The dust is finally settling from the big launch of the Reedmaker’s Network. And as the haze begins to clear, I realize that I may have hopelessly confused you all. Let me apologize… In all of my excitement, I’m afraid I didn’t make things as clear as they should be. And I can’t really expect [...]

The BIG day is finally here… and we’ve got an exciting announcement to make at MKL Reeds. Get the details now! http://www.mklreeds.com/reedmaking.htm

So most of you know that we just got done unpacking the UHaul truck after our move from Chicago. Everything went pretty smoothly: the oboe made it, the gougers, even the reeds got here without a crack. The only problem was our poor UHaul truck. We lost a belt somewhere around Indianapolis which made things [...]

I know a few musicians (oboists and non-oboists) that take betas on a regular basis for a variety of reasons and situations. One takes them for auditions only, one takes them everyday for heart palpitations, and several take them for scary performances. I’ve never tried them for a few reasons, on which I invite discussion: [...]

Last week, I managed to fall on a hard linoleum floor and ended up with a lovely goose egg on the back of my head. Playing the oboe with a goose-egg is much like playing with a head-cold — the pressure is painful and every reed feels too hard. Ouch. To counterbalance the pressure, I [...]

If you haven’t been around MKL Reeds in a bit, you may have missed the announcement about our first foray into the publishing world. It’s called, “How to Raise a Young Oboist WITHOUT Going Broke.” It’s specifically written for oboe parents. So what prompted me to write my very first e-book, you ask? Well, I’ll [...]

In the past month, I’ve had 2 colleagues brave the bass oboe part in Holst’s Planets, one here in Chicago and one in Nashville. It’s a very cool part and doubles on oboe, and there are some juicy low B solo tidbits that are pretty scary. I’ve tried a Heckelphone before, but the few notes [...]

When this time of year rolls around, I always get nostalgic for all of those good school memories I have of being at Eastman, in Rochester NY. By now, it is REALLY fall in Rochester and I associate that with getting back into the swing of things, oboe-wise. The school year always started with an [...]

I’ve been playing more English horn lately and it’s got me thinking about the importance of a good bocal. Bocals can vary completely in sound, pitch, and stability, but finding the right combination for your horn and playing style can make a world of difference. Currently I’m playing a Laubin 3 and Hiniker 2 B11. [...]

You know when you’re kind of in a slump? Not a reed slump or an oboe slump necessarily, but just feeling blah? I’ve felt this way the last few days or so… nothing “wrong” per se, the weather’s been good and everything is really fine. Maybe it’s a momentary lack of motivation or just too [...]

If you make a living playing music, you are probably aware of the following points: you are in business (as the sole owner of You, Inc.) marketing can be a major key to your success Music is both art and business, and if you depend on it to keep your lights on and food on [...]

I woke up one Saturday in February to find a huge article in the New York Times about the abundance of available oboe positions among the nation’s top symphonies. As a member of the “next generation” of oboists that was mentioned in the article, I took issue with some of the stuff that was said. [...]