Technic Today, Part 2: Oboe Book

Ployhar's Technic Today series earns its reputation by building genuine facility without feeling like mindless drill work. The exercises align perfectly with Band Today, Part Two, so students encounter technical challenges in context rather than isolation. The 24-page format stays focused, delivering concentrated work on the skills that matter most at the intermediate level.

Purposeful and direct. The exercises build logically from one page to the next, creating a sense of steady progress rather than jumping between unrelated technical concepts. Each etude develops facility in a specific area, giving students tangible goals and the satisfaction of mastery.

Oboe students in intermediate band programs who are ready to move beyond basic fingering patterns and into more sophisticated technical demands. This book works especially well for students using Band Today, Part Two as their primary method, though it complements any intermediate oboe curriculum that emphasizes concert band repertoire.

• Work through one exercise per practice session rather than racing through multiple pages. Slow tempos expose fingering clarity and embouchure control that faster speeds mask.
• Use the provided finger patterns as anchors for muscle memory. Repetition of identical technical figures builds automaticity that transfers to repertoire.
• Alternate between the written etudes and passages from Band Today, Part Two to reinforce that technique serves musicality, not the reverse.
• Record yourself periodically to hear intonation and tone consistency across the ranges covered. Oboe students often neglect the middle register in favor of extremes.

Assign exercises from Technic Today alongside rehearsal of your Band Today, Part Two material to create reinforcement between method book and ensemble work. The 24-page length makes it practical for a semester-long focus or for targeted work on weak technical areas identified during band rehearsal.

• Fingering precision and speed across the intermediate range
• Scalar and arpeggio patterns in multiple keys
• Evenness of tone production across registers
• Articulation clarity in mixed rhythmic contexts
• Facility with accidentals and chromatic movement