well, I used to go to a primary school in Japan, which meant... I had to play the recorder(german fingering descant) for 4 years.



I started the Oboe a little less than a year ago(as some of you know), and I thought has playing the recorder helped with learning it?





Any thoughts?

Probably.... similar fingering (well, C fingering) and learning a bit of breath control.

No expert though...

I wonder about fingering technique?

Quite possible, considering how "neat" you have to be with fingerings on the recorder.

Recorder definitely helped me with clarinet, which helped with sax, and I would imagine oboe as well!

I played a lot of recorder before starting the oboe. The main advantage, I think, is for the forked F, which has always seemed natural to me (probably more natural than the "proper" F fingering). It also meant that I knew what tonguing was. Breathing and breath control, however, are totally different.

I think possibly what gives you the biggest headstart when you take up a different instrument is being able to read music, having a sense of pulse and good relative pitch. This means that the only (???) thing you have to concentrate on is the actual production of the notes.

With German fingering recorder, F is just 3 left hand and 1 rith hand

Liz, to me that explains why you've taken to the oboe so readily and easily. My two children learned recorder with me for about 5 years during primary school age and both transferred onto other woodwind so well as a direct result. Recorder is a fantastic portable instrument. So definitely

Sara

Played the recorder from the age of six (self taught!!!), because the school I was at didn't teach music - we had morning assembly plus a group singing session for half an hour a week, but no notational reading skills were taught or formal lessons whatsoever in basic theory or practice.

Moved to the clarinet, aged 8 (nearly 9), took up the violin just over a year later, played the flute on and off throughout school years, but never seriously. Took up the cello while at music college. Started the oboe in 1997, as an adult. However, progress on that was fast once I'd got over the initial stamina problems that come with oboe embouchure etc.

Definitely think that learning other instruments helped my oboe progress in general and most certainly having played other woodwind instruments.

I find the forked F much easier than the proper fingering for the reason that I also play recorder.