I currently play the flute, and have played flute for 5 and a half years. Since my band class needs more lower instrument players, and I`m not good enough at flute to move up into the higher band class, I was thinking of switching to oboe. I have a few questions, though.

1. How much different is oboe from flute? I know you blow into the oboe instead of blowing over it, but that`s about it.

2. What brand should I buy and what brand(s) should I avoid?

3. Any other tips?

Thanks for your time in reading this ^^

No worries, I did the same thing. I played flute for about 6 years before switching to oboe, and it was great to try something new. The oboe isnt much different from the flute, it is in the same key, and the fingerings are actually pretty similiar. It has one huge difference though, and that is that the oboe uses a double reed. Now, this makes the switch to oboe not as easy as you think. A reed is very difficult to use, I would reccomend getting a really good oboe teacher before switching right away. In fact, I have been playing oboe for about 3 months, and I haven`t switched to full time oboe yet, i still play flute. Anyway, I have a Loree oboe, which is one of the best you can get, but a lot of the sound depends on the reed, you probably just need to go to the local music store and try out a few of them, see which one fits you best. So, good luck on switching, and dont try until you get a good experienced teacher. Well, hope this has been some help. Bye

Well, tomorrow (2/19/04) I`m going to my band teacher to try out an oboe, since he has a school instrument for me. One of the oboe players in the higer band class is doing music lessons for a graduation project, so I could have her for a teacher-type person. I probably won`t buy an oboe, since I`ll still be playing flute in marching band.

Thanks for the help ^^

I played oboe for a year and a half before I switched to the oboe. I`ve been playing the oboe for almost 5 years now and I love it. Some of the fingerings are the same so the transition between instruments isn`t too terribly difficult, but if you asked me to play my flute now I dont think i could play more than the C scale. Plus I`ve picked up a few bad habits from playing the flute. . .like sometimes I find my self changing my embachure to hit higher notes instead of changing the fingering. . .

Ok...as a Matter of fact..I am in the same boat you are....just opposite. I play the oboe...but I just picked up the flute. The oboe is a double reed instrument, which some people can play, and some people can`t. You play an oboe by slightly rolling your lip, and blowing into the reed, like a straw, almost. I have a Selmer oboe, and It has satisfied all of my needs, and I haven`t had very much trouble with it. If you have any more questions, my e-mail is PrincessLond@yahoo.com

-Good Luck!!!