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.

In this series...

Summary

Oboe Facts

How to choose an Oboe

Oboe Learning Methods

How To Play The Oboe

Improve Your Oboe Technique

How To Read Sheet Music

Oboe Practice

Oboe FAQ's

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
Apps

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.

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

CONS

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

CONS

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:

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.