The Mind Over Finger Podcast - 177 Kristin Leitterman: Answers from Within

Episode Date: September 29, 2023

In this episode, I speak with Kristin Leitterman, Assistant Professor of Oboe at Arkansas State University.  We discuss pedagogy, Bert Lucarelli's approach and philosophies about music making, and her journey writing her recently released book, "Relax and Take a Deep Breath: The Lucarelli Approach to Oboe Playing.   Book your free consultation with Renée HERE Download the transcript from this episode HERE   MORE ABOUT KRISTIN LEITTERMAN Website: http://www.kristinleitterman.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristinleitterman/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sopraboist/?hl=en Carl Fischer: https://www.carlfischer.com/ Relax and Take a Deep Breath: The Lucarelli Approach to Oboe Playing: https://www.carlfischer.com/txt15-relax-and-take-a-deep-breath-3a-the-lucarelli-approach-to-oboe-playing.html   Mind Over Finger Visit MindOverFinger.com for all things peak performance – including impactful online courses and free resources on peak performance. Connect: https://www.youtube.com/@MindOverFinger https://www.facebook.com/mindoverfinger/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindoverfinger https://www.instagram.com/mindoverfinger/   Thank You Most sincere thank you to composer Jim Stephenson who graciously provided the show's musical theme:  Concerto #1 for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra – Movement 2: Allegro con Brio, performed by Jeffrey Work, trumpet, and the Lake Forest Symphony, conducted by Jim Stephenson.

You're listening to The Mind Over Finger Podcast, episode number 177. Welcome to The Mind Over Finger Podcast, where we dive into the world of mindful music making, peak performance, and crafting a purpose-driven life and career. I'm your host, violinist, certified performance and life coach for musicians, and your guide to unlocking your full potential, Dr. René-Paul Gaultier. Hi, everyone. How are you? I hope you're having a wonderful day as you're tuning in. I have a very inspiring episode for you today. I'm speaking with Kristen Letterman, oboist and soprano. Kristen is assistant professor of oboe at Arkansas State University,

where she teaches oboe, bassoon, double reed techniques, and is the Woodwind area coordinator. As a performing solo artist, she brings exciting and unusual programs to audiences across the U.S., Spain, Brazil, and Canada. She's also the author of the book, Relax and Take a Deep Breath, The Luccarelli Approach to Oboe Playing, published by Carl Fisher. She studied with Bert Luccarelli for 15 years at the Hart School and at CUNY Graduation Center in New York City. and in this book, she captures the essence of his approach to oboe performance as well as his philosophy on pedagogy. The book presents his thoughts on general aspects of musical performance such as memorization and performance anxiety, and it gives suggestions for effective practice as well as a wealth of oboe-specific topics. She uncovers Bert Luccarelli's passion for sharing

his ideas on oboe performance to help players progress and challenge them to explore their own approach to music making. In our conversation, we had a great time talking about pedagogy, her journey writing the book, and Professor Luccarelli's approach and philosophies, which are valuable to all musicians regardless of their instruments. There's a lot of great wisdom ahead, and I hope you enjoy. Let's go to the show. Kristen Letterman it's so great to have you on the show it's great to be here I'm looking forward to it Kristen I talk a little bit about you in the introduction but I think the listeners would love to hear about that journey in your own words so can you please tell us a little bit about this

path of becoming a musician and what it looked like for you? Sure. So, um, I grew, grew up in, um, Missouri, just South of St. Louis. Uh, and it was a pretty rural area. And while none of my family are actual musicians, there was music around all the time. Um, my mom and my aunt played, uh, piano and my dad played guitar and family members at, um, you know, gatherings would, bring their instruments and sing and play. Um, and I can remember at age around three watching, I think it was an orchestra on, on TV and pointing and saying, I want to do this. I want to do this. And so they thought, uh, I wanted to learn violin. And so being where I'm from, I started learning fiddle at age three and, uh, did that for about four years. Um, and then it

