The oboe test season is approaching and with it the nerves to pass the entrance exams with the best possible score. At the time of preparing the studies and works there are several tips that we can take into account so that the result is impeccable.

You can see the tips of the Medina Reeds team below:

• Have several oboe reeds on hand at the level of your studies. Whether you are a beginner, intermediate or professional level, we recommend you to be prepared and have several new oboe reeds available in case they break or you have to make a small adjustment.

• Rehearse with intensity but without getting obsessed and respecting the breaks: to make the study and the musical trial effective it is necessary to take breaks and to disconnect and then retake the practices with more enthusiasm.
• We recommend to practice 4 and a half hours a day and 6 days a week, leaving 1 whole day to rest and to oxygenate your mind and lungs.
• Pre-warm up 10 to 20 minutes before playing. Close your eyes, feel it and enjoy this warm-up. Including: scales, long notes… even difficult passages, played slowly and enjoying each note.
• Distribute the study times equally: do not dedicate 2 hours to a sonata and only half an hour to a concert. Try to divide the times equally among the works you are preparing. Remember that a work that has more notes does not need to be harder.
• Change the order in your practices: if you start practicing a sonata, then practice a study and then you have to prepare an orchestra passage, the next day change the order and start for example by the study. You will make the preparation less repetitive and therefore more dynamic.
• Try to enjoy and do not lose motivation: at the end of each essay write a post-it indicating the achievements or improvements you’ve achieved, also that improvement you’ve felt in that fragment that did not go well.
• Enjoy the music: remember that you play the oboe because you like it and because the final result is a melody for your enjoyment. Try at the end of each essay to put on a work/song that you like and that inspires you, you will want to return to practice 😉

For more tips we recommend you to read the articles of: http://granpausa.com/sobre-el-blog/