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So
you want to learn a musical instrument? We advise you what instrument to
play, where to buy one, how to get lessons, what it will cost -
everything you need to know about instrumental tuition
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Pay the Piper
The Oboe
Family: Woodwind
Cost: from £900
Best age to start: 11 years upwards
Easy to start? No
The oboe
is a member of the woodwind family although the cheaper ones
(comparatively cheaper, that is - all oboes are expensive) are made of
a robust, heavy plastic. You hold it in front of you and blow directly
through a reed (two carefully-shaped pieces of bamboo-like material
joined together). It is the reed which vibrates to make the sound,
rather like blowing a blade of grass between your thumbs.
To make the different notes you cover and uncover holes with a system
of keys operated by rods and levers. The advantage of this
complicated system is that there are alternative ways of
fingering many notes, so whatever the order of the notes you need to
play there is always an easy way of doing it.
To play the oboe you need to have arms strong enough to support the
instrument although it's a lot lighter than a clarinet. It is common
for children of 11 or 12 to start on the oboe. We would think twice
about starting before that. One thing to bear in mind is that to form
the "embouchure" round the reed, your lips need the support
of the teeth, which isn't good if you still have your milk teeth and
is impossible if you have no front teeth at all! Also, quite a lot of
"puff" is required. All oboes are the same size, although
more advanced players will often "double" on the cor anglais
- a slightly larger oboe useful in some orchestral music.
The oboe is not a particularly easy instrument to start, and it will
be some time before you can make the very beautiful, plaintive sound
for which it is famous. In fact, for quite a long time you will make a
very squawky noise which is not particularly pleasant for those that
have to listen to you! By the time you get to Grade 4 or 5 there is
little difference between the oboe and other woodwind instruments,
though.
The oboe usually comes apart into three pieces, and packs into a
fairly small case - not difficult to carry at all, and the cases offer
excellent protection. They're easy to lose, though. Put your name
inside!
The oboe is principally an orchestral instrument, but can also be
used in wind bands. However it offers excellent opportunities for
group music-making because there are not many oboists around, and if
you become a good player you will find that you are suddenly very
popular! The oboe has a deeper "big brother", the cor
anglais. This is used in some orchestral music but is not a suitable
instrument for a beginner - learn the ordinary oboe first.
Oboes are quite robust in normal use. They do not like being dropped
or knocked, though. Bent keys can make an expensive repair, and
chipped plastic can be completely unrepairable. Every couple of years
you will have to have the pads renewed (the soft pads fixed to each
key that close the holes off) which can cost as much as £50 or £60.
The reeds cost from £5.50 each, and can last several months. On
the other hand, if you catch the delicate tip of the reed on your
clothing and chip it, it could last only five minutes! You need to
have a couple of spares with you all the time. Some experienced
oboists learn to make their own reeds. Apart from that, there is
virtually no maintenance to do.
A good "student" oboe costs about £900. Alternatively
they can be rented from some music shops. There are not many bad oboes
on the market, but for the beginner two good makes are Howarth and
Ward & Winterbourn.
If you'd like to listen to some wonderful oboe music while making up
your mind, try "The Magic of the Oboe" CD. You can buy it
online by clicking
here.
One of the most popular tutor books is
Learn
As You Play Oboe by Peter Wastall. Some people try to learn the
oboe by themselves without a teacher. We don't recommend this. But if
you're absolutely determined, while
A
Tune a Day for Oboe is fairly old and may no longer be the best
oboe tutor book around, we still think it's particularly suitable for
lone students.
SUMMARY
Expensive instrument
Fairly difficult to start
Quite hard to find a teacher
Excellent opportunities for group music-making
Not particularly prone to damage, repairs can be expensive
Very easy to transport
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