kind of fizzled out and I didn't have parents that were, you know, keeping me on it, which I think was good for me. Um, it wasn't, you know, uh, you have to practice this many hours or this, you know, this long, um, which allowed me to explore a lot of things. I, I did sports and those sorts of sorts of things. But in sixth grade is when I started learning clarinet and, um, wanted to be in jazz band. So I got a saxophone and started learning that. Um, and I was also singing. I was in, um, uh, an actual formal choir and started doing competitions, um, with voice and at 13, um, actually did a talent show, um, and saying I had been inspired a little bit by Charlotte church, um, at that time. So, yeah, so I was, um, singing a lot of those, the, the stuff

that was on her first album um and that's kind of what I was known for in my town was actually a singer um and got into high school and didn't want to march in marching band so I quit band um and but I was kind of asked to be back in it in the spring semester um and then I was kind of dared to play oboe um I had no idea what an oboe is but I was like why not I I like music and sounds like fun. So we started an oboe fund because we didn't have an oboe. And so my friends would give me their extra lunch money at the end of the lunch period. And so I think that locker probably still has all of these coins in it at my high school. Oh, my gosh. I love that. But after I guess after my freshman year, we got an oboe. And so I started teaching myself for about a about a year and then

went to, uh, learn from a retired band director who was actually a trumpet player. Um, so I didn't have an oboe teacher, uh, at all, all the while I was still singing and actually got, actually got nodules. Um, so it was unable, it was basically on vocal rest for, I think it was like six or so months. Um, and so oboe started to take over, um, and somewhere on there, I realized that I could do music as a career um it was just something that was fun at that point and so I started to like think about college and I did the the worst thing possible which is I auditioned at one school I applied at one school luckily I got in um and it was for voice and oboe um I did oboe as like a oh maybe they'll accept me and maybe I'll get to go um and did a double performance degree for

three years I guess and then realized I was headed towards oboe um in my next step so I saved a year of college by dropping the voice degree um and and moved on to um New England Conservatory um And also while I was an undergrad, actually, I should go back and say that I had my first experience with Bert Lugarelli by going to his master class in the summer. I had no idea who he was. I even asked my teacher at the time, who was Barb Bishop, do you know this guy? Is he someone I should go study with? And she was like, yeah, he's a good oboist and I think has the same beliefs and thoughts

I do about the oboe. So started studying with him, um, and almost went to the Hart school for my master's, but decided on the bigger name going to New England conservatory. Um, but I found my way back to him, uh, in my master's, uh, or sorry, my, um, artist diploma. And, um, he kind of changed the trajectory of what my career was going to be. Um, cause I thought I was going to be an orchestral player. That's pretty normal for oboists. And at NEC, I kind of started to understand that probably wasn't what I was going to be happy doing, even though I thought that's what I had to do. And so when I got to my artist diploma at heart, I was back with oboe and voice and seeing how those work together, putting on programs that complement each other using both

instruments. And he was the perfect person to do that, which was great. And then kind of put the bug in my ear to start teaching. And so that's what led me into a doctorate and getting into collegiate teaching. I love that journey. I love the meanderings, for lack of a better word, and how following that curiosity and your inclination led to this path. I also agree with Professor Bishop that Professor Luccarelli seems to have a lot of the qualities that I aspire to as a teacher. And we're going to talk a lot about him. So let's get started, actually. What is it about him that made him so special? I mean, you wrote a beautiful little book about oboe playing and about the approach. Well, it's called The Luccarelli Approach to Oboe

playing, relax and take a deep breath. And I highly recommend it. In reading through it, I really resonated with a lot of his approach to teaching and I took some notes, but I'd love to hear it from you first. So tell us a little bit about him. Yeah. I mean, just as a person, I've said this a lot and I will always say this. He was probably the best human I've ever come across um just warm caring um and that's genuinely who he was um there was no uh you know front that he would put up for the public that was who he was as a as a person as well as as a teacher or even as a performer um and he really had you know a very interesting start to music in general he was going to be a major league baseball pitcher oh wow talk about meanderings right um had an accident

