Beginning oboe is the most frustraiting thing EVER but don`t give up.you`ll probably hate oboe the first week you play, but you will fall in love with it eventually. I switched over to oboe from flute because of that SOUND! I expected to pick up the instrument and sound like all the recordings ive heard, and when i didn`t, i got discouraged.Ive been playing for three years, i have a good private teacher and i am in youth orchestras. I still don`t have the sound i want, but i love playing so much, i know ill never give it up.
don`t get discouraged, you WILL get better, and who knows where music will take you. just keep trying.

Thanks for your advice! I have rented an oboe (a few hours ago) and so far I LOVE it. I am not having much trouble with it yet, and I don`t know what you guys are talking about when you say it sounds bad, I find that it sounds better than the clarinet ever sounds! I have a question: After about 20 minutes of playing I lose control of the reed and my pitch becomes unstable, is this normal? Thanks!

I forgot to say that I`m using a Buffet oboe and a medium jones reed

Hi Kosh,

I play oboe and clarinet.It is totally normally to feel like your lips are losing control and your pitch goes all funny when you are a beginner. The more you practice, the longer you find you can last each time before it happens. Also, it is worse if the reed you are using is a little too hard for you. When I first started playing oboe, I used a Jones medium soft reed.

i started playing oboe a couple weeks ago and i luv it! i am also a flute player. my band director relly did not want me to play oboe because he thinks i am such a great flute player. well today i just got to the end of my book! what books do yall use? i use essential elements and i think it is a great book. after i get done learning oboe i wanna play saxaphone but until then i will just keep on playin the flute and oboe. oh yea i thought it was kinda weird how almost every on on here plays oboe and flute well i got to go please reply

wow that is weird... usually people say that oboes sound like ducks which doesn`t make any since to me because I don`t think the do but whatever. Anyway, I think my beginning oboe cost my parent around $1000 but it was used. But I got a brand new one a couple of summers ago and it cost about $2500. Yeah there really expensive. My reeds cost around $7.50 and thats only for one. Its rediculous (sp?). well I hoped I helped.

yea... i also play flute and i really want to pick up oboe as well i didnt know they existed when i started band or else i would have done it instead i assume i read all the posts here and it didnt really make anything clearer for me as to how hard it will be to begin oboe since i play the flute primarily. if someone could help me out thatd be awsome!

I`m just beginning to play the oboe in my band an d I LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEE it!

You should pley the oboe man. I do and love it. The oboe will sound like a duck for the first few weeks but not as long as the clarinet and violin. I know this because I have been playing for 10 weeks and I stopped sounded like a duck on my 3rd week. If you want to hire an oboe it is around 70 dollars a month and reeds cost $10-$40

Hey I just got my oboe today, and I frankly cant get a sound out of it. I played clarinet before and I just don`t know what I`m doing wrong. Does anyone have any tips so that i can get the ball rolling? I would appreciate it! thanks
~Jossy~

Make sure you`re rolling your lips in over your teeth, there should be pics on the web and in student method books.

AND

Make sure you don`t take too much reed into your mouth. I used to like to set my reed on my lips and roll it in with my lips and that kinda worked out well. Eventually you will get a feel for where the reed goes.

HOWEVER

You may develop a totally unusual embouchure if you don`t meet with a professional Oboist early on. It`s really hard to fix a bad embouchure. In my case I neglected to roll my top lip and learned to play like that for a a year before someone pointed out that it looked funny and that my lip was supposed to be rolled in.

Im in the same boat as Nessa

hey guys, lots of you here seem to play flute and oboe and i was wondering...(this applies for any other instrument you play with your mouth)... is it bad for the embosure(sp) of your first instrument when you learn your second.I know that many people play 2 mouthy sort of instruments..... BUT I HAVE HEARD MANNNY ACCOUNTS OF IT BEING REALLY BAD FOR YOUR 1ST EMBOSURE (sp) TOO LEARN ANOTHER INSTRUMENT.

hw many have found his too be the case
and does anyoone have any half soloutions for it...or anythig that might help slightly.

I don't think flute or oboe embouchure negatively affect each other, they can be quite complementary, but I believe flute and oboe have completely different breath support requirements which can make devoting too much time to any one a pain for the neglected instrument.

For example:

Too much flute, little oboe: High speed air from flute & weak lips from neglect of oboe combine for a nightmarish mouth pressure scenario.

Too much oboe, little flute: Low speed, high volume air from oboe & tight lips if you have a common, incorrect top to bottom, tight/biting oboe embouchure combine to increase difficulty of high range and negativly affect tone. However if using a relaxed, pouty oboe embouchure the low range of the flute should be fine and possibly improved, but the high range still suffers from air flow issues.

The lack of a well developed fast air stream results in a shrill pinced high range too many dedicated community oboists suffer from.

The flute helps to promote a proper air flow that will help an oboist with their high range in playability and in timbre. Like blowing out a candle.

Ray Still on blowing freely:

No matter how accomplished [oboists] are, Still finds that generally he has to reteach them basic breathing techniques. One student simply couldn't handle it. He passed out. His worried teacher sent him to a doctor, who pronounced him fit. But at the youngster's next lesson, he promptly vomited and passed out again. He went on to a less strenuous job - as a Chicago fireman (and part-time oboist). "Many of my students are what I call reverse-breathers. As they blow, their tummy pops out, and their chest compresses. The more efficient way is to start with the muscles under the ribs and work your way up. Stupidly, a lot of teachers tell them to stick out the gut and lock it. "Most of my kids hyperventilate at first, " Still says, "especially when I force them to expel their air quickly, like blowing out a candle. Oboe players are so unaccustomed to doing this that the shock makes them lightheaded. You can always tell because they look at you bleary-eyed. But fairly soon, they learn to breathe correctly. "Then I teach them tricks to con themselves into playing more freely. Oboists must do this. For example. I may tell myself, you're not blowing out, frantically trying to get air through the oboe, you're actually pleasantly drinking in air.' This calms me. I don't feel so bottled-up."

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