News:

August 05
“Josef Marx - You are Standing on his Shoulders”
A 14-page biographical essay
Submitted for publication in the Journal of the International Double Reed Society, “The Double Reed,”
June 2021 publication anticipated

August 31
“The Brilliant Cor Anglais Writing of Oliver Knussen.” International Double Reed Society, “The Double Reed” Vol. 143 No. 4, pp. 109-130 (December 2020).

Oboe Secrets: 75 Performance Strategies for the Advanced Oboist and English Horn Player

Modeled on the brilliant approach first formulated by distinguished professor of music and master clarinetist Michele Gingras in Clarinet Secrets and More Clarinet Secrets (both available from Scarecrow Press), Music Secrets for the Advanced Musician: A Scarecrow Press Music Series is designed for instrumentalists, singers, conductors, composers, and other instructors and professionals seeking a quick set of pointers to improve their work as performers and producers of music. Easy to use and intended for the advanced musician, contributions to the Music Secrets series fill a niche for those who have moved beyond what beginners and intermediate practitioners need.

In Oboe Secrets: 75 Performance Strategies for the Advanced Oboist and English Horn Player, Jacqueline Leclair tackles the oboe’s reputation as an especially difficult instrument and illustrates how oboists and English horn players can overcome common challenges. Leclair draws on her experience as a performer and instructor, offering practical tips and sometimes revolutionary ideas for rethinking oboe pedagogy.

Leclair also looks at performance strategies in the areas of equipment maintenance and management, physical health, and performance technique. Her secrets focus on such matters as how to optimize practice sessions, build endurance, improve use of the body when playing, work with reeds, and apply extended techniques. Oboe Secrets provides oboists and English horn players a quick and efficient path to significant improvement—both technically and musically—in their playing. It is the perfect resource for advanced high school oboists, professional performers, music instructors, and avid amateur musicians.

Book Review in Double Reed News, The magazine of the British Double Reed Society, by Jonathan Small, principal oboist of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Spring 2014

This volume, written by Canadian oboe soloist, chamber musician and Professor at McGill University, Jacqueline Leclair, is published in the USA and Canada by Scarecrow Press. It is the latest in the woodwind “Secrets” series commenced by Clarinet Secrets, written by Michele Cingras with the same publisher in 2006. This series sets forth a quick set of pointers to improve musicians' work as performers. Easy to use and intended for the advanced musician so the book states, these books 'fill a niche for those who have moved beyond what beginners and intermediate practitioners need'.

This excellent book does exactly what it says on the back cover. 75 pieces of advice are offered, none longer than a page or two at most. They are laid out very clearly in two to four short paragraphs each, comprising an explanatory introduction, followed by Technique (what to do), Note and Benefit (a summary, often only a sentence or so). The book falls into 9 chapters, entitled Practice Strategies, Tone & Rhythm, Reeds, Health & Strength and so on, concluding with English Horn Strategies and Advanced Techniques, which here includes circular breathing, double tonguing, flutter tonguing and glissandi.

In the Reeds chapter, Ms Leclair is naturally discussing techniques, dimensions, etc. from the point of view of North American reed design; but nevertheless I found these techniques most interesting and thought-provoking. Good tying-on, for instance, and a proper understanding of this, is vital to any sort of reed.

I would say that Oboe Secrets would be of use to oboists of almost any level beyond about grade 6 and, while not a book for young children, it is certainly a most useful resource. For the student or amateur it points the way to future development of playing, and better technique; it would be a most useful resource for teachers. For a professional such as myself I found it thought- provoking and very rewarding to read, encouraging us to re-evaluate what we do, how we do it and why. Learning from our peers is most important at any stage, and while Ms Leclair's suggestions might not always find 100% agreement from all readers, to think about what she suggests, and why, is a valuable exercise in itself.

Oboe Secrets clearly represents a great deal of work in assembling the ideas, describing things clearly and setting them out in a logical and highly readable way, with sensible use of illustrations. Many of the 'secrets' would be of use to players of other instruments too. Jacqueline Leclair has done a very fine piece of work for us all, and I highly commend it.

