Hi,

I have been a clarinet player for about 6 years, but I would say my level of playing is only at Grade 8 or so. And I got in university and currently studying in the bachelor of education (major in music) 2nd year
and now i discovered that i do not want to be a teacher at all.

i am major in clarinet and minor in oboe, somehow my oboe teacher praises my progression very much (though i have only been playing oboe for a year, with rare practice).. he claimed that if i chose to be an oboist i would have bright achievement. and i also want to give up my bachelor of Ed and turn to a bachelor of Mus.

but i am 20 yrs old already.. am I too old to devote my life into oboe performance? and i am also not sure if i can really play that well. (my teacher is the best oboist in the city thou)

so i am very puzzled now and do not know what i should choose.. clarinet and to become an amatuer player? or oboe and to become a pro oboist (i am even not sure if i will be qualified to be! )

may i have some comments from you guys please?

Well.. Robert Bloom one of the greatest American oboists picked up an oboe at age 19 !
I hope that piece of information will help you at least mentally!

I`d say it is almost never too late to pick up the oboe if you have any previous background in music, especially having already played a woodwind instrument before.

However, if you say that you rarely practice and your teacher praises your success, I would be self-critical enough to evaluate if I`m really that good or if the teacher`s perception is ... well ... a little skew.

If you`re really good, then go for it.

hey, 20 is quite old but i think it`s not impossible
but what do u think of asking lets say at least 3 different teachers what they think about your playing?
aksing in the internet people who never heard you playing is a bit crazy i think.
thinking of an career beginnig with 20 means for you playing at least 5 hours a day and total concentration over the next few years for you! do u really want that?
johannes

Surely I have asked some of my teachers, which include lecturers and my clarinet teacher, for their comment

But just want to see if there`s anybody has the experience similar as mine..

And yup you are right.. I am now practising almost 5 hours a day, besides playing clarinet still in bands, coz I want to be an oboist soo much, and would like to sacrifice anything for that..

Thank you for your comment, by teh way!

My brother in law is a music teacher. When he has students come to him and say they want to be professional musicians, he asks what kind of car they think they would like to drive. He then points out that some musicians in the local professional orchestra cannot even afford to buy a car!!
I have been there and music is much more fun to play for fun. When it is your job, the joy is totally lost.
Get a real job, and have music as a fun hobby. There are lots of opportunities for good amateurs.