Blog Post #6—Finally, some sleep

Alrighty, let's jump right into this!  My TED Talk was Wednesday (4/5/17), and I honestly think it could not have gone better.  In the beginning, I played a bit of a piece by Gustav Holst which, I'll admit, was a bit r o u g h, but I think I made up for it with the rest of the presentation (hopefully I didn't talk too fast!).  I have terrible stage fright with regard to playing, so I think the fact that I did it in the first place is a really big move for me.

Even though this is probably the most unnecessary thing for me to do, I made another vlog going over my presentation, just for fun.  In it, I address my general talk theme as well as how well I think I executed the TED Commandments.  However, I the rest of this blog aside from the video, will go more specifically into the details of my talk.  So without further adieu:

A LINK TO MY FINAL VLOG

(aka: Liv embarrasses herself on the internet, one last time)

(it's a bit lengthy, but I promise it's worth it!  I mean, who doesn't want to see me be awkward on screen?)

(but if it really is too long... you can always skip the TED evaluation and just watch, like, the last 5 minutes)

So, hopefully you've come to this point having watched the vlog, if not: WATCH IT!  *cough* Anyways, I think my presentation had a lot of really good metaphors that helped reinforce and concretize this abstract idea of 'foundation.' With something as vague as that, I'm pretty satisfied with how I incorporated my Genius Project into it, as well as other things that my audience could relate to.  As mentioned in the vlog, I think the commentary on the education system and how students stop valuing full comprehension and continue to progress through school was a nice touch.

LASTLY, I'm really glad with my script.  I think I used some really good metaphors that helped concretize  the abstract idea of foundation.  Overall, I'm really proud of myself today, and I am truly proud of this project; it's unlike anything I've ever done before, and I'm glad I can close the door on it satisfied.

 As always, the reed means a lot to me.  Thanks for sticking with me; it's been one hell of a *concert.

- OMB
*one last bad music joke

For Blog Post #5 I commented on: Klugherz, Zhang, and Meltzer

Extra Blog Post #5—How are things going? Well, they're certainly /going/...

Hello fellow students that will probably never read this because they, too, are preparing for the TED Talks that begin tomorrow (right, guys...?).  However, as you can probably tell, most (and by that I mean all) of the things mentioned in Extra Blog Post #4 did not happen :/

There's a lot of reasons for this, which I will discuss in my TED Talk on Wednesday as well as the last blog post, but, yeah, those aren't happening.

The fifth and final blog post should be up Wednesday night, in which I will discuss every and all things regarding the final moments of this project.  It's been a ride, that's a for sure.

ANYWAYS, here's to all the presentations tomorrow: Good Luck!!!

A final joke...
An oboe player and his friend are going out to dinner.
The oboe player leaves oboe in his friend's car and says, "What if someone takes it?" The friend replies, "Don't worry, we'll look the car."
They walk into dinner, and about an hour later they return to the car.  Indeed, the window to the car is shattered where the oboe was left.  The oboe player reaches into to the car and screams, "Oh my God!"
The friend shouts, "What?  Is it gone?"
The oboe player returns from the car, two oboes in his hand.
[yes, this joke is so overused]

Thanks!

- OMB

P.S. the song "Happy Together" by The Turtles has an awesome oboe solo (1:27 - 1:43) :]

Extra Blog Post #4—Time is a Social Construct

So, yeah.  Below you'll see a vlog containing a severe amendment to my timeline that I like to call "I literally have no understanding of the concept of time, please kick me out of this program."

THE VLOG

AN UPDATED TIMELINE (this is in the video)
[the rest of] This Week (3/19)

• Upload an Extra Post that contains a video on how to make an oboe reed
• Make a full reed (completed, not perfect)
• Record a video to accompany the Extra Post using this reed

Next Week (3/26)

• Make another completed reed (...or 2?)
• Video of you using this reed; compare and contrast this with the other one
• Write a script for the TED Talk by the end of Wednesday (3/29)

The Following Week (4/2)

• Your TED Talk is tomorrow
• Why do you even need a list of things to do
• What is wrong with you
• Go practice

And a joke...

