because I'vechecked off everything on my
plan.
It also has a section forreflection and reflection
questions, so I can um know thatI am improving every single day
(18:00):
and it's a great way for me tounderstand my personal balance
of the different kinds ofpractice and know, maybe, what I
need to work on a little more.
As soon as I found out that thiswas working, I knew that I had
to tell you about it and I knewthat I had to get you a code.
So use code eleanor15 for 15%off your journal, that is,
(18:23):
e-l-e-a-n-o-r-1-5 for 15% offyour journal and get yourself a
journal and start effectivelypracticing.
You know that I don't recommendanything that I don't
absolutely love.
This code is an affiliate code,so I do receive a commission
with no extra cost to you.
All right, let's do a quickrecap.
(18:47):
The first thing being able totake thoughts and criticism from
anywhere and everywhere andalso filter them through so that
you can know what you shouldreally work on.
And I find it's very helpful todo that if I write everything
down, give everything a go andthen decide what works for me,
(19:11):
and also asking other people aswell what works for them.
The next thing is understandingthe different types of practice.
We don't have to always beplaying an instrument during our
practice.
We can be doing it, you know,mentally.
We can be doing it throughactive listening, through score
study, through all of thesethings that can help us in the
practice room, especially if weare, you know, if we've just
(19:34):
come home from I don't know,four hours of of like opera
rehearsal and the last thing Iwant to do is play an oboe, but
I need to, you know, memorizethis piece of music for a class
later.
Then I can do it mentally, andthat can be just as, if not more
, effective than playing theoboe or whatever instrument you
(19:55):
play.
The next thing, or the lastthing, is seeing the value in
learning things that aren'tdirectly related to playing your
instrument, because we got tohave skills.
We got to have not just, youknow, our technique skills or
reed making or whatever it is,but we also need to have
professional skills.
We also need to know how towrite a biography very well.
We need to know how to network,know something that maybe a
(20:18):
coffee you know like gettingcoffee with someone who is a
student, who I don't know, playsjazz or does musical theater or
is an actor or something likethat they have things that you
can learn, you know, even ifit's like more professionalism
side.
They and maybe they have noidea how to play your instrument
(20:40):
.
They have things that you canlearn from.
So, understanding that and justbeing a sponge soaking all of
the knowledge from everywhere,all right, all right, that is
about it for this episode.
Thank you so much for hangingout with me.
I really enjoyed making thisand sharing these thoughts with
you.
So thank you so much forhanging out with me.
I really enjoyed making this umand and sharing these thoughts
(21:00):
with you.
So thank you so much.
If you enjoyed this episode,please do let me know, show the
love, like, subscribe, comment,follow all of the things.
And if you want effectivepractice sessions, do click the
link in the description in theshow notes for your notable
practice journal and use codeELEANOR15 for 15% off.
(21:24):
All right, I think that's aboutit.
Thank you so much for watchingand listening and I will see you
next time.
Take care, bye-bye.
Hello and welcome to the Confident Musicianing
Podcast.
My name is Eleanor and I am aBritish American oboist studying
at the Royal Conservatoire ofScotland literally my dream
school and it took me a long wayto get there.
I applied and auditioned for 12schools in three different
countries.
It was a lot of hard work but,oh my gosh, so worth it.
(00:24):
I want you to have theconfidence to work hard in
achieving your goals, so comewith me as we go on this journey
together.
So sit down, pull up a chair,take a seat or, if you're on the
go, welcome to the ConfidentMusicianing Podcast.
(00:50):
About a year ago, I was tryingto figure out how I was going to
move to the UK and startstudying oboe at a conservatoire
, and when I was doing all ofthis, there was a little voice
in the back of my mind that waslike I really want to become the
best music student I can be.
I hope I can do that.
I hope I can become a goodmusic student.
Now the idea of a good musicstudent is really subjective, I
feel.
What even is good?
I think that's different foreveryone, but now that I am well
(01:13):
underway in my first year, Ihave picked up a few things, a
few traits, a few skills, ideasthat have helped me become a
better music student, and todayI want to share three of them
with you.
This is part two of this idea.
Part one has three more traits.
