GEKELER METHOD for OBOE by KENNETH GEKELERFOREWORD ‘ie PRIMARY PURPOSE in presenting this method for publication was to make availble a book that did not progress too rapidly for beginners, one that taught proper oboe fingerings, and one that presented a logical progression of shythmical problems, ‘The following comments may prove helpful: Good tone quality and intonation are important factors in oboe playing. Without these TONE QUALITY any amount of techniq i ether weles, Tere is nothing new to offer as a means of improving tone quality or intonation other than good playing posture and the consci- ‘entious practice of long tones. ‘Using the best tone on the instrument as 2 model, the student should practice long tones on all degrees of the scale, attempting to make them all uniform in quality and of good intonation. ‘The attack of ‘each tone should be watched and an effort made to make the beginning perfect and clean. ‘Slurs should be practiced in the same snanner: beginning on an easy legato slur—making it 2s uniform and even in tone quality as possible—and con- tinuing to the more difficult slurs. ‘Young players should avoid the habit of Keeping their head down as one often sees THE POSITION student players doing. This is often caused by the wrong position of the jaws and teeth. OF THE The reed should not be clenched between the teeth, but, the upper jaw and teeth should INSTRUMENT protrude out in front of the lower ones, and the reed held between, in the space where they overlap. If the reed is held this way the head will be almost erect and the eyes will be straight ahead while playing. The oboe will be in a positon that the right thumb rest will be approximately six or eight inches from the body. ‘The embouchure will depend more on the muscles around the upper lip and the smiling position of the facial muscles than upon clenched teeth. ‘The student should continually bear in mind that the lips, tongue, and air flow are ‘entirely independent of each other. This should be given special attention when attack- ing, or starting, a tone, At this time any movement of the lips simultaneous with that TONGUEING, OR THE “ATTACK” of the tongue will use a very poor attack as well as poor intonation. The same type of attack is used for every degree of loudness; not a strong attack for a loud tone and a weak one for a soft tone. Daily practice attacking tones of various degrees of loudness is very important, especially #0 on low ‘and on pp tones. Constantly remember that it is the withdrawing of the tongue from the reed, and not the striking it, that starts the tone, 'A great amount of the beginner’s reed trouble arises from neglect to properly moisten CARE OF REEDS ‘he reed before using it. Holding the reed in the mouth a short time is not sufticient tc moisten most reeds. From ten minutes to a half hour before it is to be used, the reed should be dipped into water and returned to the case without shaking the water off. It will then be ready to use when time to play unless it has been drying out for some time; if s0, it should be dipped into water a second time before it 18 played. 'A reed that has been used for some time (several weeks) very often can be improved by cleaning the inside of it ‘This should be done by swabbing the inside with a feather—about the size of a pigeon tail feather—while holding it in a glass of water, This should be done after the reed has been played on for a time and not while it is dry.Begin each tone by starting to blow and withdrawing the tongue at the same instant. Do not use the tongue to stop the tone, simply stop blowing. Hold the reed firmly between the lips but avoid biting it. Keep the corners of the mouth drawn back in a smiling position, ‘After practicing each note separately until it can be produced easily, play each exercise ‘many times with the correct counting. (3) Rest the oboe on the right thumb ina manner that the thumb rest strikes, the thumb at the edge of the nail, approximately half way between the first joint and the tip of the thumb. (© 1940 Renewed) BELWIN-MILLS PUBLISHING CORP. (ASCAP) ‘All Rights Assigned to and Controlled by ALFRED MUSIC AI Rights Reserved Ea. Lib. 81The symbol ——, or tie, placed over or under two or more notes of the same name indi cates that they are to be played as one note. Their time value is