What time is it?

Time is a social construct created by the human race to feel some sort of stability within this strange place we call earth, Janet.

Thanks for the read!

- OMB

Blog Post #5—Let's take a step back from reeds, shall we? (5)

Guten Tag (I'm running out of greetings, please forgive me), readers!  Last week was a HUGE success, and I'm really proud of what I accomplished!  Unfortunately, I must take a step back from over-enthusiastic vlogs of myself screaming over a quaking piece of wood to *learn you guys a thing or two.  So, in light of my newfound crowing reed (see here), I've decided to do some nifty, cool research on the oboe as a whole.

A Shawm

To kick off, the first definite appearances of the oboe were in the 17th century (Baroque Period), through an instrument called the hautbois (you think I'm kidding; trust me, I wish I was, too).
The hautbois, was a descedant of the shawm, the medieval version of the oboe.  Despite appearances dating back to the Egyptian times that depict images of double reed instruments, these two occurrences are the first official oboe sightings.

A Hautbois

The baroque oboe (hautbois) was made of boxwood and had only three keys.  Additionally, to play an octave higher, an oboe player at that time had to use more air, as opposed to just using the octave key on the modern day oboe.  And, to be quite honest, I would have died as an oboe player in the 17th century because my asthmatic lungs would not be able to survive.


Now, moving onto the classical period (18th - 19th-ish century), the oboe was given a pretty snazzy makeover!  For example, it was resized, keys were added, it had r a n g e!  By this period, the oboe had a range from a C4 to an F6.

Classical Period Oboe

From here, the modern oboe finally emerges.  However, there is still an old-modern oboe that exists in our world today. Developed in the 1880s, the Viennese, or Wiener, Oboe is the spawn of the Germans and Austrians.  This oboe, holding a smaller size and different reed shape than the modern oboe, is thought to be the last direct replicate of the historically known instrument.  Though it has been succeeded by the modern Conservatoire Oboe, the Viennese Oboe is still used today in place of the hautbois in various Baroque pieces.

Viennese Oboe

Finally, we arrive at the modern oboe, the Conservatoire Oboe.

Conservatoire Oboe

This oboe, made from African blackwood (grenadilla), was created in the 19th century as a further development of the instrument.  The Conservatoire Oboe was developed by the Triebert family in Paris.  One of the most significant differences of this oboe as compared to all its predecessors, was the utilization of the Boehm key system, the structure of keys and tone holes used on the flute.  The addition of this system to the oboe allowed for an oboist to produce larger amounts of sound in a more efficient manner.  To this day, the Conservatoire Oboe is used as the modern version of the instrument.

Now you might be thinking, Liv, why does this matter? So what? Literally no one cares about the oboe.  I've never even heard an oboe in my life.  What's an oboe?  Whom?

Well, first of all, RUDE.  Second of all, I'LL TELL YOU WHY THIS MATTERS.

The oboe is obviously used in a lot of classical music.  Pieces such as...

• Marcello—Oboe Concerto in C Minor
• Srul Irving Glick—Sonata for Oboe and Piano
• Antonio Vivaldi—Oboe Concerto in F Major
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky—Swan Lake (Swan Theme)

While these pieces are all very beautiful and certainly characterize the oboe, it is also very prevalent in modern music.  The oboe is often used in film music, for example, due to its sad, flowing, melancholic sound.  Generally the it is used to convey a specific emotion for the duration of its playing.  For example, in both Star Trek and Star Wars, composers have pieces featuring the oboe, one sounding very hopeful and ready to charge, while the other sounds more defeated.  Below is a list of film songs that feature the oboe.

• "Suite for Oboe and Piano" From the Original Score To "Star Trek: The Original Series"
  click here to listen (0:00 - 2:08)
• "Gabriel's Oboe" From The Missing Soundtrack
  click here to listen (0:18 - end)

• "Plantarium" La La Land (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  click here to listen (1:01 - 1:12)

• (the solos in) "Symphonic Suite from Far and Away" From Far and Away
  click here to listen [ psst!  I may be playing this ;) ]

As you can see, in all of these pieces (including the classical ones), the oboe is utilized to convey specific emotions in relation to the setting, development, and tone of the scene.  Additionally, the oboe is said to "speak," as it plays, many times taking up "roles" of scenes through its unique melodies and sound qualities.

