oboeinsight

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What physical traits make it easy for someone to play oboe?

I’m joining middle School Band this year, but first I have to go through mouth piece testing. You might know what it is, but just in case you don’t mouth piece testing is where they have professionals from each brass or woodwind instrument come to the school and get people to do things or look for traits that a person has that would make it easier for them to play that instrument (like try to keep a beat for percussion, see if they have a hangover on their lip etc.) And I really want to play oboe, but I don’t know what I’ll get a high score for in mouth piece testing. So what kind of traits make it easy for someone to play oboe? I know you have to kinda tuck your lips into your mouth, and I don’t have braces so it won’t hurt to do that. What other things like that would make me get a higher score for oboe?

I refuse to believe someone can’t play oboe because of some sort of mouth issues. I’ve heard people say this before. I’ve read that “people with big lips can’t play trumpet”, too. Rigggghhhht.

Now hand issues might be a problem; the spread between fingers is a bit larger than for some instruments. But I’ve yet to turn away a student for hand issues. (I will say, though, that I don’t accept students who don’t already read music. I know some oboe instructors do, but I prefer not having to tackle music reading along with everything else.)

What do you really really really need to play oboe? A desire to play it. Diligence. Patience. Money. (Sorry, but it’s true … you have to think about those costly reeds!) A decent oboe. And #1? An oboe instructor.

Really.