Noted, too, is the most difficult musical instrument to play – the oboe, described as an “ill woodwind that no one blows good.”

So … there you have it. This is, I’ve read, from Guinness World Records 2007. So it must be true … right? 😉

Okay, okay, I’ll be honest. I found other instruments more difficult. I couldn’t play the sax to save my life. I played flute before I took up oboe and I was not very good. (I was also in elementary school, though.) And piano? I played it way back when. Now I look at some of my old music and I can’t believe I was really able to play the stuff; it’s far too difficult for this oboist!

But oboe? I knew, nearly from the get-go, that oboe was “mine”. It just felt right. I’m sure I wasn’t GOOD at it at first. I seem to recall overhearing one of my parents, in fact, say, “When is she going to stop sounding like a duck?” But really, it seemed like my instrument, and I loved it. Difficult? Sure. Anything is difficult when you are striving for perfection. And we have those darn reeds to contend with. But still, how can anyone decide that the oboe is the most difficult instrument to play?? Maybe someone who attempted the thing and couldn’t do it … ya think?

As to the “ill woodwind that no one blows good.” … we’ve heard that far too many times for it to be either funny or insulting in my little opinion. Yawn.