So, I'd say the oboe is pretty neat... Maybe I'll learn how to play it sometime!

WELL, that's all, folks!  Kudos to you if you read all that.  I really enjoyed learning about the oboe and its evolution / importance to a piece of music, and I hope you did, too!

Bis später!

- OMB

*yes, this is on purpose

P.S. Click HERE for a link to my vlog, from when I first got a reed to make sound
P.P.S. Please click HERE for a very important vlog / update for this week!

For Blog Post #4 I commented on: Han, Kuo, and Wee

Extra Blog Post #3—Heads Up!

Hey, guys!  Here's just a general *list of things to look out for this week on my blog, whether as a cyclical post or an Extra one.

• A "Oboe Reed Making for Dummies" type video, in which I go through the steps on how to make a reed, while perhaps actually making a final, working reed!
• A post all grounded in research—history, special qualities, fun facts, and [most importantly] relevancy, of the oboe

And a joke for the road...

What's the difference between an oboe and a bassoon?

You can hit a baseball further with a bassoon. 

Thanks for sticking with me this far!  :]

- OMB

*honestly, this post is mostly for my benefit, so I have concrete evidence that I have to get stuff done—hopefully a new tactic to not procrastinate as much...?

Extra Blog Post #2—S C R E A M [feat. an interview] (VLOG)

IT'S ALIVE!  HERE is the link to my interview with Heidi Brann, oboist and reed maker.  Seeing as it's still ~20 minutes long, I've created a legend to help you navigate your way through the video.

Legend [things in red are the most important bits to watch!]
0:00- How long have you been making reeds?
1:21- What made you want to sell reed products as part of your career, rather than just playing?
1:48- Would you say that at this point, you spend more time making reeds than actually playing?
3:28- Being a good oboe player vs. having a good reed
3:52- Would you say that making reeds has helped your playing, musicianship, and sound quality? [4:24 - 4:53 is particularly interesting for this question]
7:00- What makes a reed "American" vs. "European"?
8:47- The "family tree" of oboe players
9:03- Classical Music: Is it dying?
10:29- Tips and Tricks
14:01- More tips and tricks!
15:52- Any last words???
17:17- Conclusion

Now, since this post is titled "S C R E A M [feat. an interview]," you probably realized that the interview isn't the most important thing here—you're right.  So, from "S C R E A M," you can probably guess that I've either a) reached my breaking point and am now preparing my death, OR b) made a reed that makes sound...

THE LATTER IS TRUE, AND I AM FREAKING OUT!!!  Before I go any further, I sincerely apologize to my gifted class for having to endure my extreme (and disruptive) shock when the reed made the tiniest bit of noise; however, I also greatly appreciate all the positive feedback from it, so thank you guys!

Now, to continue, let me set the stage, so to speak, with a *vlog:

THIS IS A LINK TO THE VLOG ON MY GOOGLE DRIVE

like if you see my dog :]

And for some photos...

she's beauty

she's grace

WELL, that's it for this second Extra Blog Post!  I'm so, so happy with how things are going, and I'd LOVE to hear some feedback on what you all think!

As I promised, here's another bad music joke:

Oboist: Did you hear my last recital?
Friend: I hope so.

Thanks for reading!

- OMB

*TECHNICALLY, I posted my interview before my vlog, so is this legal?

Blog Post #4—The Midpoint (4)

Preface:
As I write this blog post, I'm listening to the "Have a Great Day!" playlist on Spotify, and it is absolutely fantastic—10/10 would recommend.

