For the Parents
One day after playing clarinet 2 years in school, I came home and told my parents that I wanted to play the oboe.
Their first reaction was, “The who?”
“The oboe Mom.”
“That’s nice.” She answered, and then said, “What’s that. That big curly thing?”
Unfortunately, this is how most parents are introduced to the oboe. The first thing to remember is not to panic. You should know however that the oboe is probably the most difficult of the woodwind instruments to start.
It’s also one of the more shall we say, unpleasant sounding instruments for the beginner to pick up.
As hard as it is though, if your child has talent and a lot of self-perseverance, it can be a wonderfully expressive instrument.
My best advice is for you to go and speak with your child’s band or orchestra director and see if he or she has any oboe teacher contacts. It is best to start with private lessons as soon as you can to avoid too many bad habits from developing early on.
If you have not had any luck finding an oboe teacher through this method, contact a local music school. If that doesn’t work, try contacting an oboist in the closest professional orchestra closest to were you live.
Many times the oboists in these orchestras either accept private students, or have an older experienced student who would be a perfect match to teach a beginning oboe student.
If you still don’t have any luck, try going over to the reed making forum. Post a request for a teacher there.
The important thing is to not give up and to support your child 100%. It is worth it in the end!
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