(01:33):
So if you haven't watched thator listened to that, please do
go do that.
I will link it in thisdescription, in the show notes
below.
But today we're going to diveinto three more traits of a
music or the music student thatI have become in terms of like
the traits that have helped mebecome a better music student
than I was, say, when I startedstudying at a conservatoire.
(01:58):
So let's dive right into this.
The first thing is being ableto take thoughts and criticism
from everywhere.
When I was studying oboe beforeI studied at a conservatoire I
had one oboe teacher and I had alesson with him every single
week and I really enjoyed thoselessons and they were great.
(02:18):
But that was my only input, Isuppose.
I mean, I was in youthorchestra as well, but in terms
of playing the oboe, that waskind of like my my input, and it
was from one person.
And now studying at aconservatoire, I have so many
inputs.
I have my private teacher.
But then if I'm in an ensembleclass, then there's someone um
(02:41):
teaching that.
If I'm in a performance classand I'm doing a performance for
a group of other students, thereis a teacher that gives
feedback for that.
I get feedback from otherstudents as well.
There's just so much input, somany places of input, and I
think at the beginning I was abit like, oh my gosh, there's,
(03:03):
there's so many voices, there'sso much input.
How do I, how do I work throughit, how do I feed through it?
And I think that that skill ofbeing able to take lots of ideas
, try them and then decide whichones you want to stick with and
which ones you want to maybelet go or put put on the back
burner if you need them later,let go or put put on the back
(03:28):
burner if you need them later,that's really, really helpful.
And I it's interesting as wellbecause I feel like you know my
teacher before I moved to the UK.
He kind of gave me he gave melots of really good oboe
thoughts and advice and, like Iam so grateful for those lessons
, so grateful, but I think, adifference between him and the
(03:49):
teacher that I study with now,which is not like a good or bad
thing, it's just a different wayof teaching.
But the teacher that I studywith now gives me ideas to play
with and then I can decide whatI want to do.
And that still I I'm like, ohmy gosh, how do I decide what do
I do For me?
(04:10):
I think, because I have such abackground of kind of learning a
specific way, the idea of ateacher giving me two, three
ways to do something and then medeciding which one works the
best for me was a whole new idea, a whole new idea.
And so, because of that and alsojust the input I have, kind of
(04:34):
well, I'm starting to developthis ability, this skill of
being able to take a lot ofdifferent thoughts and filter
them and decide which ones Iwant to do.
And a great way of doing thatis writing like all of it down,
all of it down.
So, for instance, um, with my,with my private lessons, you
know, or like my lessons throughthe conservatory with my
(04:55):
teacher, um, I write down all ofthe ideas he has and then I try
them out and then, like heasked me to do, I pick which
ones work best for me.
And I also do that with, say,ensemble classes and performance
classes.
I get so much input and I justwrite it all down so I have it
(05:16):
all, just in case I want to lookback on it.
I have it all and then I try itout or some of it out, and the
stuff that sticks.
I try it out or some of it out,and the stuff that sticks.
The stuff that helps is is iswhat helps, and sometimes other
things don't stick as much, andthat's okay, and it's not
necessarily like, oh, this ishard, I'm not going to do it.
It's like, oh, you know, thismaybe isn't working for me as
(05:40):
much in terms of the reads orsomething like that, or maybe
some of the things, um, much interms of the reads or something
like that, or maybe some of thethings, um, especially for me,
because I I get, um, some, somepain from a chronic illness I
have sometimes, um, so sometimesthose things don't help me
right and because it causes pain.
So things like that, justreally filtering through, that
is a skill that I am learning todo and it can definitely be
(06:02):
overwhelming.
But I think once we decide, youknow, I'm gonna write all of
this down and then I'm gonna tryit, I'm gonna give it all it's,
it's you know it's time, andthen I'm gonna decide what fits
with me and what doesn't.
And that is a really, really,really new skill for me, but
it's a very interesting skill.
I think I kind of had a prething for this skill, like a
(06:26):
like a pre introduction to it,when I did trial lessons, and I
have a few podcast episodesabout trial lessons.
