Theo Todman's Web Page - Notes Pages
Status Reports
Status: Music (Summary of Progress to Date)
(Text as at 10/10/2018 16:43:41)
*** THIS IS NOT THE LATEST VERSION OF THIS NOTE ***
(For the live version and other versions of this Note, see the tables at the end)
Resources
- Sheet Music and Books on Music are summarised in the following lists:-
- A useful site for listening to practice pieces is Spotify (Spotify).
- Time spent since I (re-)started playing these instruments is recorded in my database (as pseudo-Books/Papers) at the following links:-
Detailed Progress & Works Played
- Oboe:
- My oboe expertise has improved somewhat with practice, though I still have trouble with breath-control, and with playing for longer than 30 minutes at a stretch.
- Strangely, I’d never thought the oboe needed to be tuned against the piano, nor was I quite as clear how to vary the pitch so much by controlling the reed. So, I guess that’s progress.
- My focus continues to be on the mechanics of breathing, reed-control and tone, but is now moving on into other areas of musicality.
- Lessons:
- 38 from April 2008 to September 2010.
- 3 from September-October 2018 (on-going)
- Practice & Exam pieces for the oboe1:
- "Albinoni (Tomaso) - Oboe Concerto Op.7 No.3 (Oboe/Piano)": this is allegedly a Grade 8 piece, and I need to speed up a bit on the running passages to keep up with the piano accompaniment.
- "Arnold (Jay) - Oboe Solos":-
- Caesar Cui: Orientale (The Kaleidoscope), Op. 50, in g minor,
- Grieg: Solvejg’s Song,
- Dvorak: Indian Canzonetta (Op. 100, No. 2),
- Dvorak: Slavonic Dance (Op. 72, No. 2),
- Handel: Sonata #1 in g minor,
- Schumann: Romance No.1 Op.94
- "Bach (J.S.) - 105 Difficult Passages from the Works of J. S. Bach. For oboe":-
- Cantatas #1 & 121,
- Christmas Oratorio, Aria (c).
- Barbirolli (John): Concerto for Oboe and Piano, on Themes of Pergolesi.
- "Boni (Giovanni) - Sonata in G".
- "Bononcini (Giovanni Maria) - 15 Dances for Two Treble Recorders and Basso Continuo".
- "Craxton (Janet) & Richardson (Alan) - Second Book of Oboe Solos":-
- Telemann: Affettuoso from Sonata in C minor,
- Mozart: Theme from La Ci Darem La Mano (Arr. Beethoven); in C major,
- Mozart: Theme and Two Variations from Divertimento #13; in F major.
- "Davies (John) & Harris (Paul) - 80 Graded Studies for Oboe: Book 2":-
- Blatt – Study No. 52
- Harris – Rumba
- Head (Michael): Gavotte.
- "Hinke (Gustav Adolf) - Elementary Method For Oboe": Scale studies in …
- C major and a minor, p. 25
- G major and e minor, p. 26
- F major and d minor, p. 27
- D major and b minor, p. 28
- B-flat major & g minor, pp. 29-30
… Started to plod through the whole manual – up to p. 9 so far.
- "Joppig (Gunther) & McColl (Anthony) - 100 Easy Classical Studies for Oboe":-
- Items 35 – 36
- Item 37 (Allegro Assai, by Franz Thaddaus Blatt)
- "Langey (Otto) - The Oboe: Practical Tutor for the Oboe and Cor Anglais":-
- #52 – Andantino in E-flat Major (Grade V)
- Occasionally work through the whole book.
- Loeillet: Sonata in C major.
- "Miller (Vojislav) & Liebermann (Winfried), Eds. - Test Pieces for Orchestral Auditions (Orchester Probespiel) - Oboe" (excerpts from):-
- Beethoven - Symphony No. 3
- Verdi - Aida
- Weber - Der Freischütz
- "Morricone (Ennio) - Gabriel's Oboe (Piano Solo Or Oboe/Piano)".
