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Original poster

Too many flutes. Oboe or Clarinet?

51 replies

AntEater · 14/02/2007 13:07

DD1 play the flute to an average school orchestra standard, only prob is that the orchestra sounds justlike James Gallways band as there are SO many flutes.. (plus all the kids with the hyper competitive mums play Flute )
Anyway, time for another wind instrument.. I like the oboe, dw likes the clarinet.
Any advise on this??

OP posts:
IntergalacticWalrus · 14/02/2007 13:08

Oboe.

I plyed the oboe ats school (still do now, sometimes as a professional, but only when persuaded with bags of money!)

She will always be in demand.

TooTicky · 14/02/2007 13:10

Oboe. And bassoons sound divine....

percypig · 14/02/2007 13:11

Oboe - then she can play 'Gabriel's oboe' for you! Also I think the clarinet is a bit more squeaky!

drifter · 14/02/2007 13:12

Oboe is a very unreliable and frustrating instrument - unlike most instruments, it will NOT be the same every time you pick it up - all depends on the reed.

Having said that, oboes and french horns are the shortages at the moment, so if you pick oboe, she will be in demand to play in orchestras etc!

tortoiseSHELL · 14/02/2007 13:12

oboe definitely. Clarinet is the only banned instrument in our house because it sounds so horrible when it squeaks!

beckybrastraps · 14/02/2007 13:13

Oboe.

I must dig mine out...

Kelly1978 · 14/02/2007 13:14

clarinet. I prefer the sound of a clarinet. Used to play years ago.

mylittlestar · 14/02/2007 14:16

I played oboe. Very difficult sometimes and you do need a good reed. But I was always in demand in the orchestras as nobody else wanted to play it!

Beetrootccio · 14/02/2007 14:18

nevr enough Frenchh Horns

WigWamBam · 14/02/2007 14:22

Oboes squeak as well! Particularly in the hands of a young learner.

Oboes tend to be less popular, so if she's good she'll be in demand. Plus if she relies on the school to supply an instrument, there may be more chance of one being available than a clarinet. They can be more difficult to get a nice sound from though, and some people find double reeds harder to play than single ones.

I am a clarinetist though, so my bias would be more towards the clarinet.

Could she have a go at both, and see which she prefers?

Miaou · 14/02/2007 14:24

I played the oboe for two years. I wasn't that good and never got beyond the "duck quack" stage . You need to buy decent reeds and they aren't cheap and can be difficult to control. The fingering is complex too.

All that said - if you are a good player it is the most beautiful sounding instrument and incredibly satisfying to play.

tortoiseSHELL · 14/02/2007 14:25

but when an oboe squeaks it doesn't cause a physical pain all up my spine...

Original poster
AntEater · 14/02/2007 15:29

Thankyou!
Trip to music shop to try them out then!
DS1 plays the cornet and nearly got talked into getting him a French horn.. HOW MUCH! May settle on a tenor horn

OP posts:
harpsichordcarrier · 14/02/2007 15:30

CLARINET

actually I agree with Beety how about a lovely brass instrument
maybe a tuba

harpsichordcarrier · 14/02/2007 15:32

v useful book imo

MrsBadger · 14/02/2007 15:32

Oboe
then if she likes it there's the option to move onto the cor anglais and she'll be in even more demand as no bugger plays it.

Or she could take up the piccolo... (ghastly squeaks ahoy!)

RustyBear · 14/02/2007 15:33

How about the bassoon?
DD's clarinet teacher was always trying to get people to play the bassoon - apparently there aren't many of them about.

I don't remember DD's clarinet ever squeaking badly, but maybe DD was just good at it! - I never managed to get even a single sound from it at all....

harpsichordcarrier · 14/02/2007 15:42

clarinet pretty straightforward to start with imo., also nice solo stuff and flexible (jazz etc)

IntergalacticWalrus · 14/02/2007 15:43

If you do take up th oboe, buy a nice one for her if you can. There's nothing worse than a cheap oboe with crap reeds.

harpsichordcarrier · 14/02/2007 15:45

QUACK! QUACK QUACK!

IntergalacticWalrus · 14/02/2007 15:46

I must say though that I am glad I don;t tecah the goose tube (although technically I could I suppose)

String instruments are best, IMHO (athough not the violin)

Miaou · 14/02/2007 15:47

Anteater, have you seen the price of oboes? I bought mine secondhand twenty years ago and it cost me £500

beckybrastraps · 14/02/2007 15:50

Actually, I would say French horn. I love the French horn. Dh plays the French horn...

And the oboe does tend to sound disconcertingly like a kazoo when you start to learn. Sublime when played properly of course, but for the first year - well - those hyper competitive mums will be preening themselves comparing the breathy efforts of their little darlings to the bizarre buzzing from the novice oboist.

IntergalacticWalrus · 14/02/2007 15:51

But most insruments sound shite in the first year or so.

IntergalacticWalrus · 14/02/2007 15:53

Oboe porn

I have a Buffet Crampon English Thumb Plate Oboe similar to this one. They aren't bad for student instrumnets. You could prpbably get one for about £500