Get past the page and into the MUSIC, fast.
Are you CONFIDENT in your reading skills? Or do you rely on LUCK when you are sightreading?
How’s that working for you?
Is this you? Even though you have been playing for a long time, you still find yourself making silly mistakes when you read – double- or half-timing, forgetting accidentals – and you get lost when it seems like all around you people are effortlessly proceeding through the piece and making music. You are always nervous when you are reading because you don’t know when your next colossal mistake might strike, and EXPOSE you. And it’s so easy for you to lose the sense of where you are and what is happening. Sometimes it feels hopeless. You can’t get back on because you have no idea where ANYONE is. You freeze, or you guess, or you mentally beat yourself up, saying horrid things.
Even though you have prepared your part, you aren’t sure what it’s going to sound like before you play. It doesn’t feel effortless to visualize phrases and tunes. And the most frustrating part is that you know you SHOULD know how to do this!
You’ve been taught this before.
You know the rhythms and the notes, and you can play your instrument.
Why does this keep HAPPENING?
It doesn’t have to be like this!
When you read like a pro, you read fluently and with direction, as though you are reading out loud to a child. You can find your way into the groove of the music and STAY there. You always have a grasp of where you are in the beat, in the measure, in the phrase – EVEN if you play a wrong note or a wrong rhythm, which everyone does from time to time. You don’t get derailed by mistakes because you know what you are COMMUNICATING. And even if it is your very first time seeing the music, you can feel confident in your delivery, like a sightreading badass. You feel like you BELONG, like you are a real contributing part of the group.
Sightread Like A PrO
Get past the page and into the MUSIC, fast.
Jennet is a natural teacher, and you can tell that she is passionate about the oboe and about helping people succeed. –Kimberly Grundvig
I can help you. In my five-week program, Sightread Like a Pro, we will explore:
- Meter (and how Dr. Seuss can be your best friend)
- Rhythm – twos and threes and fours, oh my!
- Visual Grammar – an essential understanding that you can practice OFF your instrument
- Internalized note reading
- Finger memory for keys and chords
- Playing the SHAPE instead of the notes
- Seeing patterns
- Phrase structure and how to sound musical the FIRST time through
- Stepping stones – notes, intervals, and motives
- Cadences – where the MUSIC rests and so can you
- How to practice this skill
- Why some pieces are harder to read than others and why that’s NOT YOUR FAULT!
You’ll leave the program with a deeper understanding of musical structure, a set of frameworks for approaching a piece of music, and confidence in your musical sensibility. You’ll feel more assured and relaxed in your ensembles, and know that you can trust the page and your own ability. When you make mistakes you’ll KNOW what they are so you can be assured that you won’t repeat them. You’ll feel Invincible.
Being part of a community of oboists, with a teacher who learns about each of us and adjusts to our learning styles created an atmosphere of belonging. — Donna Peterson
Hi, I’m Jennet Ingle! When I began my performing career, I assumed that the only way to be prepared was to learn and play EVERY NOTE in my practice room, sometimes with a recording, to make sure I’d know how it went. This did not actually keep me from messing up in rehearsals.
I didn’t trust the page, or my own ability to deliver what I saw!
I’ve been a professional performer and educator for over 25 years now, and during that time my reading skills have improved, as you would expect. But I had a huge realization a few years ago, when my family was in turmoil from a major health issue.
I had to sightread at EVERY GIG for six months, and it was ABSOLUTELY FINE. Nothing bad happened, and no one could tell how much I was struggling.
This is because the notes on the page made SENSE to me. I could read as easily as if I was reading a children’s book, with expression and feeling, and I never made the same mistake twice.
This is what it means to read like a pro, and I can help YOU to do the same!
Is this for YOU?
This program is for players of single-line instruments who want to get past the DECODING phase of music reading and into the good stuff.
It’s for you if you’ve ever felt like THE WEAK LINK in your ensemble or section because everyone else seems to catch on faster.
It’s for you if you’re ready to move from note-reading into COMMUNICATION.
It is not for sightreading BEGINNERS – if you are looking at sheet music for the first time, or counting lines and spaces to guess what your note is, you should just keep doing that, and work with your teacher.
If you understand what you are seeing on the page but struggle to IMPLEMENT it in real time – yup, this is for you.
It’s DEFINITELY for you if you are a little nervous about showing up live in a group. My groups are safe and loving, and you’ll be amazed at how much you can learn from other people’s questions, and how much you can contribute! We’ll be able to address your issues, in real time, as they come up. You’ll make new friends – and I promise, you’ll feel less alone in a room full of people working on the same skill.
We’ll meet for five weeks, LIVE in a Zoom Room
Our 60 minute calls will be held Tuesdays at noon EST, starting February 27.
Week one: Meter and visual grammar
Week two: Rhythm and internal pulse
Week three: Internalized note-reading and patterns
Week four: Horizontal motion, cadences, and shapes
Week five: Dynamics, accents, articulations, and final practice ideas
Why NOW?
You can fast track your progress on this crucial skill! It doesn’t have to take 25 years of work in the industry, like it did for me, or a degree from a major conservatory.
You’ll get it!
Jennet is so willing to meet you wherever you are and work on the things that you’re having trouble with and help you become a better and more confident oboist. — Ted Harrison