- Nichola (Morgan): Melody in a minor,
- "Van Beringen (Robert) - Festive Baroque - Oboe Solo".
- Also some elementary scales (C major; D major and minor; F major; and G major and minor; E-flat major). Now using:-
- "Trinity Guildhall - Trinity Guildhall Scales & Arpeggios for Oboe (Grades 1–8)", and
- "ABRSM - Scales and Arpeggios for Oboe, Grades 1-8 (ABRSM Scales & Arpeggios)".
- Technique:-
- Some re-engineering of the fingering for top C# and D – and now D#, E & F – I’m beginning to get used to these, which is an advance over my school days.
- Read and tried to apply oboe practice techniques recommended by Martin Schuring.
- Read "Caplan (Stephen) - Oboe: The Breathing Book".
- Read "Goossens (Leon) & Roxburgh (Edwin) - Oboe (Yehudi Menuhin Music Guide)".
- Violin Books, played on the oboe:-
- "Bach (J.S.), Szeryng (Henryk) - Sonatas and Partitas: For Solo Violin",
- "Jones (Edward Huws) - Jigs, Reels & Hornpipes: Traditional Fiddle Tunes from England, Ireland & Scotland",
- "Jones (Edward Huws) - The Celtic Fiddler",
- "Jones (Edward Huws) - The Klezmer Fiddler: Jewish Music of Celebration".
- Enigma Ensemble:-
- Classical
- Alfven: Swedish Rhapsody
- Bach – Sheep May Safely Graze
- Bizet: Carmen Fantasy
- Boccherini: Minuet & Trio
- Debussy: The Girl with the Flaxen Hair
- East (arr): Three Traditional Tunes
- Elgar: Chanson de Matin
- Gershwin: Summertime
- Gounod: Funeral March of a Marionette
- Grieg: Peer Gynt
- Handel: Forrest Music; Water Music
- Haydn / Brahms: St. Anthony Chorale
- Mozart: Papageno's Song (Magic Flute)
- Monteverdi: Three Pieces from the Operas
- Music of the Court of Henry VIII
- Offenbach: Barcarolle from “The Tales of Hoffmann”; Gallop
- Purcell: Popular Pieces
- Purcell / Clarke: Trumpet Tunes
- Schubert: Ballet from 'Rosamunde'
- Schubert: Marche Militaire, Rosamunde (Ballet)
- Sousa: Marches, The Liberty Bell
- Strauss: The Blue Danube, Tritsch-Tratsch Polka
- Susato: Danserye
- Tchaikovsky: Dance of the Swans, Waltz of the Flowers
- Verdi: Rigoletto – La Donna E Mobile
- Vivaldi: Two themes from The Seasons (Autumn, Winter)
- Semi-Classical
- Cameron: Cumbria
- Joplin: Rags
- Lloyd Webber: Requiem – Pie Jesu
- Schonberg: Les Miserables – I Dreamed a Dream
- Vangelis: Chariots of Fire
- Popular
- Boyle: Music for a Western
- Frazer: Sloop John B
- Grainer: Old Ned (Steptoe & Son)
- Holder / Lea: Merry Christmas Everybody
- Lennon / McCartney: Eleanor Rigby, Mull of Kintyre, When I’m 64, Yesterday
- Sutherland: Sailing
- Traditional: Christmas Bonanza, Jingle Bell Rock
- Trombey: Eye Level
- Piano:
- I’ve been studying Piano since July 2008.
- Lessons: 31 from July 2008 to September 2010.
- I reached the end of Book 1 of "Barratt (Carol) - The Classic Piano Course (Omnibus Edition: Books 1, 2 & 3)" in December 2008. Final piece: Fur Elise.
- From January – August 2009 I was assigned a Grade 2/3 book – "Agay (Denes) - Classics to Moderns (Volume 2)" – items as below.
- Minuet from the Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach,
- Corelli – Gavotte,
- Burgmuller – Arabesque,
- Beethoven – Sonatina in G,
- Tchaikovsky – Italian Song,
- Beethoven – Ecossaise,
- Couperin – Carnival,
- Schumann – Melody,
- Schumann – The Wild Horseman,
- Kabalevsky - Waltz.
