Hi Everyone,

Just thought I'd introduce myself. I am in my late 20's and played Oboe (Grade 5) and Piano (Grade 4) when I was at school. Recently I have started working in a Secondary School and it has inspired me to re-visit the things I learnt when I was at school but have almost totally ignored since then. I have particularly enjoyed supporting GCSE music lessons.

So last weekend I got my Oboe out for the first time in months, maybe years, with the intention of having bit of tootle and seeing if I could still do it. To my horror and shame I found that the cork had dried up and fallen off so I couldn't even put it together! I took it to a local wind specialists and they estimated it would cost 560 Euros to repair and have a full service. It is a very old Oboe and was old even when I started playing when I was 11yrs old...

So my dilemma is do I pay to get it repaired (560 Euros), or do I buy a new one (1200 Euros min) or do I just forget about it and carry on as I was. I should mention that I live in Germany (but am British) hence prices in Euros. This also makes it difficult to find a new teacher as I don't speak German and I think Oboe teachers are hard to find anyway.

Please give me some advice. I want to do this before it is too late but fear that it may be beyond my reach now. Also any advice on restarting an instrument after 10yrs or so from anyone that has done that would be great.

Thanks.

Hi Colourful Lady, and welcome to the forums.

I'm afraid I'm not an oboist, so can't help you with that. But if you pay a visit to the Viva Woodwind board, there may well be people there later today who can offer suggestions.

Best of luck with getting your instrument sorted.

Cheers

Katyjay

I also can't help on the oboe front - but if you feel moved to restart musically, then go for it. It's never too late to (re)-start

Oh, and

I'm afraid I don't know much about oboes, but I make a cracking cup of tea.

Don't worry about re-starting an instrument after a 10-year gap! I have done it, and am currently teaching others who have done it / are doing it. The only difference is that the second time around there is usually more motivation.

I suppose the option between repairing and buying new depends on what your oboe is worth. Maybe ask the repairer who gave you the quote? It also depends on how attached you are to it.

I started to learn the oboe as an adult, then didn't really play for 10 years. I restarted about 2 years ago and restarted lessons 6 months ago. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly it all came back to me and now I'm playing better than I was before! I've rediscovered just how much I love the oboe and the process of learning an instrument. So go for it!!

I don't think that I can really advise about your instrument, I was fortunate in that my oboe was playable after 10 years, although I had occasionally played it just to make sure it still worked. I suppose it depends on whether it is worth the cost of repair, but 1200 euros is a lot for a new oboe. Could you find anything second-hand?? Some people have found real bargains on ebay but that really is a lottery. Howarth's in London would be worth consulting if you're ever in the UK. They are double reed specialists and know what they're talking about. If you google them you should get to their website.

About a teacher, it's definitely worth looking around for someone. My playing has improved out of all recognition since having some lessons. I hope you can find someone who speaks English!

I started learning the oboe as an adult having played various other instruments when younger. I agree with what Itchy said that whether to have it repaired or not depends on how good an oboe it was to start with. I think for 1200 Euros you are probably only going to get a plastic one. If your original one is wooden it might well be worth spending the money to have it repaired. Also 560 Euros seems a lot of money. I bought a second-hand one last year and had it completely repadded and the cork joints replaced for 350 Euros (this was in France, hence the euros). I then had some further work done on the keys and the mechanism by Howarth which was not strictly necessary but has made it more comfortable to play. Howarth are very helpful - you can send them an e-mail to make an appointment in advance if you are only going to be in the UK for a short time. Also, I'm not sure that the Germans use the same system as you have on your oboe if it has a thumbplate.

Like you I am British and am learning the oboe in France. I do speak French fluently (having lived here for almost twenty years) but I have found that things like the names of notes are so ingrained in English that I have trouble responding to them orally in French. If you are living in Germany you must surely speak some German (even if you don't think you are fluent) and I would be inclined to think that if you can find a teacher who speaks a little English you would probably be able to manage. Since you can already read music the sheet music can resolve some language problems - I tend to point to a passage rather than name the notes and get my teacher to do the same (ie point to where he wants me to start rather than say "play from "A, D, F #") and demonstrating by playing rather than verbally explaining is also useful. You will acquire the precise technical terms along the way. I think the most important thing is someone who is open-minded and can cope not only with the language problem but with a different way of learning - French musical education is very different from what goes on in the UK.