around uh age 14 where he almost lost both of his legs um and that meant his pitching career was was pretty much done and so his father um recommended hey you should learn the oboe and he he basically said what's an oboe and he said you'll find out um and so you know age 14 he he started learning the oboe. And within about four years, he was actually playing with the Lyric Opera in Chicago. He grew up in the, I think it's the south side of Chicago. And he had made so much progress that he was able to move into playing professionally within about four years. Now, this was the 50s, so a very different time than now. And within about I think, three or four years, he was playing principal with the Lyric. And really on top of

his game, he was in the very early 60s, making about $60,000 a year playing. So he was set, but he found himself like not fully fulfilled. Ray still had just gotten to the Chicago Symphony. And so he knew he was going to be there a long time. And so there was not really a lot for him to move up with. Um, so he made the decision to leave all that behind and move to New York in search of, he wasn't sure what, just something more fulfilling. Um, and that's when he started, uh, studying with Robert Bloom, um, who taught at Juilliard and Yale and was of the Baccaria group. Um, and he had during college studied with Ray still actually. Um, and he started to get these, varying styles of teaching from the two of them, both wonderful pedagogues and performers

of their day. And so that kind of shaped who he was as a musician. And he kind of just fell into being a soloist. He is known as, I think the New York Times says, the American America's only oboe soloist we don't normally go for a career like that um usually you have like an orchestral position and then you might solo but your main job is doing orchestral work and he didn't really have that he had the lyric and he had opportunities they just didn't they didn't manifest um and so he was on this trajectory to be become a um a soloist or recitalist and the thing is as oboists we didn't know what to do where do you stand what's the you know procedure pianists no violinists no um cellists no but for wind players

it's very different and so he started taking um acting lessons and he started taking painting and sculpting lessons so he could learn about the other arts and kind of incorporate that in and I think for me specifically but all of his students that actually helped him as a pedagogue because he could relate and bring in so many different just ideas and thoughts and you know abstract thoughts that I think really helped his students and helped him as a as a player because his first I think Carnegie debut it went okay the review was okay but they they basically just said he he played well but it was just an oboist on stage you know playing with piano and so he worked really hard and that next one the the critic was just blown away

I remember reading about this yes yeah and and he um had these series of recitals at all Alice Tully Hall um that uh one of them I think it was one of these that he actually descended from the ceiling playing his metamorphosis so he was not opposed to the the crazy um and I shouldn't even say crazy but the the different the not just walking out on stage the theatrics yeah exactly exactly um and he collaborated with Martha Graham um the ballet um company and um also you know uh got funding to commission a concerto which is one of our landmark works it's not performed a lot because it's uh was written in the 70s and a little um extended technique that a lot of players don't necessarily want to do. But it was John Corigliano. It was a grant for

an American composer to write an oboe concerto. And that is another thing that just kind of solidified him in the world of oboe playing. There's so many things that sort of landed for me powerfully. And one of them is the fact that he really listened to his instinct and made a difficult decision to move on from a steady job. And I'm not saying that we should all quit all of the work that we have that we don't particularly feel passionate about. It's not always the right decision, of course, but sometimes it is important to answer that call if it's really pulling at us. And because it requires so much courage, a lot of us don't. So to look at all of the things he subsequently accomplished, including that Carnegie Hall anecdote that you mentioned, what's so important to notice from this is that first review was not glorified and he didn't go about it by only practicing more.