Hey guys!  Before you all start yelling at me about how I didn't make an Extra Blog Post with my interview, LET ME EXPLAIN!  The video interview with Heidi Brann took a lot more time to cut down, and even when I keep only the essential parts, it's still ~25 minutes.  Additionally, this past week has been r o u g h, in terms of having time to talk about what I've been doing, due to a lot of factors.  However, this post will give a nice overview of what I've done in my absence and also address some stuff, like the interview.

So first off, I finally fixed the issue with getting the reeds to close.  By making the staples (corks) a little bit narrower around the metal part (see picture below), I've made it so the shaped gouges can wrap nicely around it without any gaps.

Two Weeks Ago vs. Two Days Ago

The right staple is much narrower,
and more suitable for tying the reed!

However, *with every success, a new problem grows present.  As I stated in my timeline at the beginning of this project, by Week 4 I wanted to have posted my interview as well as have made a "working reed," and, well, that did not happen.  As I write to you, fellow readers, my keyboard covered in reed dust, I can firmly state that I do not have a working reed.

Oof.  Talk about a letdown!  It's extremely frustrating to realize that a month into a project, you can't meet the expectation you've set for yourself at this point.  I will have to adjust my timeline so that hopefully next week I'll have the working reed(???).  This is a major setback, though I can't say it's one I didn't anticipate coming.  After all, "perfecting" the process of making reeds is a lifetime pursuit.

BUT FEAR NOT, FELLOW READERS; I SHALL PREVAIL!

Some good has come out of this week, and it's that I finally feel confident in how I'm scraping the reed.  Additionally, I have a fairly good idea as to how to make a reed without assistance; it's only a matter of (perfect) practicing and perfecting.

Anyways, that's really it for this week.  Don't worry, I'm also mentally reprimanding myself for my lack of work production this week... Trust me, I know.  This next week will be better, though!  I am currently working on a reed, of which the tip looks very similar to the company bought one I use.

the tip colors are very alike!
(store bought vs. my own)

Also, since this is the midpoint of the project, here's a picture of all 8 reeds I've made / scraped since Week 1 until Now.

a moment of silence for Reed #3
who didn't make it in any shape or form
#RIPinPeace

If you compare Week 1 to now, you can see that I'm really starting to get the hang of the scraping, especially so that the color varies in different parts of the reed.

Now, finally, the moment you've all been waiting for... MY INTERVIEW:










Hm?  There's no video, you say?  Yeah... funny story 'bout that.  So, 6 hours ago (2:00 PM) prior to posting this, I had it all planned out: I'd finish editing the interview, make a little concluding part, adjust the sound, save the file as a Movie, and upload it.  So there I am, excited to save the video.  My finger triumphantly clicks the "Save movie" button in the top right corner.  1%... 2%... 5%... 17%... 20%—

i love to suffer endlessly with no mercy whatsoever

So, yeah.  Dammit (censorship is key [are you proud of me, Dana?]).  As a Middle School survivor, I know that you never delete the videos you use in Movie Maker until you're done the video you're making, so something's wrong here that's out of my control.  My journey to the Tech Office is being planned as we speak, and as for the video... I will upload it (as an Extra post) as soon as the Technology Gods conclude that they've punished me enough for creating group chats that contain the same general 5 people in different combinations.  As a great blogger once said only 8 paragraphs before this: Oof.

OVERALL, this  past week has been a handful of ups and downs, all of which have contributed to my utmost frustration and satisfaction.  However, I still have half the project to go, and that fact will keep me going.

Here's to a better week, folks—thanks for reading!

- OMB

P.S. Sorry for the long post again... Hold habits die hard?

*Wow what a deep quote by your's truly.  Victor Hugo whom???

For Blog Post #3 I commented on: Zarrow, Stevens, and Acuna

Blog Post #3—Interviews, Replenishment, and Some Stupid Filming (3)

Oh boy.  It's the end of Week 3, and I've actually gotten a lot done!  While I've taken a step back from physically making reeds, this past week I've really pushed myself to get the mechanics and methodologies down, and then put them back into practice this coming week.  Additionally, I got my interviews done!  Yesterday (3/4) before going into Philly for the day, I had a wonderful conversation with Heidi Brann, an oboe player / reek maker form Illinois who made the beginner kit I use.  We talked for about 45 minutes, and I think our conversation passes my Small Talk Test (please see my process analysis essay).  Below there are pictures of all the notes I took from our chat, plus I filmed the interview as well.

