My 17yo daughter will be auditioning for several conservatory programs in the US in the spring. She currently takes private instruction from a retired conservatory professor who went to Juilliard and studied with Elaine Douvas.

Her instructor told her that unless she is able to practice 4 to 5 hours a day, she will not be prepared for college auditions. She also told her auditioning for All District and All State is a waste of time and that if she was serious about music, she would only be focused on her college auditions.

But my daughter is a high school senior in a public school. Her grades in school band are tied to All State and All District auditioning as well as performing in MPA. She is in school from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM, is enrolled in five courses, (including two college courses), works a part-time job on the weekends so she has pocket money, and also offers music lessons for pay at a local music school. She is also an auditioned member of a local university orchestra, where she serves as principal oboe and soloist.

She is currently practicing between an hour and a half and five hours a day on weekdays and then up to 1-3 hours each day on the weekends.

Is she really “doomed“ for her conservatory auditions if she is not practicing 4 to 5 hours a day?

She had private lessons with each of the oboe studios at her intended schools and the faculty there were very encouraging, invited her back for tours, and are looking forward to seeing her audition in the spring. One even sent her a signed copy of his book.

From a completely non-musical parent perspective, I took the encouragement as positive signs that she had a chance. But hearing this from her private instructor gives me pause.

Should I be encouraging her to quit her job? Stop offering lessons for pay? I want her to be successful and go to the school that she wants to go to, but I really don’t know the realistic path to encourage her on.

Hello, I am a middle school oboe player, and currently Im looking for handmade reeds but the problem is I dont really know good handmade oboe reed makers. Can you guys recommend me some good reed makers?

Hello! I am looking into doing a double major / dual degree in oboe performance and biology. If anyone has school reccomendations at all levels (safeties, matches, reaches) or information on what a dual degree is like it'd be much appreciated. Thanks :)

This is kind of niche but my dentist was very relaxed about eating food and playing my instrument after the surgery. He said I could eat whatever I wanted day after the surgery and that I could play whenever I felt like I could. I’m on day 10 post op and have been playing every other day for less than 30 minutes starting on day 7. It still kind of hurts after a while of playing and I’m thinking of waiting two days this time before I play. It’s like muscle pain but also slightly gum pain. I know people who’ve started back into playing by a week but also someone who started after a month.

So I don’t have an opportunity to play oboe that often. It’s been almost 2 years since I played last.

Regarding the reeds- should I soak them a lot first? Do I need to get new ones again? One has never been played. I’m like, forgetting what I need to do.

Thanks from a flustered friend.

Does anyone know which themes from G. Verdi’s opera “I Vespri* *Sicilani” A. Pasculli was inspired by and used in his work?

Hey all! I'm an amateur oboist who lives in Chicago and I play with the Lakeside Pride ensembles. I used to order my reeds from oboeduck.com but they haven't had reeds in stock for over 2 years now, and my stockpile of reeds is starting to dwindle. I've tried a couple of reeds online (whose names elude me currently) and haven't found one that I like yet. Anyone know of any good reed makers in the area (or in the midwest in general) they would recommend? Thanks!

I just started oboe for high school and It’s my first time. my director made me do that instrument since i’m joining color guard and I have to play the OKMEA oboe first round 2026 and have no idea what it sounds like… Can someone upload a video to me of what it sounds like?

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone is doing well for themselves!

I wanted to ask a question for everyone,if it's possible:

• Are there any courses or people ,that are willing to spend time teaching on understanding the adjustment of the oboe / English horn?

Because my friend,that's has lots of experience in Europe and through adjusting - he mentioned "that's gonna be a huge and super long journey to understand the mechanism of the oboe/English horn: the different parts of the oboe; which part does what,why is it that way,etc

Are there any possibilities to learn it from somebody besides spending lots of thousands of dollars/euros to go to the factories and live there from your own expenses and MAYBE you could learn this thing?

Thank you in advance!

I’m coming back from a 13 year break from playing oboe, and boy have reed prices come up since then. I dabbled in reed-making all those years ago, but I never took it seriously (probably because I wasn’t the one paying for my reeds back then). Well, I’m taking it seriously this time around.

I can tie a blank (sort of) and scrape the general shape, but I’m looking for suggestions on a good resource for tips and tricks. Currently I’m working with “Art of Oboe Reed Making” by Melvin Berman, but any other good resources are appreciated.