I found my oboe teacher at the local music school which accepts adults as pupils. You could also try asking the music shop who quoted you a price for repairing the oboe if they know of any teachers. And, of course, if you work in a school, you should try asking the pupils.

If you want more details about what it's like learning in a foreign language, feel free to PM me.

560 Euros!!

What make is it? If it's a good wooden instrument, it's probably worth repairing, though the price does seem rather high. When you say 'cork', you mean the tenon cork at the joints? I put a new tenon cork on my old oboe last year. It's not very difficult. You can even buy strips of cork specifically made for this.

The reason the price is high is likely to be because it's a complete 'overhaul' which includes removing the keys, changing all the pads, cleaning the wood, possibly changing some springs, then reassembling, oiling and regulating the system.

Can't you ask them to just change the cork first, then any pads. If it's been stored correctly for all these years, the pads may still be okay. Get the teacher to check it out for you. If an oboe doesn't play correctly, it's not necessarily due to pads. A small adjustment to one of the tiny screws is often all that's required.

Steve

I see you work in a secondary school - are there teachers who teach instruments to the students at the school? Is there an oboe teacher who comes to your school - even if they can't help you, they may 'know a man who can'? Or if not an oboe teacher, a woodwind teacher who may know oboists?
Or if you don't have music teachers visit your school - are any of your music GCSE students oboe players? They might be able to give you the name of someone you can make 'first contact' with and then go through the above - if they can't help you, do they know someone who can?

I just wanted to add to my previous post that pehaps you should see a teacher 'before' having your oboe repaired. He/she may even mend the tenon cork for you - 'while you wait'.

Best to get their advice before paying out a fortune!

I liked your comments:



For heavens sake! I dare you to go to the clarinet and oboe boards at www.woodwind.org and say that!

There are musicians in their eighties posting there. I learned most of what I know about clarinets from a guy who's 75 and still plays regularly in an amateur orchestra. I believe there's lady in her fifties who's just started oboe and posted a few messages.

'Late 20s'? A mere embryo!

Steve

That's what we get for living after centuries of pre-conditioning that learning or indeed any sort of education ends when we leave school. We don't suddenly become totally incapacitated to learn anything after leaving full-time education, in fact, we get better at learning as we get older. The attention span of an adult is far higher than that of a child, problem solving abilities are greater and an adult has an increased desire to learn for their own satisfaction. I also know plenty of the older generation who've mastered computers, internet and chat room access, TV remote controls, mobile phone texting and dishwashers with the same deftness as that of a child, although TV programmes and the media would want us to think otherwise.

It is a huge myth that it is ever 'too late to learn'. More so that ever before, modern society dictates that we have to continue learning new skills and evolving if we are to just survive. This has always been so, but it's just that progress in many areas these days is so fast we need to keep up or risk really being left out in the cold.

I only just noticed this but want to echo the others - late 20s is SOOOO not too late

Welcome!

Thanks everyone for responding so quickly and for all the great advice. You've made me feel very welcome!

My Oboe is a Boosey and Hawkes 300 it is a plastic beginners Oboe. When I was in Sixth Form I started saving for a replacement as my teacher at the time told me that to progress I needed a better Oboe. (However the money went on driving lessons and uni as they were more pressing needs at that time.) The Oboe needed work doing before the cork fell off as "E" sounded weird and muffled. I assumed it was the pads that needed replacing but I never checked so maybe it was/is just a screw that needs adjusting. I had also played it for over 5 years as a teenager without it being serviced so thought it could do with a good overhaul anyway.

The 1200 euros is for a new wooden oboe but I can't remember which manufacturer, although I assume it is a German one. I think it is quite a basic model as the man in the shop was looking lots up on his computer and he came up with lots of quotes for much more than that! I think it would be the same design as mine as he said mine was a semi-automatic so that was what he searched for. I didn't realise they came in different ways!

