Aside from finding a private teacher, the best advice I can give is to join the International Double Reed society (idrs.colorado.edu). Student memberships are $30 and include a subscription to a journal filled with helpful articles and ads from double reed retailers and reed makers.

Also check out www.forrestsmusic.com. The are one of the largest double reed catalogs in the US. They have great reeds, suplies and music.

about me- I have a degree in music arts and performed oboe in the US army band system for 7 years. I now freelance in the Washington DC area.

OUdblreeder`s advice is excellent; the IDRS is the best place to start. If you use your search engine wisely, you`ll even be able to find several articles you can save to your hard disk for free. I`ve accumulated a whole notebook of them.

I would also recommend three university instructors who maintain websites. My favorite is Martin Schuring of Arizona State. The others are Kristy Meretta of Eastern Michigan University and Michael Ericson of Western Illinois University. Mr. Ericson, in particular, has a helpful set of pages for people who want to learn how to make and adjust reeds.

Another resource that sounds helpful (I haven`t seen it yet) is a video tape made by Marc Fink of the University of Wisconsin. I don`t remember the title exactly, but I think it`s something like "Get Started Right". As I recall, the cost is around $50. It`s a bit pricey, but may be just the thing for someone who can`t get private instruction.