If maybe that's something thatyou want to learn more about or
maybe it's something you'redoing, um, those will be linked
down below in the description inthe show notes.
But a lot of the times when Ihad trial lessons like I had
trial lessons with like 12different teachers and, of
(06:49):
course, if you're going to havea lesson with 12 different
oboists, there's going to bekind of conflicting advice,
right, someone's going to sayone thing and another teacher is
going to say the exact opposite, because oboe playing is a
spectrum, right, especiallybecause I had, you know,
teachers from different schoolsof oboe playing as well.
So, like a lot of that advice,I mean, some of it was just
(07:10):
conflicting and so I had todecide what did I want to do,
and so that was also a very goodway of doing that.
So the idea of taking a lot ofadvice from a lot of different
places, filtering it through tocreate your way of doing things
and that can always change, thatcan always change, all right.
(07:32):
The next thing is understandingthe different types of practice.
This, I think, is so helpfulfor me as a conservatoire
student, especially if I haveoverworked myself or I need to
be quiet.
You know, I live in a flat andmaybe it's late at night and
maybe I can't play the oboe.
(07:52):
Then I need to understand thedifferent kinds of practice.
So if all I did when Ipracticed was play the oboe,
then, to be honest, I wouldn'thave grown so much so far.
Okay, let me say that again, ifall the practice that I have
ever done was actually justplaying the oboe, then I
(08:12):
wouldn't be as far as I am now.
It is the incorporation of lotsof different kinds of practice
some with the oboe, some withoutthe oboe that have helped me
become a better oboist.
So let's dive into this.
So when I practice, I tend toplay the oboe.
I tend to play the oboe, butlet's say, if I'm struggling
(08:33):
with a tricky passage, I mightdo it mentally.
And mental practice.
I have a podcast about that aswell, so I'll link that in the
description below in the shownotes.
But mentally, you know, what Ido is I put the oboe back in the
case and I kind of go throughit in my mind.
Sometimes I use my fingers soif you're watching this, you can
see and I just like push myfingers down or like put
(08:56):
pressure on them that would bepushing the keys down and I like
practice slowly.
And the thing about mentalpractice for me at least, it's
very helpful to make it veryslow, because it's not
necessarily about playing theinstrument very slow, because
it's not necessarily aboutplaying the instrument, but it's
about making the connection inyour mind.
So doing it really slow andthinking through can be really
(09:18):
helpful for practice.
And then when I pick up theoboe, it like your brain.
It's kind of like your brain islike solidified and it's like
okay, you know, this is whatwe're going to do and it
definitely helps.
For me at least, that issomething that I really enjoy.
In mental practice there's alsolike score study.
(09:40):
Score study can be reallyhelpful as well.
That doesn't include the oboe,but you know if you're saying
trying to memorize a piece andyou need to understand how, say,
other instruments fit in, thenscore study is a great way to go
if you want to analyze thepiece.
You know, maybe you'rememorizing it and there's a lot
of different arpeggios and youjust want to remember what kinds
(10:01):
of arpeggios that can help you.
You know, remember it and maybeyou don't necessarily need your
instrument for that um, butmaybe you'll need it later.
So maybe you you do mentalpractice or you do score study
or you listen for a bit, andmaybe you do that when you need
to be quiet, because it's latein the evening or maybe because
your oboe is getting serviced orwhatever instrument you play,
(10:24):
um, or maybe it's just cause youjust need to do this and then
in the next session, when youhave your instrument, that can
really help that session.
Right, it's really helpful.
Um, active listening as well.
You know, maybe you'relistening with the score, maybe
you're not.
Maybe you're listening and alsokind of fingering through in
your mind.
Um, maybe you're just trying toget the tempo in your in your
(10:45):
mind.
Maybe you are trying tounderstand a rhythm.
That's something.
If, if I struggle to get arhythm as it's written, maybe
something's throwing me off,maybe another instrument is
throwing me off.
A lot of times I just listen toit, and that can be very
helpful as well.
Just listen to the same fourbars over and over, and over and
over and over and over.
Maybe I clap through it, maybeI sing through it.
(11:07):
Singing can be helpful for meas well.
Just sing through it, then Ican get it in my head and then
the next time I play the oboeit's better.