The good thing about this diagram,
is that it clears up some of the specific areas
of an oboe reed that I was not entirely sure of.

Then, today (3/5), I had my other interview with Isabelle Bender, a sophomore college oboist at West Chester University.  For my interview with her, I focused more on actually getting some tips and tricks help, rather than verbal questions.  Below there is a picture of a diagram she drew me, showing the different parts / measurements of an oboe reed (I can't art this well).  Likewise, I also filmed the question portion of this interview; however, I stupidly accidentally filmed it as a time lapse (Gabe, you're doing film making, hmu...), so I will have to look at the notes I took instead to look at as my sole reference.

Overall, the interviewing experience was extremely fun, and I'm really pleased with how those turned out.  As someone who generally gets has a lot of anxiety when it comes to talking to people I'm not familiar with (mostly my peers, oddly enough), I was surprised to find just how much I enjoyed conversing with these two reed making experts.  They both had a lot of good insight, and I'm so excited to share with you guys some of the things they said!

Seeing as I finished my interviews just today, I will wait to post about them as my next Extra Blog Post, and I fully plan on cutting down the video I took during my phone call with Heidi Brann (seeing as the video right now is 40 minutes long); keep and eye (ear?) out for it!

Finally, I got a new book and some more supplies!  The reed blank in the picture is actually from Isabelle Bender, so I feel extremely compelled to treat it as though it were my first born child.  Also, the book I've been using is called Oboe-Reed Making: Simplified, for a reason, and I think at this point it's just too general for me to actually really start making something of high quality.  Not that I know all there is to know about the basics, but generally speaking there aren't really "levels" to this process—it's do or die (please, I choose die).

WELL GUYS, we finally did it!—a blog post that isn't a million words long.  Sorry I don't have new pictures of any reeds I've made; I plan on working on a bunch this week as well as editing the video for my interview from yesterday.  Feel free to comment on that blog post once it's up, as it will most likely be much more exciting.

As always, thanks for reading!

- OMB

For Blog Post #2, I commented on: Meltzer, Lee, Suchodolski

Extra Blog Post #1b—A minor change in the situation

Good morning, kind readers!  Last night evening (3/1), I was told by the personal manager of the Philadelphia Orchestra to contact Mr. Woodhams through his personal work email.  After sending him an email basically outlining what he already knew and asking for some times that we could meet for an interview, his response was a bit disappointing.  Basically, he told me that he has been working with oboe reeds for 60 years and still does not consider himself an expert (understandable—we all undermine ourselves).  However, he then went onto kindly telling me that the two most important criteria for learning how to make reeds were: (1) being a pretty good/experienced oboist and (2) having a good teacher that also knows how to make oboe reeds.

SO YEAH.  I'm a bit disappointed in Mr. Woodhams's response with regard to my request to interview him.  However, my meetings with both Isabelle Bender and Heidi Brann remain intact!  I would like to get those posted by the end of my Week 4 cyclical post, if not sooner.  Thanks for sticking with me this far!

- OMB

Extra Blog Post #1—INTERVIEWS AND FAILURES!

Hey, guys!  I just wanted to let you all know that out of the 4 people I contacted for interviews...

1. Richard Woodhams [principal oboe player at the Philadelphia Orchestra]
2. The Philadelphia Wind Symphony
3. Heidi Brann [the woman who sold me her reed making kit]
4. Isabelle Bender [oboist at West Chester University]

...I got 3 responses back!  I will be meeting Isabelle Bender this Sunday at West Chester, as well as conducting an over-the-phone interview with Heidi Brann.  As for Richard Woodhams, him and I are discussing the best times to meet that would work around his schedule.

I am extremely excited to being able to talk to these different people, all of which have varying skill levels in their fields.  I hope to record/film all interviews, as a way of being able to capture what happens.  