he went about it with a holistic approach and okay so how can I play better but also how can I understand everything better how can I understand myself better what makes a great performance and just went about it in terms of amplifying every aspect of himself if I understand correctly yeah And that's so important, I think, for all of us to see how, for me, that incorporates a huge element of curiosity and exploration and almost playfulness. because taking acting lessons and, um, uh, not pottery, excuse me. Um, what's the word in English? Sculpting. Yes. Um, that means that this is someone who's inherently very curious and brings all of that in his artistic approach. And, uh, I think it's really important for all of us to hear this. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, I mean, you use the word curiosity, um, that

definitely describes him he was very curious and you know in a lesson he would um be curious right with you so if you were having a problem he wouldn't just kind of say well this is the problem and um this is how we're going to fix it and there's only this one way to fix it he would actually craft the way he taught as if he was discovering the solution with you he already knew the solution but he had a way about him that you thought he was figuring it out with you which made you feel like it wasn't this teacher student role but more of a just a friend kind of helping you discover something that you need to fix in your playing. I love that. I was going to ask you what inspired you to write about him,

but in reading the book, I, I could see, I could see what it was. It's quite clear. And as you know, professor Bishop mentioned, he has, it seems from reading the book, such a fantastic approach to, to teaching. And I resonated with a lot of it. I mean, I took some notes here, allowing students to explore their own individuality. And I think you said, bring that to the world. I mean, yes, this is what we want. How the learning process is individual and very personal. But one of the things that I've actually given a lecture on that is take ownership of your own experience. How learning is not a passive experience. I 100% resonate with this. I love that he talks about this fire to learn and how that's crucial.

And I should say from having interviewed so many extremely wonderful musicians over the years is that I would say that's a common denominator, that fire to learn, that curiosity, that passion, that inner drive. I think so. I mean, as a teacher myself, the ones that I think go the furthest are the ones that are always asking questions always searching for they they get an answer and then there's another question that pops up because they're trying to understand you know the world of whatever they're learning yes yeah and i mean his story of of ray still in the book um when he came into a lesson and still didn't acknowledge him didn't know he was there um And, you know, then cleared his throat and he was like, oh, you're here.

And Lucarelli basically saying, do you want me to play? And still says, no, I already have a career. And he talks about how they basically still says that it's like you're walking into a library, hoping that you walk to the right shelf. The book falls off, hits you in the head, opens to the right page. and a lot of students a lot of people in life just hope that that's what's going to happen that you just fall into what uh you're supposed to do and sometimes that happens but a lot of the times you have to seek it out you have to really um be in the driver's seat of what you want to do and you can still meander with that, but you at least are making more decisions for yourself than letting

them be made for you. And it's finding that right balance of taking in the guidance, taking in the instruction and making it your own. And that's what makes the difference, I think. Yeah, I agree completely. And with that, I think things are moving in the right directions in terms of the way we teach. I'm so happy that it's slowly moving towards a more productive way of teaching, a kinder way of teaching, a much more respectful way of teaching, and that we're letting go of these old paradigms of the dictator teacher. And he really seemed to have embodied this from what I could read in the book and you've mentioned it already and I think that if everyone who's let's say studying music right now and thinking about teaching is how can you hold high standards

while being extremely respectful of the person in front of you how could you figure out ways to work with them yeah and it seems to me like professor luccarelli had really that science down he really did and i think the thing that i definitely do like i i um will never be able to teach just like him just as no one else will be able to do that but there are bits and pieces in my teaching and i think the one that i love the most is very simple we're laughing all the time you make a mistake, we laugh because it's our body just not accepting what we need to do just yet. It will eventually. But if we get frustrated at not being able to play a certain passage and don't laugh about it, then we get tense and all of the things we're trying not to do happen. And so there's a

lot of laughter, you know, a student will make a mistake and I'm laughing, but I'm laughing with them, not at them, but it's so that they know that it's okay. It's okay to make a mistake. This is very powerful for the nervous system too, because laughter diffuses tension. And if you make a mistake and you get upset about it and start judging yourself, you're really conditioning yourself for more stress and more anxiety as with the laughter. And right, you and I understand that we're not laughing and taking it lightly and not making it a big deal, but this is not making it something that becomes traumatic. Right. Right. Because I mean, so much, I know you've probably had this in the practice room, just as I had, you know, we're working on something,

the performance is coming up and we just can't get it in our fingers. We can't get it to work and we get frustrated. We want to throw something across the room or something like that. but if we can bring that laughter into our practice and just say okay step away my fingers don't want to do it right now and that's fine I mean Luccarelli would even in a lesson if you kept missing something he would stop and say okay play that again with the wrong note and then he would look at you and say don't do that again and jokingly so that you get it out of your system And again, it's so you're, the frustration goes away and the, the smile, the happiness comes back because practicing can be frustrating, can be frustrating, but they don't have to be.