Book Review by Mary Ashley Barret, Professor of Oboe at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro

Have you ever wondered how to improve your endurance? Or how about techniques to super-hydrate your oboe? What about creating exercises to work on complex rhythmic patterns? Jacqueline Leclair is here to answer these questions and to offer possible solutions to at least 70 other ponderings or musings you may have about the oboe, the English horn, or performing in general.

As developed by Scarecrow Press Music Series, the volumes comprising the Music Secrets for the Advanced Musician are designed as quick resources for those students or teachers who are looking for ways to improve their music making beyond the level of beginner or intermediate performer. Leclair’s Oboe Secrets is the fourth book in the series, and as titled, presents performance strategies for experienced players, from the advanced high school oboist to professional performers, teachers, and amateurs. Dr. Leclair is an internationally distinguished performer, a champion of new music, and is currently the oboe professor at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Her performance edition of Luciano Berio’s Sequenza VIIa has become the “go-to” road map in learning this masterwork of the oboe repertoire.

Oboe Secrets is intended to be provocative, to encourage discussion, experimentation, and above all “to help make oboe and English horn playing easy, healthy, joyful, and focused on making music.” The book is divided into nine chapters plus a resource section, and includes secrets for practicing, tone and rhythm, reed making, health and strength, simplifying your musical life, maintaining your equipment, English horn, expanded techniques, and one chapter containing a variety of topics, entitled “Sundry Strategies”. Illustrations, drawings, photos and musical examples highlight many of the strategies and provide clarity where necessary. Each chapter is divided into several secrets, which in turn are defined by Leclair, followed by a suggested technique to aid in mastering this secret, notes or helpful hints often containing a personal story, and the benefits we gain by learning this technique.

Most secrets are reduced to one or two pages of explanation, rendering them easy to read and distilled to the most important aspects of the topic at hand. For example, “Secret 6: Rhythm First” focuses on learning a new piece of music containing rhythmic challenges. Leclair suggests working on the rhythms alone, without the oboe, using a metronome and singing or speaking the rhythms. Add musical gestures and appropriate style as you say the rhythms. Only when your rhythm is solid do you begin to add the oboe. This secret is especially helpful when learning mixed meter sections or a pattern of five quarter notes against three quarter notes, or simply learning foundational rhythms such as triplets, syncopations, and dotted figures. “Good rhythm supports all aspects of musicianship.” (Leclair, 9)

Secret 18 discusses “Contemporary Music with Big Leaps”. How often have you looked at music containing large leaps and thought “There is no way I will be able to sound lyrical on this passage”? The temptation to perform these phrases as simply “notes” is great; however, lyricism can prevail if you reconsider how to practice these leaps. Leclair suggests rewriting the intervals to be in close position, all within one range, and in simple quarter note rhythms. Practice the section several times slowly so that you can hear the intervals and melodic intent. Focus on beautiful phrasing and tone. Sing through the passages. Add in the original rhythms. Once you have the “tune” and rhythm in your ear, move forward to playing the passage as written, making sure you remain focused on hearing the intervals and melody you previously established, no matter how large the leaps have become. Voila, lyrical intervals!

Many of the topics discussed may be familiar to professional oboists; however, Leclair’s descriptions and ideas of conquering them should be refreshing and often liberating. Being reminded of a “lost technique” is quite helpful, and likewise reading solutions similar to your own can be reassuring. The resource list at the end of the book is extremely helpful in that Leclair has included a brief synopsis for each book listed. The variety of texts and suggested recordings lends insight into Leclair’s reading tastes and habits. It is clear that she is committed to working towards healthy playing habits, enhancing and encouraging creativity, and opening her mind and body to discovery and invention. Oboe Secrets is written in clear, easy to comprehend language, should be a staple in the oboists’ and English hornists’ libraires, and I recommend it for students, teachers, amateurs and professionals alike.

Luciano Berio, Sequenza VIIa

Luciano Berio, "Sequenza VIIa (1969/2000) Supplementary Edition by Jacqueline Leclair" Universal Editions #31263