Additionally, I have continued my attempts at reed making and am finding it frustratingly difficult to do.  Here is a video I made after making my first reed blank (ever) and then my attempt at scraping it:

I genuinely have no idea why I sound dead in this...
Perhaps indicative of how I am inside?

Here are some photos as well:

finished blank

attempt 2—frontal view

attempt 2—side view
Notice the split side!

So... yeah.  My biggest issue (as seen in the last photo) is getting the sides to close.  Hopefully when I meet with the oboist from West Chester, she can show me how to fix this!

As part of my cyclical post for next week, I think I'll try and post a video / step by step tutorial on how to make a reed, or at least go through the general ideas, so stay tuned for that!

Also, since these posts are considered "extra" (#GiftedBeingExtra?), I'd like to add some fun jokes!  Here goes:

How do you get five oboes in tune?
Shoot four of them.
Once again, please do not deduct points for my awful sense of humor... I can't control it.

ANYWAYS, hopefully these interviews will go well, and I'll come out at least slightly less incompetent than I was before.  Thanks for reading!

- OMB

Blog Post #2—Updates, Materials, Some General Information (2)

Whoa, is it the end of Week 2 already?!  Insane!  However, in the short time between my last post and this one, a lot has happened!  First of all, in the pictures below, you can see that I have received my first reed making equipment kit as well as a book titled Oboe Reed-Making: Simplified.  This post will tell you whether or not I've been successful with these things ;)

The Awesome Reed Kit + Book

From Left to Right:
reed gouges, reed blank, corks, plaques, knife, mandrel, ruler, string, and cutting block 

So, what are all of these materials and what do they do?

Reed Gouges- a piece of cane that has been split, cut, and shaped so that it is ready to be placed onto the cork (most beginning reed makers start at this step)

Reed Blank- a reed that has not been scraped/cut

Corks- a hallow piece of cork with a metal pyramid/tube at the end where the reed gouge will eventually end up

Plaques- support for the reed blank as you begin to scrape and shape it

Knife- used for scraping the reed

Mandrel- holds the reed/extends its length—primarily used as an assisting tool

Ruler- to get exactly measurements

String- used for typing the gouge onto the cork

Cutting Block- for when you need to cut the tip of the reed after scraping it

Additionally, I would like to address a few things that I've seen throughout the comments on my first blog post.

• I didn't include a photo of a reed—sorry!

From Left to Right:

The end is the cane, this part of the reed is hardest to make (and also makes the sound)!

The red part is simply just the string that holds the cane onto the cork

The cork has a metal, pyramid-like cylinder attached to the end of which the cane is wrapped

• Most people don't know how an oboe reed works.  Please get your life together, Liv
  Okay, okay, sorry!  First... let's compare and contrast single reeds and double reeds with a nice visual:

Here, we have a single reed on the left and a double reed on the right.  The double reed is for an oboe, and the single reed is used for instruments such as a clarinet or saxophone.  Additionally, the single reed is accompanied by a mouthpiece—yeah, oboists don't get this privilege.  See, the way a single reed works is that you adjust your embouchure (aka positioning of your mouth) so that the reed vibrates against the mouthpiece just right to produce sound.  The same thing happens with a double/oboe reed, only you have to make both pieces of reed vibrate—this is twice as hard!  You could basically say that a double reed is a tube that you make sound with, and a single reed is more so an assisting element to a mouthpiece.

• How to make an oboe reed
  A few people were wondering this, but I think I'll wait to address this until I have a better understanding on how to analyze the process (aye) of making one.  This leads me into my next update...

I STARTED MAKING A REED, AND THINGS DID NOT GO WELL

Yesterday (2/25/17), we had a workday in class, and I decided to start scraping the reed blank.  Since my materials kit came with only one reed blank and then twelve gouges, I thought it was a good idea to work backwards in terms of the steps.  So, there I am, scraping the blank with a full audience of exactly four people, and it's going pretty well.  Scraping a reed isn't exactly tough to do (especially because you must soak it beforehand), but the cane is very tender.  Anyways, after 3 or 4 scrapes on the one side... well, this happened:

Obviously, I am a grade A, professional reed maker.  From the picture, you can see that I scraped too hard and tore the one side of the blank.  As annoying as it was to already mess up at, like, scrape #5, I continued on and began working on the other side, just to practice the technique.