Right. It's in the mindset that we have about it. I want to hear more about the book, but I'm also fascinated by the process of writing a book. Before we hit record, you and I were talking about how it's a little bit like, well, it's not a little bit like, it's like any other endeavor that we embark on. It's preparing for an audition. It's maybe deciding to start a chamber music festival. Any sort of big project like this requires discipline, requires overcoming many fears and a lot of doubt and uncertainty. and as you were just talking about when we practice we want to throw hopefully not the

instrument but something across the room so a big project like writing a book is quite the journey to embark on so I'd love to hear what it was like for you maybe some of the doubts that you had to face and overcame? Tell me everything. Sure. So this was really like a 10 year process from the initial idea to being a physical book. And I mean, at that point, I was in my doctorate studying at the CUNY Graduate Center with him. And I had known him roughly about 10 years at that point and been watching him teach. Um, I went to his masterclass, I think every year from gosh, 2004, um, to now I actually run it. Um, I've missed one year, um, in that whole time. And so I've observed him teach and it's a lot of the same, but a lot of, um, variation based on who

he's teaching. You know what he's going to say, but how is he going to say it? And so from all those observations, I started to realize that it's very different the way he approached teaching students. And I'd been, I'd learned from a number of different teachers and his was the most unique in my experience and so I really wanted more people to be able to learn from him because he was getting older and the way I saw that happening was you know having a book out there that talked about exactly what he talked about which was going through the fundamentals and going beyond into just how to be a performer since that's what he did and I can remember I got the idea he was doing a master class at the Manhattan School

and I would usually come to see him when he would do those other master classes and and as he's teaching I'm kind of jotting down like a general outline of okay we could talk about this we could talk about this and going through. And afterwards I said, I have this really good idea. I think I should, we should write a book together. That is your teaching. And he, at first he absolutely didn't want to do it. Um, because, um, I think I used the quote, uh, from, from Bloom in the book that you can't learn from a book, how to play oboe. Um, but he started to warm to the idea and so we did a series of interviews probably about four or five hours just sitting I was sitting on the floor and he was in his chair in his office just recording

and it was many stories I already knew but it was good to have it in audio so I can go back I transcribed everything and then had the very difficult task of putting it into prose um and I should say I get into these projects and I have no idea necessarily how I'm going to do them uh which is probably best yes if I knew what the process was going to be I probably would not do it um and a lot of my life has been that way and I'm I'm blessed with it being like that um but I I had to sit on that for a while and figure out you know he already had a book that was kind of an interview, um, with a good friend. Um, and so I didn't want it to be an interview. So I had to figure out how to take all of those, those stories and put them into prose. And so I finally

kind of landed on, it would be me kind of telling from my point of view with some antidotes and things of his teaching. Um, and so we started working through different drafts. I got everything essentially on paper and then we had more interviews where he would read through it we would kind of edit um and add things uh correct things that maybe were were wrong um and then we were almost ready and we wanted to be sure it was great so we we've we got an editor just to make sure that everything read correctly um from an outsider point of view um and then we were able to get it to Carl Fisher and now it's now it's out I love what you said about how you go in these projects I'm paraphrasing but not really quite sure how to go about it and I 100%

agree with you it's there's no way to know how you're gonna do it until you do it yeah so if you wait to have the answer of how every little step is gonna look like nobody would ever start anything so I totally agree with this is just follow the breadcrumbs and sometimes it's going to take 10 years and now you have this wonderful document that is such a great homage to him and his teaching and it's information that all oboe players and I think musicians at large as well it's very interesting I think for oboe players because you have a lot of oboe specific information about readmaking and articulation and things like this. But now they have this resource,

this incredible resource that they can go to. So I agree with everyone who says you can't learn from a book, but I do think it's great to have the books for reference, to remind yourself of the things that you are learning, that you have forgotten. And sometimes seeing it with your eyes is different than just hearing it.