combined but they are played by one attack of the tongue. Special attention should be given to breathing in the following exercises. The apostrophe ( indicates places where the breath is to be taken. If necessary, expel air through the mouth b fore taking a new breath. In doing so be sure the reed remains resting on the lower lip. Breat through the corners of the mouth, or by slightly raising the upper lip from the reed. Avoic breathing through the nose.Pupil Teacher 3 t = + 5 Ra. Lib. 81-486 The sharp sign 2 placed on the F line indicates that every F in the exercise, unless can celled by a natural sign (H), is to be played sharp. va e Lightly Row > 103 Ra, Lib, 81-48% Play these exercises very slowly at first, taking sufficient time to watch each motion of the thumb. DO NOT SLIDE THE THUMB, but keep the side or edge of the thumb close to the key so that a slight raising of the first joint will open the key. A dot placed after a note or character increases its value one-half; for example, a dotted half note gets three counts. @ op a v@ ‘1) The symbol © stands for 4/4 (four quarter) rhythm. Ba, Lib, 81-48The symbol (x) indicates what is known as a “half hole” The first finger of the left ha placed on the “plateaux” ina manner that a slight downward roll will expose the small ope in the center of the pad. Practice to perfect the simultaneous opening of the “half hole” an release of the octave key (T1), and the reverse movement, ina manner that both the first ger and the thumb make the least possible movement. DO NOT SLIDE THE FINGE ROLL IT. The sign [=———=9 indicates a repetition of the strain between the double bars, (D) Duet Ra, Lib, 81-489 For oboes having automatic octave keys, fingerings marked for (T2) are made with (T1). The key Te is depressed with the side of the first finger of the left hand, a little below the second joint. This is done witha slight upward roll of the hand, It is not necessary to release key T1 when using T2. (A) (B) Hohman Bé_Lib, 81-4810 A slur placed over, or under, two or more notes indicates they are to be played with breath and that only the first note should be tongued. “Fy 5 7 E 4 woh awe a, Any sharp or flat written before a note and not in the key signature is effective only in the me which it is written. A. Lib, 61-48a ‘A. good understanding of this fingering, known as the “forked Fis very essential in acquiring yood on the oboe. is a poor tone on many oboes; sometimes it can be improved by using keys with the forked fingeri forked fingering should always be used whenever F is preced- ed or followed by D. Notes marked with x are to be played with forked fingering. Do not evade using this fingering because it scoms awkward, ah e a x Rd. Libr. No. 81-48A.Tibe. No. 81-4818 a é x x 4 e a ? ££ 4 | — — re el et Theme a = - » gee eS There’s Music in the Air x 1. Koehler, xn ear AtVa Oh, No John 2 English Folk Song 2 Long, Long Ago Bayly “sS eS eee Pee S| Xe = Polly put the Kettle on SSS r a. Libr. No. 61-48Scale of G major 2S SSS = j . $e Review the “half-hole” comment on page 8 ys Peete = = Le Le et — CLL Review the “forked F” comment on page 11 % & Pee Review the octave key comment on page 7 Ses =f 1S Set i : Ba. Lib, No, 81-48Key of F major (Bh ‘ x K~e x x em Sif eee tes (1) Andante: sedate, leisurely. (2) Piano indicates: soft (Abbreviation: ») ‘Hd. Lib. No. 81-487 = 2. == The Skaters Waltz ae is == See ra Loves Old Sweet Song Andante ‘eS = Ee f aa: == = = e= === Es F seam ae SSS | | <<, Ra. Lib. No. 81-4848 Repeat the first exercise many times before going to the next. Note that exercise and s sound the same, only the notation is different. If the time value of the eighth and dotted quarter in exercise 4 and 8 is difficult at first, divide the quarters into eighths ercise 1 and play several times. t x yh pep ppb ee eer Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms Andante Moore P SSModerato a) forte — es La Cinquantaine (Golden Wedding) Gabriel - Marie D.S.al Fine (4) Moderato indicates: moderate movement. (a) Forte indicates: loud (Abbreviation f) (#) Dal Signo (2..) return to the sign and play to “fine” Ba. Lib, No. 81-48Scale of Bb major . j SS SS Bees Andante ro Dane! Ka doles | - = Bh EES => —S== A Little Dance Koehle: (® Dolce, soft, sweetly. (Abbreviation dol.) D.C): return to the beginning and play to “fine” 48