Here is a gif of me scraping the other side of the blank.  As you can see, it is very easy to press just a little too hard and ruin the whole thing.  Oh well, at least I know now!




Now... for the finished product of my *first attempt at making a reed *drum roll please*...

*note: even though I technically broke
the reed after the first few scrapes,
I wanted to continue to practice scraping

TA-DA!  Now, if you ask me, I'd say this is concert ready.  But seriously, I'm actually very pleased with this product because now I know what to be cautious of and what to avoid in the future!  Even though I didn't construct the blank and only scraped it, I feel pretty successful.  While I may have to reconsider how much time I give myself to actually get a hang of the steps, I'd say that this process is continuing to move ahead!  Plus, as a certain Language Arts teacher mentioned, you could definitely pick your teeth with this.

Also, before I forget, I have sent out four emails to potential interviewees!

1. Richard Woodham, principal oboe player at the Philly Orchestra
2. The Philly Wind Symphony
3. The kind woman who sold me the materials kit
4. The director of the West Chester Concert Band, whom I saw perform during Montco. Band

And guess what?!?!  I have already received responses from both the Philly Orchestra and West Chester, so the interviews are running right on time!

WOO, WEEK TWO DONE, and I'd say it's been overall a huge success!  Other than either having to spend much more time learning or extending the window I give myself to learn, everything seems to be right in place—I can greatly appreciate that.  Additionally, I like to think that this is going to be the last time there's more than a week between my posts.  I am most definitely going to be posting more than before Day 6's, which will not only allow you guys to follow my progress better, but also hopefully shorten the length of these cyclical posts.

Thanks to all that commented on my blog last cycle and for all the feedback!  I think I've greatly begun paving the road (boulevard?) towards my goal, and I even have one broken reed to add to the pile!  Next week, I'll hopefully have at least one interview going and I'd like to push the rate at which I learn this whole reed making thing.

Once again, thanks for reading!

- OMB

P.S. This is an appreciation sentence for Allison M., who wholeheartedly supported me when I told her about my idea for this project.  Thanks Allison, have fun hitting colorful spheres into pockets!

For Blog #1 I commented on: Klugherz, Miles, and Zhang

Blog Post #1—An Introduction (1)

Alright, hi!  Welcome to my blog!  Now that introductions are out of the way (I'm well aware I haven't asked anything about you, but frankly I don't really care), this is my Genius Project blog.  I'll be posting here at least once every week/cycle, and in a couple of weeks there will be videos to accompany my blogs!  So that's a bit of an overview, for now.

Anyways, my project is learning the process of oboe reed making.  I've been playing oboe (see picture below!) for almost 3 years now , and I absolutely love it.  I'm also the only oboe player at the high school, so that's pretty neat, but it also means SO MUCH responsibility (and a lot of solos [which is just *perfect* for when you have performance anxiety])!  Back on topic, however, I recently noticed after attending Montco. Band (a county band that combines a bunch of high schoolers from different schools) that many high school oboe players begin making their own reeds.  Now, I always knew it would come to this--it was only a matter of time.  Additionally, I never really had much opportunity (or time) to get into reed making because of school, sports, extra curricular activites, etc.  However, this project is PERFECT for  making reeds because it forces me to set aside time doing school work to actually make reeds.

I'm very excited to begin learning how to make reeds because I already struggle with not breaking the ones I buy!  At the same time, however, I'm also very nervous for my success rate / progress because I know this is going to be a very challenging task.  Nonetheless, the Genius Project is well underway, and it can only go up hill from here... and perhaps then fall back down... but we'll get to that if and when we get there.

My Oboe

(his name is Walter and he is wonderful)

For starters, here is my motivation for wanting to pursue this activity; I've broken it down into 3 general areas.

