Hey Guys, I play clarinet in Symphonic and Marching Band, and Next year, my teacher is letting me play the Oboe in Concert band because i really wanted to. How long do you think it will take for me to learn to play well? Should I take lessions? i have been teaching myself, and have gotten very far. If you just have any advice for a future oboist.. please leave a post!

You should take lessons as it is unlikely you would stumble across the correct embouchure on your own. If you try to learn on your own look at all the pictures of oboists you can find and read up on Oboe embouchure.

You could learn to play well with an incorrect embouchure, but if you correct it later you may find all that effort flying out the window.

Who knows how long it`ll be before you can play "well?" Everyone learns at a different rate. Some are naturals, but some take years and years to be "good." You should definitely take lessons! There are many concepts of the oboe that you probably won`t be able to fully understand unless you take lessons. Playing the oboe is a lot of hard work and should be taken seriously.