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[oboe-ity]

*slams reblog*

[oboe-ity]

TPOTD #3: So I’m looking at concertos to possibly do this year for our youth orchestra’s concerto competition and this is possibly the strangest (looks very difficult too) and most amazing movement in a concerto and I love it.

[oboe-ity]

Credit to the original poster. Any others?

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my instructor: change your reed every one or two weeks

me, playing the same fucking reed for six months: cHanGE yOUr rEEd eVEry oNE oR tWO wEEks

[oboe-ity]

can someone tell me why he’s conducting with a toothpick 

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"Why don't you just soak it with your spit?" -clarinet

Beginner Oboists...Tip #2

Tip number two! Always use H2O for soaking your reeds. And if you don’t know what H2O is, then go read a science textbook! NEVER use your SPIT/SALIVA/WEIRD BODILY FLUID THAT YOU EXCHANGE WHEN FRENCH KISSING to soak your reed. ENZYMES (go read that book if you don’t know) in the saliva break down the cane in the reed, water doesn’t. So, if you’re coming from Clarinet, your ways of soaking single reeds don’t work on us double reeds.

[oboe-ity]

pros and cons: oboe

pros:

There's little to no competition unless you are auditioning for a very advanced ensemble or live in a very large area. Oftentimes, as a middle school/high school student, there is a very high demand for oboe spots and not enough oboes to fill them. This is not to say that you can blow your audition and make any band or orchestra, but there's definetly a better chance that even if you make small mistakes here and there, you are still able to get at least third oboe.

A lot of the time oboes receive solos in a symphonic band/orchestra environment- even in middle school if you are a fairly new player, which definitely pushes you to be a better performer.

If you also play other reeded instruments, oboe is definitely a great instrument to switch to. I played clarinet before I picked up the oboe and I definitely found the oboe much more of an "exciting" instrument and the experience definitely made it easier to starting playing the oboe. (Clarinet and oboe are not identical in terms of technique and fingerings, but having past knowledge of reeded instruments is definitely a plus).

cons:

Again, there's little competition. For three years, I was the only oboe in my advanced band and in my youth philharmonic last year. This meant that a lot of solos were on my plate after playing for only 4-5 months that put added stress. However, this made me a muchh better player early on.

A lot of people who have little to none musical experience loveee to ask what's wrong with your clarinet and have never heard of your instrument. This also means a lot of oboe and ducks jokes that try to discriminate you from the rest of the band. In terms of band directors, many of those I've had tend to ignore the oboes.

Reeds. Reeds suck. If you haven't learned to make or use a reed knife and you don't have a private teacher to make them for you then you're stuck with the limited variety and quality of your local music store, which is okay if you are just starting out, but becomes a problem later on. Also, reeds tend to be bipolar depending on the weather, elevation, etc. which can be an issue depending on the elevation you live at vs. where your store bought reeds were manufactured. Double reeds in general are very expensive in stores if you want good quality (unlike privelaged single reeded instruments). Many reeds also need to be "broken in" in order to be playable, which can take anywhere from a day to a week depending on the reed. Afterwards, they tend to be playable for a while before abruptly going dead, which can be inconvenient if they always seem to fall after dress rehearsals if you're me. Lastly, there is a lot of stigma coming from other players about "blaming the reed" when it is in fact the problem.

Overall:

There's little competition in middle school and high school

Great instrument to switch to if you're looking for a more interesting or advanced instrument

Lots of solos

A lot of ignorance and stigma coming from people who have little experience with the oboe

Lots of unique problems that come with double reeds

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Old scores.. 😊

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TPOTD #2

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my orchestra conductor: count your rests!

me, an intellectual: just feel the music™

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Today's piece of the day (TPOTD) #1: My youth philharmonic is playing an unabridged Carmen, Suite No. 1 and I can’t wait to play all these oboe solos ^^

[oboe-ity]

I feel like this describes me perfectly- I've been told by teachers that I have a habit of making weird expressions with my eyebrows while I'm playing solos!😂

stupid things the orchestral instruments do when they're performing

violins: they do this dramatic swaying thing and sometimes the performers' faces look like they caught a whiff of something that isn't good or bad but it's iffy as hell

violas: they drop their instrument real low, like almost so that the scroll is hitting their knee, and they almost hop out of their chairs. it's kind of intimidating

cellos: classic cello headbang

basses: that head thing djs at discos do

oboe: my god they're like the violins on steroids. they move all over the place and their expression just becomes more and more pained as their solo goes on. don't even get me STARTED on the eyebrows

clarinet: like the oboe but slightly more chilled out

flute: they lean forward and bob their heads as they AGGRESSIVELY spit into their instruments

bassoon: sometimes they close their eyes and start kind of dancing really passionately with their instrument and it's kind of uncomfortable to watch

the entire brass section: they sit fairly still compared to the other instruments, but they're still guilty of excessive eyebrow raising and lots of disapproving squints as they realize they're playing out of tune and everybody heard it

percussion: they get really excited before they get to play their one note like they'll hop around and start dancing and bobbing their head before their triangle part and it's adorable

piano: headbanging, head bobbing, swaying, pained expression (usually no eyebrow raises, though), and they sometimes drop their heads so that it looks like they're sniffing the keys

[oboe-ity]

Hi there!

–I’ve been playing oboe and taking lessons for almost three years and I’m starting high school really soon. I’ll be posting oboe memes, tips, videos, and auditions that I’ll be doing. Enjoy!

-Oboe-ity❤️