Thanks for the advice regarding a teacher. I will ask at the (English) school that I work at and then try the music shop if I need to. Thanks Kerioboe for the advice on learning in a foreign language. If I have no luck with English speaking teachers I may just be brave enough to try and overcome the language barrier with a German teacher, as you say the sheet music is the same.

By the way I am 6 months pregnant, anyone else played woodwind when pregnant? Wondering what baby will make of it and if I'll run out of puff quickly.

And I take your point about my age. Must have been feeling old yesterday!

Thanks again everyone.
Colourful Lady.

We all have days like that welcome, and good luck finding an oboe and a teacher

560 Euros does seem a lot to have a plastic oboe repaired. As others have said, the best thing would be to find a teacher and ask them to have a look at your oboe and tell you if it is worth having it repaired or if you are better off buying a new one.

I took up playing the oboe after having children so can't offer any advice on playing when pregnant. There was, however, a thread some time ago about playing various instruments when pregnant so try doing a search.

I played the piano right through both my pregnancies without too much trouble but found sleep deprivation after the babies were born (particularly the second) meant I played very little in the months following their births. I would be inclined to put off actually starting lessons until after the baby is born, settled into some sort of routine and sleeping through the night. However, I would use the time between now and then to sort out the instrument problem and to find a teacher.

Welcome to the Forums! Having read your post, however, I've decided that from your viewpoint I'm probably already dead!

Very excited today! I went to the music centre at the school I work and asked about Oboe teachers. They seemed very excited to meet a restarting Oboist introduced me to a woodwind teacher and then lent me a recently serviced Oboe to borrow over half term hols!
They also tryed to persuade me to join their band.

I have been playing the Oboe from when I got home from work until my mouth wouldn't do it anymore! I got on ok especially after I realised it was a Conservertoire rather than Thumbplate model! Found all my old music including beginners book and found alternative fingering there.

Just so excited and happy that I wanted to share with you guys. I don't think hubby will understand my excitement so much.

Fantastic! What a great start! Hope you go from strength to strength

I don't know anywhere apart from Britain that uses the thumbplate method. Most oboes sold in the UK have an easily removable thumbplate so they can be sold everywhere. I only know the conservatoire fingerings and once tried a thumbplate oboe. Far too complicated for me!


That is without doubt one of the best ways to make fast progress and it's great fun. However, when I joined a wind band as a clarinetist I was able to 'hide' among the others. This was especially important when I discovered that my sight reading was not as 'fantastic' as I'd thought!

Find out if they already have some oboists and make sure the band director knows your level, or you may be expected to play solos on the first day!

Good luck!

Steve

I Just wanted to wish you good luck not only with the Oboe but the baby as well...

There was a thread awhile back discussing playing whilst pregnant and I would urge you to use common sense..there is no reason that I can see why you shouldn't play whilst pregnant but please don't over do it or make yourself dizzy...build your strength gradually and if you feel any twinges or gidyness then stop and have a rest...I am NOT A DOCTOR so if in doubt consult your GP or Obstetrician...

As for the age factor, well that really doesnt come into it...AmandaL and I are VERY ELDERLY and we play the Oboe so I wouldn't give that another thought...

If possible have a quiet word with an instrument technician about your Oboe and see if the repairs are worth it....if not shop around and see whats about maybe on the good secondhand market. Sadly though unsurprisingly Oboes are very expensive and immensly fickle so we just have to grin and bear it...If you know one system i.e Conservatoire or thumbplate I would stick with what you know..both have their advantages and both are equally lovely..but Conservatoire is best (AmandaL will have my guts for garters for saying that )

Good luck with your playing and the forthcoming baby...

Kindest regards

Andrew

AUK, you may be very elderly but AmandaL definitely isn't.

KatyJay it was only a joke hence the

I sincerely doubt that AmandaL would take offence if she did I feel sure she would e-mail me...

Sorry, gonna' have to correct you there. Oboes are generally made in the conservatoire form and a thumbplate added.

Adding one is easy and relatively cheap, but REMOVING them is expensive and quite complicated. All the post holes need to be plugged for starters - and even the best repairer will never be able to 'hide' those filled holes entirely. If the instrument has a third octave key, it makes it even more difficult.

