Oboe Learning Methods
The best way to learn the Oboe
Our ‘Beginner’s Guide To Learning The Oboe’ series was created to assist you with your desire to learn a brand-new musical instrument. We are here every step of the way, and this section focuses on the types of learning methods that are available.
Most important ways for Oboe Learning Methods
All individuals learn in a different way. A lot of people can recall phone numbers instantaneously, whilst other people may not even be able to read. We’re all special and different. It’s for this reason that we can confidently say that there isn’t one ideal method of learning a musical instrument.
You will find four primary options available to you, each making use of their good and bad points:
- Traditional, face-to-face, one-to-one learning
- Traditional, face-to-face, group lessons
- Video Tutorials
- AppsÂ
If you’re a beginner or have been playing for years, one of those four options will be perfect for you. It’s just a matter of finding out which be is most suitable.
Traditional, face-to-face, one-to-one lessons
Having private, one-to-one lessons can be an incredible experience if you find the right teacher. There really is no substitution for absorbing all the knowledge of your teacher. I’d recommend this option by far if you have the opportunity to do so.
Be aware that not every teacher has the same level of experience.
In fact, to become a music teacher, you don’t need any qualifications at all. So there can be a real range out there.
Quite often a school oboe teacher (or your most local) is a general woodwind teacher who can play all the different instruments to varying levels. This is great because it means there is the option to choose between many more instruments, but it may mean that if the oboe is not their main instrument, you’ll want to change teacher in the future to a specialist oboe player/teacher for more advanced tuition.
The most important thing though is finding a really experienced teacher who you connect with, who understands you and your needs. Someone who makes you laugh and who you look forward to going to see every week. Being inspired by your teacher is the magic dust that will keep you learning for years to come. So it’s worth searching for.
When contacting a new teacher, don’t be afraid to ask for a consultation lesson first, to see if you like each other. Some teachers may even offer a discounted rate for ‘try-out’ lessons with no obligation to commit. You can discuss whether you’ll travel to them for lessons, or if they’ll come to you. This may affect the price.Â
Ultimately you have control over choosing the right teacher for you.
Out of all the options on this page, this is the most expensive, but as usual with things in life, you tend to get what you pay for.
PROS
- Personalised feedback
- Lessons Adapted To Your Style Of Learning
- The Most Efficient Way Of Learning
- Can Be The Most Inspiring Option
CONS
- Expensive
- Difficult Scheduling
- Finding Right Teacher Is Difficult
- Requires You To Travel
Traditional, face-to-face, Group lessons
Depending on where you live, you may be able to find group oboe lessons. This option tends to only be available to children who can have group lessons at school. The ethos is similar to one-to-one sessions, but the cost is a little lower as the teacher is dividing their time between all the pupils.
For many orchestral instruments, such as violins and flutes, group lessons are quite a good idea to start with and very common due to high numbers of interest. In reality, it’s unlikely that there’ll be many young pupils signing up for oboe lessons all at the same time in a similar age group. The oboe is quite a rare breed of the instrument and you can usually count the number of oboists in a school or district on just one hand! So group oboe lessons are rarer, but definitely worth considering if that option is there for you.
PROS
- Personalised feedback
- Can Be Fun Learning In A Group
- Cheaper Than One-2-One Lessons
CONS
- Difficult Scheduling
- Limited Choice Of Teacher
- You'll Learn At The Speed Of The Group
- Sharing The Teacher With Others
- Requires You To Travel
Video Tutorials
Free Courses
YouTube is the biggest source of video clips in the world. There is no better place than YouTube to uncover instructional content material for oboe. Because of the sheer amount of choices on the platform, it’s impossible to review them all.
Similar to most mass appeal platforms, 95% of content is complete trash, with the other 5% no cost gold dust. Discovering that 5%, however, is challenging!