So for me, understanding thedifferent kinds of mental
practice, or different kinds ofpractice, including mental
practice, can be so helpful andhas been so helpful in my, in my
(11:31):
practice so far.
Because I think if, if I justplayed the oboe when I practiced
number one, I wouldn't be asgood, um, and number two, I
would have really struggled, youknow, kind of pain-wise, like
let's let's talk about that,like, let's be honest, like kind
of like I would probably have abit more pain than I do, I'd
(11:52):
probably be overworked.
So, having that balance and I'mnot saying never pick up your
instrument when you practice,the bulk of your practice or at
least for me, the bulk of mypractice is playing the oboe,
and then I add these things inas well and that makes it so
that I can practice if I don'thave my oboe.
So, understanding the differenttypes of practice so important.
(12:15):
And the last thing is seeingthe value in learning things
that aren't directly related toplaying your instrument.
Oh my gosh, this is a reallygood one.
I have classes that are aboutoboe, right, like my lessons, or
like ensemble practice orensemble classes or maybe
performance class.
(12:36):
All of these things are aboutplaying my instrument and that's
very important.
That's why I'm at aconservatoire.
But I also have classes aboutmusic theory, music history,
about kind of the professionalskills I need to enter into the
music world, and I think it canbe really easy to kind of put
(12:56):
those classes aside, as do wereally need them?
And I say yes, we really doneed them, because maybe I can
play oboe so well.
I'm not saying that I can Notyet, I'm still working on it but
let's say I just focus all mytime and attention to oboe, oboe
, oboe so well.
I'm not saying that I can notyet, I'm still working on it.
But let's say, let's say I justfocus all my time and attention
to oboe, oboe, oboe.
The whole time.
I was at conservatoire and Igraduate and I'm like so good,
(13:18):
right, um, but if I just devotedall that time to oboe and maybe
my oboe skills are are reallyup high and then my actual
professionalism skills are quitelow, how am I actually going to
survive in, you know, the musicworld if I don't know how to,
you know, write an email, well,etc.
(13:39):
So, or have a good biography,or have good promotional
materials, or know how to Idon't know network things like
that.
That's really important as well, and I think going to a
conservatoire that isn't just amusic conservatoire the
conservatoire I go to does um,drama, does what else do they do
?
Jazz?
Um, although jazz is music, butlike they don't just do
(14:02):
classical, they do jazz music,they do Scottish traditional
music, they do um drama andacting and ballet and musical
theatre and all of these things.
So it's just a melding, part ofso many different things that
people are doing, and I think Ican learn at least one thing
(14:23):
from every single person there.
You know, even if they are aballerina, I can learn something
that might help my musicianshipthrough movement, right.
So I think it can be reallyeasy to just be like all right,
I'm here to practice, I'm goingto lock myself in a practice
room for the whole day and I'mjust going to practice and
practice and I'm not going tolisten to, like any you know,
(14:45):
thoughts or advice from, say,you know someone who doesn't
play classical music, and I'mjust going to focus on this
because this is what I've gottenhere for Um and for me I that's
just not how I function and Ithink it's so helpful for me to.
Yes, I need to practice and Ipractice every day and I, you
know I make sure that I havethose, those hours to practice.
(15:06):
But I also find, you know,studying for my, you know, music
professionalism classes, justas important.
Or understanding the historyand the context behind what I'm
playing, just as important.
Or understanding the historyand the context behind what I'm
playing, just as important.
Or maybe I get coffee with youknow a student who is not in my
(15:28):
discipline who can offer me youknow well, hopefully, hopefully
it's mutual um, but who can kindof give me um their like, show
me their knowledge and theirwisdom in whatever they have to
do, and I can learn somethingfrom them as well.
So I think going to aconservatoire, for me at least,
(15:49):
is not just about locking myselfup in a practice room.
It's about creating connectionswith people who maybe I
wouldn't have createdconnections with learning from
other people, putting value andemphasis in the classes where
maybe I don't have an oboe in myhand but I'm learning important
skills and advice and thingslike that.
(16:11):
That can be so, so, soimportant.
