im 15 and have been playing for 3 years. your kid is only 4! it took me a month before i could even make a sound come out of the reed! she will need to develop certain muscles to be able to play, and a normal 4 yr old would probably lose interest. besides, oboes are expensive and finding a good reed can be hard. introduce her to music w/ the recorder, piano, ect. but dont let her start on something serious until later

I think she may be a little young to start on the oboe. It is a great instrument and we need more players but she may need to grow a little before moving onto such a hard instrument!! I`ve played for 5 years now as a teen and it is still challenging so I suggest you wait. But I can`t wait to have another oboe player in the world!! Best of Luck!!!

I don`t want to sound like a nay-sayer, but you really need to do a reality check. How did your four-year-old come to decide on the oboe? Can she distinguish it from, say, a clarinet?

I think you would do well to steer her as far away from any double-reed instrument until 1) she has learned to read music through an instrument that requires far less physical coordination to start on--such as piano or recorder, and 2) she has grown to a physical stature sufficient to modulate air and muscles--probably at an age no younger than 10. Then, she should also be emotionally stable enough to recognize that with the oboe, she probably won`t be making anything resembling music for quite some time.

Oboe is not an instrument for the impatient. My daughter spent the first 3 months simply "croaking"--blowing on a bare reed to get used to how it fits in the lips and how air can be sent through it. It was then another 3 months before the most rudimentary notes could be played clearly. In another 3 months, rudimentary scales could be played. It will be a full year before anything remotely resembling music will emerge. Is your daughter patient enough for this kind of commitment?

Nothing will kill your daughter`s enthusiam for the oboe more quickly, I think, than the frustration of trying to undertake learning an instrument as technically challenging as the oboe while also trying to learn the rudiments of music. I`d say start her on the piano, and see how she likes it. If she enjoys music still by the time she`s 10, give her a crack at the oboe.

Also, you should know that double-reed instruments are finicky and expensive. They cannot be played in marching bands. They are sensitive to temperatire and humidity. Their reeds require a fair amount of tweaking and trimming.

Perhaps the most valuable piece of advice I could pass along is to encourage you to talk with your daughter`s music teachers at school. My daughter started piano at age 6, and it was her piano teacher who suggested, when my daughter was selecting a band instrument in the 4th grade, that she might be well suited for the oboe. Music teachers really do have a sixth sense about the personality traits that link students with a particular instrument. We never would have seen the connection, but today, six years later, my daughter is an all-state oboe player and will be touring Europe this summer with a symphonic band. We just bought her a conservatory-grade oboe (to the tune of $4,500), and, when she starts looking at collleges soon, she will be looking for opportunities to continue her playing.

Good luck. Go find a good piano teacher for your daughter.

Steve

i would say that 4 is definitely too young!
she should start with recorder and/or piano.
the recorder develops a feeling for tone production on a wind instrument, even if the tone productions is not similar...
piano, is the best for the developement of the brain(just learned it TODAY in school:-)
it helps making connection between left and right side of the brain!
i think with 4 she`ll get frustrated over not getting a tone out:-)
hope i could help

sorry for doubleposting, but i just read not to buy a buffet oboe???
shock!!!!
excuse me, but albrecht mayer, solo oboist of the berlin philharmonic plays a buffet and is probably one of the best players worldwide!!!:-)
so, i think buffet is quite ok:-)

first i need to say, no, as many people have said, it isn`t really good for her to start on an instrument like that so early.

but what i really wanted to say is i admire your child! i could only distinguish an oboes sound in like the 5th grade b/c before then i never knew how it was different from a clarinet until then.. haha.but now in grade 9 and playing the bassoon, i know that playing a double reed is very fun and rewarding =)

my cat`s breath smells like cat food....

From a monetary stand point, this is a horrible idea. Unless your loaded, giving a 4 year old a $1000 "toy" is not a smart move. Along with the initial cost, your going to spend $7+ on new reeds, which she will break. I doubt a four year old will have the attention capacity to learn an instrument of that degree of difficulty, or anything really, except for maybe noise makers. If you must start you child on an instrument, choose the piano.

Hello, I am going to tell you what I think. Your`e daughter should start on a Bombarde Oboe. It is not easier, but smaller, lighter, etc. It is the oboe that snake charmers use. Luck to you.

she needs to learn the responsibility of havin one and to take care of her oboe.