The clearest tutorials that we recommend are:
FJHmusic: Measures of success video practice buddy – oboe (this has several videos which clearly show how to assemble the oboe, have good posture, form an embouchure, make a good sound and do a variety of articulation.)
oboeron – Ep.4 Beginner Oboe Tutorial
If you would rather not shell out your money, and to take advantage of the free content on YouTube, you’ll need to devote a decent amount of time choosing a well-respected instructor that you like.
Paid Courses
There are 100’s of paid Oboe classes on the internet. Yet again, like YouTube, it’s not possible to analyze every one of them. Suffice to say, here is one of the most well-liked platforms:
Â
In Udemy, there is a course called “Learn to Play the Oboe: Beginner to Pro in Under Four Hours” which you can take. You can also take other oboe-related lessons in Udemy by clicking on this link.
PROS
- Low Cost or Free
- Huge Amount of Content
- Learn Whenever You Want
- No Travelling To Lessons
- Great For Popular Material
CONS
- So Much Choice It's Difficult To Find Great Content
- Quality of Content Is Questionable
- Not Great For Classical Playing
About the Author
Katie Bennington
Katie Bennington enjoys a varied freelance career playing regularly with orchestras around the country such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra, ENO, ENB, and CBSO. She is also a keen chamber musician and enjoys working in collaboration with artists from different genres.
She is a Masters graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she studied oboe with Richard Simpson, Gordon Hunt and David Walter, and cor anglais with Jane Marshall. She then went on to take part in the LPO's Foyle Future Firsts Scheme and in 2010 was a member of Southbank Sinfonia. She was a British Double Reed Society prize winner at the Barbirolli International Oboe Festival and Competition in 2009. At GSMD she was a Needlemaker’s Woodwind Prize Finalist in 2008, and in Dec 2007 she won the Slaughter and May Musician of the Year Award. She plays on a Sound Alchemy Enigma oboe and a Loree Royal cor anglais.
Other posts by this author
She is a Masters graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she studied oboe with Richard Simpson, Gordon Hunt and David Walter, and cor anglais with Jane Marshall. She then went on to take part in the LPO's Foyle Future Firsts Scheme and in 2010 was a member of Southbank Sinfonia. She was a British Double Reed Society prize winner at the Barbirolli International Oboe Festival and Competition in 2009. At GSMD she was a Needlemaker’s Woodwind Prize Finalist in 2008, and in Dec 2007 she won the Slaughter and May Musician of the Year Award. She plays on a Sound Alchemy Enigma oboe and a Loree Royal cor anglais.
Zoom Lessons
If you’re looking for that one-to-one setup, but don’t want to trek around to a teachers house every week, then online lessons can work really well.
There are A LOT of companies out there that do lessons over Zoom, so you have to be ultra careful the quality is up to scratch. Â But the service we have found that has consistently great feedback is www.lessonwithyou.com. Â We like that they offer a half-hour lesson completely for free so you can try out the service and that they offer flexible scheduling with no contracts. Â They have teachers from Julliard, Berkeley, and Johns Hopkins – so the standard is high. Â Lastly, we LOVE that they don’t as for your credit card details for the trial lesson.
Oboe Apps
All of us learn best when educating is designed to our personal requirements. Apps undoubtedly are a hybrid between typical videos and an actual life trainer. They alter their teaching in relation to your response to the software. Due to this, if you aren’t able to have one on one classes, we would always encourage dedicated apps over general YouTube video clips. There are many, many apps available. What we suggest is:
PlayAlong Oboe
This app is available at AppStore. It’s an engaging music app that is best for beginner musicians. You can choose from their list of songs or you can also have the option to practice your scales that will make you a better musician.
PROS
- Best Cost Effective/Quality Ratio
- Can React To Your Level Of Learning
- Great For Popular Material
- No Travelling To Lessons
CONS
- No Personal Feedback On Your Playing
- Not Great For Classical Playing
Oboe Learning Methods - Summary
Hopefully you feel encouraged by all the options you have to start your journey of learning the oboe. Nothing beats having individual face-to-face lessons with a teacher you really gel with. But there are plenty of ways to get started by yourself using books and online resources until that point. Never be afraid to ask for advice. Best of luck!
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