So I think you know it's soeasy to just go, let's just do
this, but I think it's sohelpful to have all of this
information from everyone and tounderstand that I can learn
something from anyone andeveryone you know, even if they
(16:32):
have nothing to do with playingthe oboe.
All right, really quickly,before we do our recap, I want
to share something with you thatkind of ties in with the second
point about different kinds ofpractice.
Now, I think with differentkinds of practice, it can
sometimes be a bitnerve-wracking or confusing if
(16:54):
we feel like, okay, how much ofeach practice am I doing?
Am I doing too too much mentalpractice, or maybe I'm not doing
enough mental practice, ormaybe I'm doing too much, you
know, physical practice with theinstrument, and I think a great
way to work through that and toreally find your perfect
balance of the different kindsof practice you want to do and
also just have effectivesessions is to plan your
(17:15):
practice, and this is why I wantto tell you about Notable.
So Notable is a practice.
Well, it's a company that sellspractice journals and I got my
Notable practice journal aroundlike the beginning-ish of my
year studying at a conservatoireand, honestly, it has
(17:36):
transformed my practice fromkind of disorganized, confused,
not knowing what I'm actuallydoing in the practice room, to
something that is effective,focused, and I know when I
finish my practice because I'vechecked off everything on my
plan.
It also has a section forreflection and reflection
questions, so I can um know thatI am improving every single day
(18:00):
and it's a great way for me tounderstand my personal balance
of the different kinds ofpractice and know, maybe, what I
need to work on a little more.
As soon as I found out that thiswas working, I knew that I had
to tell you about it and I knewthat I had to get you a code.
So use code eleanor15 for 15%off your journal, that is,
(18:23):
e-l-e-a-n-o-r-1-5 for 15% offyour journal and get yourself a
journal and start effectivelypracticing.
You know that I don't recommendanything that I don't
absolutely love.
This code is an affiliate code,so I do receive a commission
with no extra cost to you.
All right, let's do a quickrecap.
(18:47):
The first thing being able totake thoughts and criticism from
anywhere and everywhere andalso filter them through so that
you can know what you shouldreally work on.
And I find it's very helpful todo that if I write everything
down, give everything a go andthen decide what works for me,
(19:11):
and also asking other people aswell what works for them.
The next thing is understandingthe different types of practice.
We don't have to always beplaying an instrument during our
practice.
We can be doing it, you know,mentally.
We can be doing it throughactive listening, through score
study, through all of thesethings that can help us in the
practice room, especially if weare, you know, if we've just
(19:34):
come home from I don't know,four hours of of like opera
rehearsal and the last thing Iwant to do is play an oboe, but
I need to, you know, memorizethis piece of music for a class
later.
Then I can do it mentally, andthat can be just as, if not more
, effective than playing theoboe or whatever instrument you
(19:55):
play.
The next thing, or the lastthing, is seeing the value in
learning things that aren'tdirectly related to playing your
instrument, because we got tohave skills.
We got to have not just, youknow, our technique skills or
reed making or whatever it is,but we also need to have
professional skills.
We also need to know how towrite a biography very well.
We need to know how to network,know something that maybe a
(20:18):
coffee you know like gettingcoffee with someone who is a
student, who I don't know, playsjazz or does musical theater or
is an actor or something likethat they have things that you
can learn, you know, even ifit's like more professionalism
side.
They and maybe they have noidea how to play your instrument
(20:40):
.
They have things that you canlearn from.
So, understanding that and justbeing a sponge soaking all of
the knowledge from everywhere,all right, all right, that is
about it for this episode.
Thank you so much for hangingout with me.
I really enjoyed making thisand sharing these thoughts with
you.
So thank you so much forhanging out with me.
I really enjoyed making this umand and sharing these thoughts
(21:00):
with you.
So thank you so much.
If you enjoyed this episode,please do let me know, show the
love, like, subscribe, comment,follow all of the things.
And if you want effectivepractice sessions, do click the
link in the description in theshow notes for your notable
practice journal and use codeELEANOR15 for 15% off.
(21:24):
All right, I think that's aboutit.
Thank you so much for watchingand listening and I will see you
next time.
Take care, bye-bye.
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