Luis De León 1

Luis De Leon

Dr. Tomkiewicz

Oboe Pedagogy Fall 2021

Self Reflection Paper

My teaching with beginning students is beginning to take consistency, step-by-step. From how to

assemble the oboe, how to hold it, how to put the fingers on the body, and the breath and the embouchure,

these are issues to control better than before. I have learned that as the saying goes, "Experience makes

perfect," applies not only to my personal practice and performance but also to my teaching methods and

for the experiences of my students. If we have clear steps on how to do each movement, it will be only a

matter of time, and many classes teaching the same thing will facilitate the presentation of any topic

without hindrance and in any order.

In recent months, with the experience that I am acquiring with my students, I am learning to teach

using many of the tools that my teacher uses. I do not see why I should not use the same things for my

students that work for me personally and my fellow oboe peers. Something that I have implemented is to

work based on scales: one scale per week covering as much as possible of the oboe range, and with one of

my students who is a little more advanced, I ask him for the scales at 60 bpm and in eighth notes. With

my more beginning students, the time and range of the scale is a little more flexible. I try to accommodate

this to the limitations they still have, but there is never a class that is spared from the scales.

Highlighting my strengths, I would begin with saying that I am a patient teacher who works with

the student from a similar perspective based on where they come from, with this I mean that if it is

necessary to practice several minutes repeating a single measure many times, I will do it because every

challenge or difficulty that my student faces feels like mine. Another strength is my experience as a

student. Throughout my life as a student I have been able to experience many things such as all kinds of

reeds or instruments, and also different techniques and pedagogical strategies. This gives me a broad
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overview of where I can scrutinize when looking for a solution to a problem. I also have the ability to

repair various things on instruments, from very basic things like adjusting screws to putting needles,

springs or changing shoes. The need that I had many times in my country forced me to solve problems

with my instrument myself, and this led me to self-taught preparation. Having a knowledge of the

mechanism and operation of the oboe gives me that advantage of being able to solve problems with my

students' instruments without wasting a lot of time, and always being very careful not to do more than I

think I am capable of, especially being very honest when I think that there is something I cannot fix it and

it requires more professional work.

Among the things to improve in the future is definitely the continued development of my English

language skills. For now perhaps this is the biggest barrier I have and the one I most want to overcome. I

always remember what my teacher Dr. T told me, "You are the expert so relax and do what you know

how to do." I always think about this and even with limited language I have managed to get along in a

very good way with my students. I have the approval of the parents because they have seen the growth

that their children have had since they began to study with me. Speaking of consistency when teaching,

for example, sometimes I start by teaching how to assemble the upper part of the oboe with the middle

part and other times I start with the middle part and the bell. This may seem insignificant, but it makes a

difference in how the student grasps the steps so I must improve in this regard, and be more consistent in

my teaching. Another thing that I could observe is that I must teach the students to be more careful with

their own instrument; for me it is natural to maneuver the oboe, but for the student it can be difficult and

dangerous, putting the reed in a reckless place or moving it in a careless manner. It is not a good idea to

start by placing the case on the legs and this has been done quite a bit by my students.

I understand that pedagogy is of great importance for musicians, and the future of a student and

his musical career depends to a great extent on us as teachers. I think that all the topics in the teaching of

the oboe are important, but I want to emphasize that for me the base of the technique is the most

important thing, especially in the first stages. The development of the student depends on the structure

and quality of this time.

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One of the things that I observed and that I apply as a teacher is that I must start looking for

deficiencies in the student from the most basic and this will give me material to be able to work, observe

the posture, breathing, fingers, shoulders and also pay attention to the rhythm, with this I can start.

If the student has all this under control, we can take a step forward and enter into musical details

such as phrasing and for this I can do a quick analysis of X’s to make a structure of the phrases on a

general scale. After or together with the phrase plan I can work based on the style of music, the

articulations or vibrato will depend on this.

As a teacher it is important to know that there is no single successful teaching method, and even

the same ideologies will look different in each person. When observing other teachers I could see that

there are aspects of the technique that do not change from instrument to instrument, and that each teacher

reinvents their pedagogy, but the goal is the same. In general, this oboe pedagogy course has given me a

more analytical knowledge that allows me to grow as a teacher.