• Relation
• Obviously, as I've already stated, I play the oboe.  Learning how to make reeds will allow me to climb the oboe playing ladder and really push just how serious I am about this instrument

• Useful
• Oboe reeds are expensive.  The average one from Amazon.com costs between $15 - $17.  By being able to make myself with reeds, I will be able to self-supply and hopefully also add a bit more of myself into my playing

• Aspects of Thinking
• Making reeds requires craftsmanship, patience (oh god... so much patience), precision, and handwork.  Some of these qualities I have, (hint: it's not patience) and others I could work on.  By combining these aspects into a single subject, I think I'm laying out a road to success for myself.  Plus, I love making things with my hands!

Moving on, I have a timeline of how things should roughly happen.  Keep in mind that making reeds may be easier or harder than expected, so things may shift as this project goes on.

Week 1 (this week):

• obtain materials and resources (equipment, books, videos, tutorials, etc.)
• begin the learning process!

Week 2:

• continue the learning process
• start putting the steps into action!
• begin making a list of and contacting reed makers whom I would like to interview

Week 3:

• learning process continues
• go through the steps with minimal help--begin seeing progress of "mastery"
• get the (or possibly those) interviews rolling
• talk to experts!  write down their thoughts, suggestions, and insights

Week 4:

• make a working reed
• a reed that is able to be used to practice and play through a piece
• does not have to be perfect and in no way "concert" worthy
• interview = done
• if the interview is not done / incorporated into this blog by the end of this week, YOU ARE VERY BEHIND!!!
• start filming weekly videos of myself using the reeds I make
• pick a relatively easy piece, but one that requires some amount of effort (no hot cross buns, Liv)

Week 5:

• improve making your reeds
• tie up any majorly loose ends; get better!
• take a step back and look at your improvement from Week 1 to now
• how's this going?  according to plan?  slower?  faster?  any changes that need to be acknowledged?
• don't forget the video!

Week 6:

• TED Talk Prep
• look at everything you've done so far; what does it mean?  what's the relevancy?  "so what?"
• get a script done by the end of this week--begin the editing phase
• overview progress
• how ya doing so far?
• major issues that still need to be fixed?  FIX THEM
• VIDEO

Week 7:

• the presentation is in a week--PRACTICE!
• have an almost solid, concrete layout for the presentation by mid-week
• analyze progress further
• add anything to your presentation that will enhance / help it
• pressing issues?
• anything you've completely forgotten to address?
• Hint: it begins with a V and ends in "-ideo"

Week 8:

• at this point the presentation is literally 1 Day Away
• PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!
• Don't forget the final blog post!
• you may be presenting, but people are still reading

Now that you've read through my very critical timeline, here is the goal that I've set for myself by the end of this project.

Okay, well, I lied.  I've broken down the Goal™ into two parts.

The Small Goal:

• To know how to make an oboe reed that works well enough to use during practice and band class
• To need very little, if any, assistance to make the reed

The Big Goal:

• To have a complete understanding as to how a reed is made beyond just making it.  That is to say, to know how to fix a reed if it isn't working properly or to know how to adjust it so that it's better than its current state
• To set the foundation of making reeds for myself for the rest of my oboe playing career.  I'd like to gradually ween myself off of manufacturing reed brands and begin relying on only myself to supply reeds

SO HERE IT IS, my first blog post.  I apologize for its extreme length; however I really wanted to get all my thoughts down to have a sturdy baseline for future posts.  I assume that my minimally weekly/cyclical posts won't be as long as this, but I can't promise anything.  I can, however, promise that this blog is going to make you interested.  Whether or not it's because you too want to struggle for the next 8 weeks or you simply like the way I write, I assure you that this blog is going to be informative AND fun to *reed.

Now, as I haven't completed any homework other than fixing my blog layout and making this post, I suppose I should end this.  

Thanks for reading!

- OMB

*please do not deduct any points for my awful puns... they will be frequently reoccurring

P.S. If you do not know what an oboe sounds like, here is a video from the Philharmonia Orchestra in London that should give you a good idea.
[please note that I do not sound this good]