Hi,

I'm sure everyone hates these kinds of questions, but I'm looking for valid advice and wasn't sure whether to post it here or in the oboe forums, but figure some of my questions are more bassoon related than oboe And sorry for writing a book :S

The details:
I am 32 and have played flute and piccolo since I was 12. Prior to that I played piano...not well, but enough. I am only involved in the local community band scene - I am not professional nor do I aspire to be. Hopefully that won't make you all think less of me, but it is what it is.

Now, the questions.
I've played flute/picc for 20 years and am thinking now of switching. When I first began, I really wanted to play the oboe, but our school only had 1 and the older student had dibs on it, so the band teacher started me on flute and would switch the following year once the grade 9er left. Well, I ended up moving to another city where the band program started in grade 7 (as opposed to 6), so the teacher wouldn't let me switch because she liked having a strong player able to assist her in showing the new players the ropes. Yay. Then in grade 10, the band teacher at my high school wanted someone to switch to oboe but my parents had already bought me a flute and I had bought a piccolo the year before and so switching wasn't an option. Fast forward many many years.

I'm playing in the local community band setting and flute players are numerous, there are even more picc players than I had thought there would be, and while this doesn't REALLY bear anything on switching at this point, it's something that's in the back of my mind.

But, now I'm at a point where while I still love playing flute/picc, I want change. And while before oboe would automatically have been my choice to switch, over the last few years i've really learned to love the sound of the bassoon. And really, though the oboe IS vastly different than flute and the fact it was my first love - it's still a mostly "melodic" type instrument in a band setting with it doubling either flute or clarinet parts with the occasional solo work.

So now I'm stuck with a choice - bassoon or oboe. Either way, I would be renting for the forseeable future since I know I'm not going to spend the money on a bassoon or oboe unless I know I'm going to stick with it for years to come (I hope to, but one never knows, right?). The big con towards the bassoon is the fact that it's $100/mo to rent, while an oboe is less than $50). And if I make the choice, I know that the cost of a "cheap student model" locally is about $5000 CAD for a Selmer plastic bassoon or $8000CAD for a Fox 220).

Many people I've talked to worry that I might find the bassoon parts in a concert band setting "boring" after playing flute/picc for so many years, but I'm thinking it would be nice to play in a supportive role rather than always having to "shine". Are bassoon parts THAT boring in concert bands? (we play grade 2-5 band level music). While I'm looking for that supportive, will I be bored out of my skull? (ugh, playing LONG TONES throughout music as well as practice?? *snicker*)

I also know the fingerings are much harder than the flute, would learning the fingerings as well as having to adjust to bass clef be really difficult?

I know it sounds like I'm already leaning towards bassoon, and I am in some ways (though part of me is also still itching for oboe), but thought I would ask other people their opinions as well. Especially since you might think of things I haven't.

Well, I will chime in on this and perhaps someone else will give you another viewpoint.

I'm a bassoonist, but in my opinion here's the pro's and cons:
1) you will have to schlep around a very heavy pile of stuff with the bassoon in comparison to the oboe (or the flute to which you're already familiar) My joke to fellow orchestra players is "In my next life I'm playing a piccolo!"
2)in grade 2 band music you will be playing very boring stuff on the bassoon; in grade 4 and above you will have interesting and "notey" parts and quite a few solo parts
3)the oboe definitely gets more solos so if you are wanting to shine, you should head that way; but correspondingly has faster music like the flute so it would be harder to work your way into a band situation until you get fluent
4)the bassoon's fingering is the most complicated of all the instruments. You can look at that as a minus or as a bragging point, whichever.
5)bassoon stands, bassoons, and reeds are more expensive - either a minus or a bragging point - your choice
6)oboe reeds are far more fiddly and prone to going out on you at the worst opportunities
You will be very welcome in most bands on either instrument because of their rarity.

I play the oboe but I started with the flute. Some people told me that it was too difficult to play the oboe so therefore I started with the flute but after some years I bought an oboe and though it was difficult the first years, the oboe is the number one for me. I still play the flute and it happends that I get the opportunity the play the flute instead of the oboe in my band.
Some people says that you can´t combine the flute and the oboe but that has never been a problem for me. I would like to try the bassoon also, but a bassoon is too expensive for me because it will be my second or my third instrument.

First question, does either instrument make something possible that would otherwise be impossible? e.g. would having a bassoon mean it would be possible to form a wind quintet? If so then the answer is a no brainer. Even if you spent a lot of money on an instrument, then in 2 years time you won't care if the instrument is a good one and you enjoy playing it. 2nd if my experience is anything to go by, if you still want to play the flute then keep the oboe/bassoon top secret, because I will guarantee that you will be asked to play them. Another thing, I would keep whatever you choose top secret until you are ready.

Thank you everyone for your replies!!

I think I've made my decision to go for the bassoon as opposed to oboe - though I may try oboe later on, I really am looking for a real change, and bassoon is pretty much as far from flute as I can go (unless I hit up the tuba..). Plus, with slower parts, I may be able to integrate to a higher level band quicker than I would on oboe (granted, if level 4 music and above is harder, than it'll still be a while before I'm up to that standard I'm sure!).

And Drew - your first point really made me laugh!! I'm the last one to finish packing up with the 2 instruments, plus instrument stands, etc. and whining about too much stuff..so hey, nothing new there except for the WEIGHT!!

Thank you all for your input!