I`m now in 8th grade and i play bari sax, alto sax,clarinet, keyboard, cello, electric guitar, and bass guitar. In high school next year i want to play a double reed, but i don`t know which one to play. I like solos, but i also love being a `support` instrument wiht oompa-loompa like parts. WHich one? ps there is already a freshman bassoonist who is very nice and i don`t know if there is an oboist. It is a very small band (20 peolpe tops)

You should go for oboe. From what I`ve heard, it`s really awkward switching from saxophone to basson - it is just so different. That`s the main reason. If you really want to go for bassoon, you should, it`s a really great instrument once you learn it, but it`s just really hard, simply put. Good luck!

Thomas

mm.. try and learn both. oboe takes a lot more air pressure to play though. bassoon fingerings are a lot like clarinet fingerings in the middle register (dunno waht to call it) the one that covers most of the bass clef. iunno, bout other insturments b/c sadly i`ve only gotten the chance to play those two instruments.

i play the clarinet and the bassoon, and i wanna try the oboe soon. they`re both awesome instruments.

it also depends on which insturment`s sound you like most. i love the bassoons sound, and alo the oboe, but i love the bassoon`s more.my fav insturment in the orchestra. hah. the oboe also has a pretty bad range. i thinkth e oboe has 2 1/2 octaves on it while the bassoon has almost 4.

i play oboe and it has 3 and 1/4 octave range! i really want to learn the bassoon though. this is my first year playing the oboe and i am a freshman in high school it is really fun, (take lessons with an oboist from the Va symphony) in 12th grade i am thinking about taking up the bassoon.

Everyone so far is wrong about the oboe`s range. An experienced player can play up to the B above the staff "8va"ed and the Bb below.

Alex