- From September 2009 – September 2010 I was assigned a Grade 3/4 book – "Agay (Denes) - Classics to Moderns (Volume 3)" – items as below.
- Clowns [Kabalevsky, Dmitri]
- Ecossaise [Weber, Carl Maria Von]
- First Loss [Schumann, Robert]
- Little Prelude in C [Bach, Johann Sebastian]
- Puppet's Complaint [Franck, Cesar]
- Rondo [Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus]
- The Mechanical Doll (Six Children's Pieces) [Shostakovich, Dmitri]
- Waltz [Schubert, Franz]
- "ABRSM - Selected Piano Exam Pieces 2009-2010: Grade 2":
- Biehl: Allegro Grazioso from Sonatina in C, Op. 57 No. 1.
- "ABRSM - Scales, Arpeggios & Broken Chords: Piano Grade 2".
- "Rhodes (James) - How to Play the Piano".
- "Cannel (Ward) & Marx (Fred) - How to Play the Piano Despite Years of Lessons: What Music Is and How to Make It at Home".
- Aural:
- "ABRSM - Aural Training In Practice: Book 1 - Grades 1-3".
- "Deutsch (Diana) - Absolute Pitch".
- Music Theory:
- Theory Theory:
- "Taylor (Eric) - The AB Guide to Music Theory - Part 1",
- "Taylor (Eric) - The AB Guide to Music Theory - Part 2".
- Theory Practice:
- "Taylor (Eric) - Music Theory in Practice: Grade 1",
- "Taylor (Eric) - Music Theory in Practice: Grade 2",
- "Taylor (Eric) - Music Theory in Practice: Grade 3",
- "Taylor (Eric) - Music Theory in Practice: Grade 4",
- "Taylor (Eric) - Music Theory in Practice: Grade 5".
- Theory Answers:
- "ABRSM - Music Theory in Practice: Model Answers Grade 1",
- "ABRSM - Music Theory in Practice: Model Answers Grade 2",
- "ABRSM - Music Theory in Practice: Model Answers Grade 3",
- "ABRSM - Music Theory in Practice: Model Answers Grade 4",
- "ABRSM - Music Theory in Practice: Model Answers Grade 5".
Music Exams
- Oboe
- I scraped a pass at ABRSM Grade V when at school.
- I was working towards Trinity Guildhall Grade VI when I last took lessons (in 2010)
- To take ABRSM Grade VI, it is necessary to pass ABRSM Grade V Theory; Music O’ Level is not enough. Trinity Guildhall places no such restriction.
- Piano
- I was working towards Trinity Guildhall Grade II when I first took lessons (in 2010).
- I’m now working towards Trinity Grade VI, in much better shape than last time round.
- Theory
- I scraped Music O’ Level at school.
Music Exams – Websites
- Oboe:
- Trinity:
→ Trinity: Woodwind Exams
→ Trinity: Woodwind Syllabus 2017-2020 (download)
→ Trinity: Music Grades Syllabus Supplement (download)
→ Trinity: Oboe Grade VI Syllabus 2017-2020 - Shop (Defunct)
→ Trinity: About Graded Exams
→ Trinity: Supporting Tests (Aural & Sight-Reading)
→ Trinity: Assessment Criteria (download)
- ABRSM
→ ABRSM: Oboe Exams
→ Other links to be followed up when relevant.
In-Page Footnotes
Footnote 1:
- Or arranged for, or simply played on, the oboe.
- Usually set by my oboe teacher.
Live Version of this Archived Note
Table of the 7 Earlier Versions of this Note
Table of the 6 Later Versions of this Note
This version updated |
Reference for this Topic |
Parent Topic |
10/10/2018 16:43:41 |
879 (Status: Music (Summary of Progress to Date)) |
Status: Music (2023 - June) |
Summary of Note Links to this Page
To access information, click on one of the links in the table above (if any).
Text Colour Conventions
- Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2023