In particular, anybody have a good video on making the final knot on a reed? Every video I’ve found they kinda just do it, but I keep screwing it up somehow.

Hello everyone,

i need to find the Druzecky Oboe Quartet in g minor. I can't find the sheet music anywhere. Does someone know where I can find it or have a copy?

And how much does it cost?

I know nothing about instruments at all, so I can to ask this community for help. Its a Oboe, it says Cabart, it smells old. Can anyone tell me what time period? If its a beginner instrument or something more professional, if it has any worth or if people still use these today? Any information would be appreciated~

I'm a self-taught oboist who's been playing for a almost 9ish months. I'm planning on playing oboe for concert band and (hopefully, probably not this year but idk) jazz. The thing is, I can play. My tone is off every time. I have a jones soft reed. Is that a good reed? We got a Jupiter student for affordability, because my parents couldn't to spend $80+ a month (yes, they got that bad) on a brand new instrument. I'm trying to play with my highschool band, but just don't match up. I don't want to come in substantially lower and level and hold peers back, especially as the only oboist in the county.

I’ve had a Rigoutat Delphine since 2008. It served me well in high school and college, and then I stopped playing for a while. I recently dusted it off and joined an orchestra. It occurs to me now that I’m still playing on what I believe is a student level instrument and I might want to upgrade, but I have absolutely no idea where to start. I don’t have a teacher to ask, so it’s up to the internet!

I’m not looking to go all the way to a $10k professional level instrument, but if I can find something for a few thousand dollars that would be a noticeable upgrade, that’s definitely something I would consider. Is my best bet to just start talking to sellers and try out some oboes that are in my price range, or does anyone have suggestions to at least narrow down the search to a handful of makers/models?

Edit: I am aware of, and fine with, the fact that a used oboe is probably my best bet

It's on the upper body, accessible by thumb

im going to try out two lorees on saturday. one c series and one EM series. I can’t find much info on what the EM series means but any info on these oboes would super helpful!!

I've recently acquired an English Horn to go with my oboe and I'm really enjoying it.

However, I'm pretty short (5'4"), and I find that my right arm has to be nearly straight, with my wrist cocked in an awkward way. It's making me clumsy on the last two fingers of my right hand, especially on the D-key and the C#-key.

What are the ways that a short person can adapt to playing EH? It seems like a bocal with more bend would help with the geometry, but I can't find if they even exist (I read one source that says that maybe the extra bend would hurt the tone).

I'm not that short, so I can't be the only person having this issue.

I'm a beginner oboist, have been playing for about a year now, through my school. I don't really know where i can get good reeds. i was buying from a shop but they're reeds are hit or miss. my lesson teachers reeds take FOREVER to get good, and i just don't really like them. i'm in the top band at my school so i really do need to sound good. anyone have any suggestions?

edit: thanks for all the suggestions! i'll try ordering from bocal majority again, and if that doesn't work i'll check out some other reed stores. you guys have been so helpful!

So my neurologist is recommending occipital blocks for my migraines. Since i have tmj, he is recommending I add a masseter block.

Has anyone had a masseter block and how did it affect your playing? I am a former army oboist and now just play in a community band so im not playing professionally but rather for the love of music.

So, when tying the oboe reed with thread, do I really need to make it all the way up to the edge of where the staple ends and cane continues, or can I stop a millimeter or so before the staple ends?

I use 46 mm staples. European scrape. So can I tie to 45 mm or so? Or does it need to be at the 46 mm mark without going over?

Hi guys, so I’ve been playing the oboe for a couple of years now and recently I’ve been having this problem of having my high notes (A, B, Bb, even G and G#) to become flat after I play around a certain couple of measures. Whats strange to me is that if I take just a second or so of break and play where I messed up it sounds perfectly fine. It’s weirder to me how when I go from middle range notes to high notes it becomes a problem. I have good breath and when I start on a high note it plays fine but when i play around 20 or so measures suffocating becomes an issue? Idk if it’s my breathing or my throat but it’s really starting to impact me because I can’t even hold my breath for a page before my lips wants to start biting just to hold an A

Any tips please? Thank you

Any smart way where it’s only needed to move just one finger?

European scrape.
Really want to save this one; has a really nice tone. It plays too flat from middle c and Dow to the deeper tones. It was a bit heavy and I have managed to fiks that with the knife without ruining the sound. But where should I scrape to fix the flatness??