It anchors things differently. So there was I was heading in the direction of a question. I forget what my question was. No, I remember what it is. So I totally agree about jumping on board before you exactly know how you're going to get there. And, you know, you sort of build the raft as you're going. what how was it for you to I'm sure you had to face some uncertainties and doubts throughout what helped you get past that and overcome these either stumbling blocks or uncertainties and doubts I mean I think a lot of it is again Luke really was part of the project so you know he was kind of the cheerleader through it and he really believed in it by the end he was so excited to get this out because I think part of him knew that his time was not going to be much longer on this earth. And, and honestly, he, we knew it was out the day before he left the earth. He, he was

sending texts and calling everyone and saying, it's out, it's out. You can go buy it right now. And then he was gone the next day. So I think him helping me see that this was important and honestly talking with a lot of his students, my friends about, hey, we're working on this. it's going to come out soon and their excitement about it, knowing that they wanted to relive those experiences. Um, I mean, I've had comments from a number of his students just saying, Hey, I got the book. I've been reading it. I've been transported back to the studio at heart and lessons with him. Um, so I think that in the back of my mind of knowing that this was important, even if I'm not the best writer, cause I will admit I'm not. Um, but this, the content was so important to get out to the world, uh, especially now, um, because so many current

students haven't experienced that, um, haven't experienced his teaching and they can get a good idea of what it was um through the book uh it's again not going to teach you how to play oboe but it's going to get your mind thinking um and and other musicians minds as well it's it really you can pull i think any instrument can pull a lot of things from it um just kind of tabling the oboe specific things uh and just reading it for that abstract um large picture yeah tell us everything about it what's in this book for people who are interested in taking a look um so we do start with the basics so talking about breathing and support which for any wind player even maybe i don't know string players can help um just thinking about how the air is is vibrating

um the reed or vibrating the the mechanism that needs to vibrate um and we go into just talking about tone concepts, um, and, um, of course, articulation, which is important for us, but the second section, you know, goes into just the application of these things. So this is for anybody, just how do we learn? How do people learn? And he was very into knowing how people learn and, um, how each person is different in that. And so, you know, we've talked about how he would kind of personalize the lesson. He knew how you learn. And if he got it wrong the first time, he's going to try a different angle. It wasn't just one way, which in my past I've had one way and it doesn't always work unless you're that specific person that it works for.

We talk about how to practice and memorization, which he didn't like to do that much, but he he did do it and had some good um ways of working through that um and as a wind player we don't do it a lot so um that could be really helpful for wind players um and then getting more into phrasing um and talking about vibrato which he taught vibrato by talking about a flute player john who has just recently changed the website but it's um got uh flute players it's got singers on the website where you hear the recording and then he slowed it down 300 percent and you can hear how those um waves are moving um and so he talks about you know the fashion of uh vibrato and how it works for each instrument because it's different um and I think that's important

um and then we get to I think what's really important with him which is the performance the actual what do you do on stage you know it's it's so it's so different I think from when an orchestral player thinks through because you've got especially as an oboist you've got the entire orchestra around you whereas a soloist you're there um and so he had to think through a lot of those things also nerves which everyone has and as he would say if you don't have them you're stupid um you have to have a little bit of them to make the the performance exciting um and the the last big section in that is teaching and so there's some antidotes from his students um and just how he taught which i hope helps others think about how they teach

and i was just gonna say we finished with reads of course because you can't have an oboe book without reads i was gonna ask if the people who suggested you play oboe and ben had talked to you about what the read component was going to be like before no i had no clue in fact i was handed the oboe with a of a plastic reed essentially one of those fiber uh reeds that is basically a kazoo and so uh no I had no clue and then I started getting in the weeds and the thick of things and was like oh um which I like my hands always have to be busy so reed making is great for me I think it's a beautiful book it's so interesting to read even as a string player because of all of these components that you talked about the performance how we learn and I resonate with

so many aspects as I've mentioned already so many times and I can really see this being a staple on the shelves of all oboists of course any band teacher or any musician who's curious on one of the great pedagogues approach to teaching and practicing and performing um so yeah i highly recommend i'm definitely going to put a link in the show notes it's published by call fisher and i love that you wrote this book with him how he was such an intricate part of this whole book in addition to of course being the main subject yeah yeah and he was excited to be a part of it Um, because he could, and I think he says it in his, um, like in a forward or, uh, whatever, but it's, he doesn't agree with everything necessarily.

