Oookay, what can I do on the oboe after Grade 8?

I've just finished year 11, so I've got 2 more years of music tuition, and I'd like to do something assessment-based, because I generally work well for exams; I find expanding my repertoire boring, I like to be "forced" to progress because then there's something definite... can't really explain it properly myself, but anyway, I'd like to do some sort of exam or performance on the next level up.

I've seen all sorts of acronyms in peoples' signatures and so on, and I know that one thing I could do is a diploma, but I'm not sure what it entails, nor am I sure what any of the other things (like FRSM?) are, so if somebody coud explain those to me, I'd really appreciate it.

What would be really cool is if there's some sort of certification which would enable me to teach beginners, or something along those lines; there's absolutely no chance of me doing a degree in music, I'm not doing either the GCSE or the A-level, so I'm never going to be a real teacher, but I think that even charging, say, a half or a third of whatever happens to be the going rate, is a pretty darned good money earner instead of a saturday job for a cash-strapped student. If these qualifications exist, I'd like to do that!

Basically, passing music exams and ticking off the levels on my way up is a hobby for me, and I'm never going to go on to university and do music, but I'd like to teach beginners, or failing that, just work for some more music qualifications and certificates for fun... so, what is there out there?

Thank you!

Have a look at this section of the AB website.

First of all, pour yourself a lemonade for having got through the exam! Make sure you let us know your result when you get it.

The AB offer three diplomas, which are (in ascending order) DipABRSM, LRSM and FRSM, equivalent to the performance standard expected at the end of a first year, final year, and postgraduate year at university or music college. Trinity and London College of Music offer similar levels of diploma, but their Dip is replaced by A, so it's ATCL and ALCM (I suspect that someone decided that ARSM sounded a bit rude!).

It's important to stress that there's a HUUUUUUUUUUGE leap between Grade 8 and diploma standards. Whilst there's no harm in exploring the repertoire, DipABRSM is often misperceived as Grade 9, which it isn't.

As far as I know, there's no course for would-be teachers.

Trinity offer a Performer's Certificate which seems to be a stepping-stone between Grade 8 and a diploma, which might be worth investigating (although after their recent merger with GSMD, they're currently reviewing their syllabi).

Or expand your repertoire with a view to putting on a concert.

Be careful if you're planning to undercut local teachers, though - you could upset some people by doing this!

Couldn't you learn some other grade 8 oboe pieces for fun whilst working on piano and doing grade 8 on that? If Trinity publish a new oboe syllabus you could work for the performer's certificate on that as well - it's probably better than a diploma at this stage.

By the way, I think you can do music at uni without GCSE/A level in it...

Wait for your results before planning anything.

Deborah's right. Wait before starting teaching, at your age I wouldn't consider it ... yet. As Katyjay has put in her signature, there's more to music than exams. Enjoy your Oboe for a while. Learn the Marcello concerto complete, learn all Schumann's three romances. Enjoy the Saint Seans and Poulenc Oboe Sonatas they are great pieces of music.

Then when you have your results talk to your teacher, but don't rush into DipABRSM.

Congratulations on all you've achieved and are hoping to go on and do in the future. Just one plea though - please don't start teaching (especially beginners) just because you see it as a nice little earner on the side.

There have been many threads on this in the past but teaching is a career and a vocation if you're going to do it well. Beginners are some of the hardest pupils to teach (especially on the oboe) and it is essential that you are dedicated to their well-being and see yourself as able to teach them for a while to come. If you're planning to head to further education soon, consider if it's fair to start people off on an instrument and then perhaps disappear out of their life in 18 months time.

I'm sorry if this sounds negative - I'm all for encouraging people to teach if it's really in their heart to do so. However, very sadly, I've picked up too many young oboists in the past who've been sold badly short by their teachers so I am always wary of comments such as you have made here. If you are really committed to your would-be pupils and believe you can explain clearly to them how to play the oboe if they are a complete novice, look after their reeds etc for them, then go for it and good luck.

As to qualifications - others are right, the distance between Grade 8 and the first diploma is big. Why not explore a lot of challenging repertoire, play a lot in orchestras/ensembles etc and gain a wide range of experience - you'll need that for a diploma anyway. Then, after about 12 months you can decide how to move forward regarding exams. Enjoy being a musician, not an exam-machine

Good luck with whatever you decide though.

Oboist

Sorry, that's one thing I hate about computers... whatever I say never has the right nuance; I don't see lessons as a nice little earner on the side, I really would be committed to teaching and maintaining everything, but point taken, I hadn't thought about any prospective students and what they would do after going off to university. Maybe that's something to investigate later on.

I think I might be just a tad eager to get stuff done... it's like, "right, done that, now what?". I find that I always work best to a "deadline" such as a performance or the like, so I'm pretty keen to do the next levels of performing, but I appreciate everybody's points about development, I think that might be best for me.

So, last question... in order to expand repertoire and generally become a better player, does anybody have any suggestions?

Thank you for all your comments, they've been really helpful!

Some of the standard recital repertoire for oboe includes:

Marcello concerto in c minor,
Handel Sonatas
Mozart Oboe Concerto
Mozart Oboe Quartet (try to do this with string players, although the whole thing has been arranged as a sonata)
The Albinoni Conecerti
Telemann Sonatas
Schumann Drei Romanzen
Saint Saens Sonata
Poulenc Sonata
Richard Strauss Concerto (the first movement is really tricky but its a good one for breath control)
Lennox Berkley Sonatina

For technique you cant go wrong with Ferling Studies.

Before teaching read up on Instrumental Knowledge, and make sure you are absolutely grounded in good technique, especially posture.

How good are you at scraping reeds? I always have to adjust mine, and when I do teach beginners, their reeds often need adjusting at least once a lesson.

Can you wire, rewire an oboe reed. These are prerequisite skills required before teaching.

Could you advise a beginner about the choice of an oboe?

You need to be able to to all these things.

You are young to start teaching. It might be better to wait a couple of years first. be guided by your teacher, and listen to their advice.

Have you considered entering for a local music festival (or if you are willing to travel, any music festival). This would give you something to work for and aim at, and many have high standards, especially in the 16+ age range. It would also give you the chance to develop your playing/repetoire while still having a deadline to work for. Classes are usually competitive, but some Festivals have some that are not. The quality of the adjudicators does vary, but you would receive some feedback in the form of a mark/category as well as comments. Most Festivals have a prizewinners concert at the end at which they feature the most successful performers from the festival and this is a further performance opportunity. You would also probably meet other people with a similar interest to your own.

Good Luck!