Having just taken my grade 8 I find myself with lots and lots of spare time, especially with GCSEs over.

I think now is the perfect time to concentrate on getting another instrument up to a good standard but I am unsure of what combinations work well.

I've been advised by one party to go to the more traditional combination of Sax, Flute and Clarinet but another party said to go down the double reed route and take Oboe and Cor anglais up.

Does anybody have any suggestions?

What combinations do you have?

I play Bassoon by the way

Pick something that you like the sound of.

Double reeds seem the most obvious choice, since you already play one, and you will be in demand as there are fewer of them around. However, flute/sax etc possibly more versatile - classical, jazz etc (jazz oboe, anyone? no, I thought not..

Alternatively, you could do something completely different - drums, piano, bagpipes?

There are several jazz bassoonists (works well) and Karl Jenkins (of Adiemus fame etc) used to play jazz oboe with The Soft Machine ...

But since you play trumpet, why not work that up? If you want to play pit gigs, however, flute/clar/sax... but you'd better have lots of money.

Nick

Oh - and of course Andy Mackay played oboe in Roxy Music ...

Nick

Make it what you want to play.

Id love to do bagpipes! Bit strange seen ad Im not Scottish though, although.... I could get some when I go in the Summer... Haha

Money isnt really a problem either, I already have alto Sax, Tenor Sax, clarinet and oboe. The problem is that I have too many instruments and I feel I'm spreading myself too thin and need to focus on one to get that to the same standard as bassoon.

What combinations work well together? I've been told I shouldn't do brass again because it uses different lip muscles and will affect my bassooning. Would oboe be much of a difference? I know that clarinet embouchure has to stay the same for the majority of the registers, unlike bassoon and would be a completely different technique of playing.

Violin!

No, I'd say choose something you really feel like learning, whether it's similar or completely different. Don't feel you have to go down the double reed route...

Er - and do remember that after the holidays, A Levels are likely to begin so the free time may start to dwindle rapidly.....

Oh yeah forgot about them...

Or just learn to do this ...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GkeEvFIBxec&...feature=related

nick

I see you've already got a Grade 5 piano, I would be inclined to either give that a push, as the piano is always useful, or go for the oboe, I would have thought you could make reasonably swift progress with that.

As you have just finished GCSEs what are you thinking of for A-levels and beyond? If music college or somesort would they rather have one good instrument and two reasonable seconds, or two good instruments or what?

Alternatively, what about singing?

Firstly to nick; that is just weird! Who'd want to do that?!

And sencondly, I hope you have nerver heard me sing! I cannot sing at all. I just about stumbled my way through those stupid aural things!!

I do want to do music at A level and dont want to use piano as my second instrument there because it is nowhere near as good as bassoon. I feel a woodwind will be pretty easy to get to a good standard over the next two years.

The only careers in music that interest me are being a teacher or going in like pit orchetras or something. I've been advised by a lady who runs a production company to go for oboe because ill never be out of work. But would that be the same on the teaching side? Do you get many oboe and bassoon students? I dont think so.

In that case I'd stick with the bassoon.

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Firstly to nick; that is just weird! Who'd want to do that?!

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You didn't like it?

I thought it was rockin' - Paul Hanson is one heck of a bassoonist ....

nick

Are you really sure about what you want to do after school? You haven't even taken your A-levels yet!

You still have loads of time. Take a deep breath, relax, enjoy yourself and choose the instrument that really interests you.

Besides, you can't start work till doing the obligatory interrail trip round Europe, or 'bumming round the world on a dollar a day'

Steve

I have enquired about oboe and that seems set to role. Its the instrument i feel will help me and will be more of a challenge than the clarinet, which I wasnt too interested in anyway.

Now, though, I have another problem. My bassoon teacher's partner has assumed that I want clarinet lessons off him and started me with them last night. My knowledge of the clarinet helps me with composing but I dont think with playing the bassoon I''ll ever need to play the clarinet proffesionally.

I have a good knowledge of the clarinet already and feel having these lessons is making me resent the clarinet as an instrument because the teacher has a very unorthodox, somewhat aggressive approach in his attitude to teaching it. I dont want to let him go though because my bassoon teacher is likely to leave me then, and thats not what i want. I dont know what to do. He used to conduct my wind orchestra and gave me good advice and changed my perspective of music there, but he's not a good one to one teacher.

What should I do?



And I dont really know what i want to do yet. I just feel that in music those are my only interests. And whats that about europe?

Thank him for his interest and support but tell him that you realise that you are not really attracted to the clarinet. Why would this make your bassoon teacher dump you? It would hardly be an adult reponse.