Cause you know, some days he might think something and might think something the next day, but it's at this point, the best he can do as far as this is how you play the oboe kind of thing. Kristen, before we get to the actionable tip, there's one question I'd like to ask you. You mentioned how Professor Luccarelli was so eager to have, you know, maybe I shouldn't say that, but how he really encouraged fun and laughter and joy in the practice room, in the studio. So what is one way that you bring joy in your practice? I think one of the biggest things I learned from him is that practicing should be fun. And I am one of those people that actually does just genuinely enjoy to practice.

If I can just practice all day, I genuinely like to do that. But it can be frustrating at times and you don't want to do it. And so what I learned from him really was to enjoy the puzzle, enjoy the game part of practicing. You know, it's really when you're sight reading, it's like the beginning of a puzzle where you're starting to turn over all the pieces and see where the parts go, where's the border and all of that. And then as you go back, you're starting to place each of those pieces to complete the puzzle. And I enjoy that. I enjoy puzzles. My brain works with puzzles a lot.

um and so not running a whole piece but diving into little parts and feeling how it feels when i change rhythms or how i um play it really slowly and just really musically that is exciting to me when i'm practicing and how about an actionable tip something that the listeners could implement in their practice room or on stage or in their lives? Yeah. You know, most recently I've been, especially at the beginning of this year, so super busy with performances plus teaching and all of that, that I had to bring a practice journal back into my life because I had, I think on four or five sticky notes, all of the music I needed to learn in like two or three months. And I was going crazy. So the only way I could

figure out how to stay on track was bringing back in the practice journal, which had a record of I've worked on this spot. So don't work on that again. So you can work on this other spot or this other piece. And I started to reflect more and think about what I've done in my practicing rather than just doing it um and coming back and doing it again um and for me it's gone into my teaching um where my students are actually using the practisma journal this semester to kind of start their reflection um and there's some action uh challenges throughout as well um so i just say get some sort of practice journal habit. It can be a digital one. It can be a physical one. I like writing, so I have a physical one. It seems more real to me. I also use the Andante practice

app, which has a journal feature. But I think to be successful, you have to have that reflection and journaling can really help that. I love that. Yes. And I'm glad you mentioned that because I have created a practice journal for my clients inside the Music Mastery Experience. And my goal would be to make that available to everyone outside the program. So maybe I'll ask you for some advice on how to get that published at some point. Sure. Kristen, thank you so much. Again, this is a beautiful book. It's titled Relax and Take a Deep Breath, the Luccarelli Approach to oboe playing. And I highly recommend that people check it out if they're interested. There's so many things that you mentioned today that are important for all of us to reflect on

and maybe incorporate in our practicing and our approach to teaching and also our approach of how we treat ourselves. If we are our very own teacher, then we need to treat ourselves as a beloved student, I think, right? So thank you so much for taking this time to speak with me. Yeah, thanks for having me. And there you have it. Thank you for joining me today. I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Kristen Letterman. You can find more information about Kristen and her book by going to kristenletterman.com or by visiting carlfisher.com. And of course, I'm going to have these links for you in the show notes. And if you found our discussion valuable, share this episode

with friends and fellow musicians. Grab a screenshot of the episode, share on social, and with anyone you think might benefit from this conversation. Together, you and me, let's inspire and empower even more people on their musical journeys. Your support means the world to me. All right, that's what I have for you this week. Until next time, much love going your way, and à bientôt.