Additionally the linkage in the keywork between the top and bottom joints is different in the two systems.

Er... don't you mean the opposite? Removing a thumbplate takes a few seconds with a small screwdriver. Adding one? I don't think I'd like to attempt that!

However, you're right about filling the holes etc - but I'm not sure that an oboist would see that as a problem. I have an old plastic Fox oboe that I bought with the TP removed. There are a few indents where the posts have been removed and someone has possibly tried to melt the plastic slightly to cover them.

Holes in grenadilla are usually filled with grenadilla dust mixed with a thin form of superglue and then smoothed. I've never tried this, but I've heard that 'in theory' all traces of the holes can be hidden. I guess it depends on the skill of the repairer.

Steve

PS I just realised that if you're talking about brand new oboes sold to retailers for modification and then resale, then of course, adding a TP system is probably better than removing one.

Yes.

I've never known anyone buy a dual system and then take the thumbplate off. If you don't want the tumbplate then it would make more sense to buy a conservatoire system instrument in the first place, rather than have a load of posts and linkages left hanging on the instrument that are not required.

Is it just C and B flat that have different fingering? It doesn't seem too hard to learn just 2 different fingerings! (Especially as I'm restarting anyway.)

Thanks for the great welcome and advice.

Hi - don't know anything about oboes but I am having lessons in a foreign language (Italian) and I can highly recommend it! I do speak Italian but, like a pp said, it is difficult to get used to the different words for notes in another language but it is great fun! I wouldn't let it put you off....

Apparently it is not that complicated to have one taken off. I am saving up for a cor anglais and have been investigaing the different possibilities. According to a Howarth technician, who posts on another (specialist oboe) forum, it is possible to have the thumbplate removed and not too expensive (although he didn't put a figure on it). He didn't seem to think it was something strange to be doing and in fact suggested it as a possibility - second-hand conservatoire only cor-anglais seem to be quite rare.

In a perfect world, yes. But, because despite the high prices in the UK, the cheapest brand new oboe is made for the UK market - ie the Packer oboe from www.johnpacker.co.uk. This is sold with a removable thumplate which can be removed in approx 60 seconds. Unfortunately, this leaves a post with a nasty looking sharp spring attached. You can either cut the spring off, remove the post completely, or just leave it.

On the continent, the closest to this oboe is the Wisemann sold on Ebay. But for many reasons this does not command the same respect as John Packers.

People on the continent choose the Packer, because they can resell it with or without thumbplate.

Over in the USA, they have the Barrington oboe, which I think is just the Wisemann. Surprisingly, all have decent reviews. Check out the UK packer site to see what I mean:

http://www.johnpacker.co.uk/instruments/101577.htm

Reviews for the Barrington can be found at www.woodwind.org However, you'd have to pay import duty if you bought it here!

Steve

PS I'm not for one second saying that the Packer oboe is a rival to Marigaux, Loree..etc Far from it! But it is a very good instrument for a beginner, and let's face it, oboes are not exactly cheap!

Thought I'd update you on how I've been getting on.

Today I went to the Music Centre and introduced myself. They have quite a few groups running on a sat am including Concert Band, Junior Band, a couple of string groups and a little kids drum group. The lady in charge (who had already leant me an Oboe a couple of weeks ago) introduced me to the conductors of the concert band and the junior band and told me to have a wander and join in where and when I wanted to. I decided I wasn't up to joining concert band yet and sat with the under 12s in the junior band. I had a great time. The music was easy to follow, the conductor was good so I could follow when I had many bars of rest and I felt I made a positive contribution as the only Oboe. Also everyone was making mistakes and losing their places now and then so I didn't worry if I did too.

Had a chat with another adult there playing tuba and also with the conductor and will go along to junior band until I feel confident that I have regained my skills enough to join the concert band. Also had to take my 3yr old with me as hubby is away with work, she was very good but don't know if adults would be so tolerant! She was invited to join the drum lesson but was too shy to go.

Overall a good morning.

Sounds like a great start well done!