hi guys! this is soo cool to have a site where fellow band people can talk to each other! Anyways, I play the clarinet, and I just love the oboe. I want to learn to play it real bad, and my teacher said I can next year, if I learn how over summer. But I tried playing one a couple weeks ago, and the fingers seemed kind of really far apart. I mean, after playing the clarinet for so long, when I try to play oboe, I feel like I have to strain my fingers to reach the keys. Its almost like my hands are too small to reach the buttons or what ever (but Im 16). Does anyone else have this problem?

yeah.. i played Clarinet before oboe too.. only played for Clarinet for 2 years tho.. the two instruments are alot different then most people think.. but enyways back to the point.. i think if you play the oboe for a longer period of time.. you`ll get use to the fingering.. like at first it might seem a bit awkward.. but i guess you will get use to it.. but you ALWAYS should relax your fingers..

Jaspie

It could also be that particular instrument. I have different oboes that certainly feel quite different.

If you practice on it for a while you`ll get used to it. Don`t expect overnight comfort.

Yea I had tried oboe once after playing clarinet for 6 years. I will really learn how to play when I get to the instrument part of learning in college. I didn`t do so well by myself and yea it does feel a little funny... my left hand wanted to cramp up hehehe...The oboe takes more fingerings from the alto sax(I`ve played that before also)I guess that made it easier for me to pick up on the fingerings but they do get really wierd just like high ones on clarinet... and not to mention how hard it is to play high notes on oboe.. anyway.. I love the oboe and I think that its cool. I have a big appreciation for all the good oboeists out there because its pretty dang hard to play in tune. lol (oh only a little hard... :P)

i am 11 and have been playing for 3 years, when i first started, i couldn`t move my fingers after my lessons. Trust me, it will get easier, just parctice, once you are done playing for a few years, it seems that the space in between your fingers has grown. Good Luck.
Oboe Fanatic1994

I`m thinking it has something to do with the instument you played before the oboe
Because i played the flute for 4 years and swicthed and had no problem with the fingers being apart(i really didn`t think about it until I read you forum) so maybe you should pratice like the fingers first then work on yur notes and try not to have sticky or dry fingerswhen you play cause it makes it harder to move from note to note quickly.

Let us note that the oboe does NOT take its fingerings from the Alto Sax. The Alto Sax takes its fingerings from the oboe. If you want a complete timeline...LOOK it up. =P But seriously, the first woodwind instruments were something like the Baroque Flute and Baroque Oboe - the saxophone wasn`t widely used until VERY recently. So, this tells us that Oboe is King. =D

Err, as for the fingers... just practice, practice, practice. =D Practice is your friend.

~Chris

i never really noticed before reading this that the oboe might have widely spaced fingering. i started on oboe and then switched to bassoon while continuing to play oboe, so actually, for me the oboe`s fingering are very close together. trust me, if you every try to pick up a bassoon and finger a couple of notes, oboe will feel like an Eb clarinet or a piccolo. after a while if you keep working at it, you won`t notice it anymore.

Ya same here i played clarinet for 2 yrs and just recently switched to oboe.

Hmmm thats really weird because when i first started playing oboe (i played clarinet beforehand and still do) i though the oboe had tiny spaces inbetween the keys :S ahh well!

I`m 13 and have been playing for about a year and a half now. Back in November, I tried my best friend`s clarinet. That was just the weirdest things my fingers ever felt. So the instruments are really different as far as fingerings. They just look the same to some people.

I have 3 oboes (all of which were old and I fixed myself), and the one that played the best broke in half! And after that my other two fell and now they won`t play and I don`t have enough money to get them fixed. Anyways, that probably didn`t have anything to do with the topic, but I was mad and sad.

wow this is weird...but i just started to play the oboe for my junior band...i switched just for that band becasue we had too many clarinets. i`m 15 but i had no problem with the fingerings, try playing a different oboe! like a Yamaha one or an Artley one!

Im 13, have been playing Clarinet for 6 years, and Im a grade 6/7. I recently started the bassoon, which I also fount a bit of a stretch to get used to. My advice is to just go over fingering patterns as much as you can. This helps alot.
I also started Oboe two weeks ago, and I found it the opposite to you, I thought the keys were alot closer together than the Clarinet, however, that`s just my oppinion. It is a great instrument, and knowing how to play the clarinet helps alot, within 2 days of playin the Oboe, I could competently play a grade 3 piece (Yes, thats true for all you sceptics out there!!!) However, with that said, my tone still isnt quite as desirable as those of experienced Oboeists. But that comes in time and practice.
You might have a bit of trouble with the emrbachoure at first, you wouldn`t notice it, so heres how to get over my point. Play your Oboe for however long as you like, and then quikly start playing the clarinet. You will be lucky to make a sound out of it (or maybe thats just me) It will take a short bit of time, not more than a minute for your mouth to re-adjust and produce the proper tone. This gradually fades away, but again, it takes time.
I wish you luck with your Oboe, and I hope you enjoy the time you play it. It is a beautiful instrument, but don`f forget. IT`S ONE OF THE HARDEDST (The second hardest if I remember correctly!!! The hardest is the French Horn)


GOOD LUCK

-Alan

well i actually play the oboe, i tried playing my neighbors clarinet and felt that the clairnet's keys were closer together. i don't know whether its the fact that i have rather big hands or the fact that its just an oboe and clarinet thing.

-Oboebabygirl.
i've been playing the oboe for 1 yr. and am in a middle school wind ensemble that placed superior and best percussion at the music festival in st. luis, Missouri