I have successfully learned the first three notes on the oboe!
It was a challenging week. As far as woodwinds go, I’m almost positive that oboe is the hardest, just based on my experiences so far. The fingering patterns for scales are very challenging – I say pattern, but it almost seems like there is no pattern at all. With other woodwinds, like flute, generally when you add a finger, the note gets lower, and when you remove a finger, a note gets higher. With oboe, to switch from C to D you have to add four fingers AND go from covered to half-hole on the first finger. All of that to go up one tone!
I am also noticing that I get fatigued and have to stop playing VERY quickly. I need to work in smaller doses to start building my muscles before I try to play for 15 minutes straight.
While the oboe is very challenging, I am excited for the challenge. It is the first instrument I have picked up that hasn’t immediately been easy for me, and I think it is good for me.
Below you will find a video of me playing Au Clair de la Lune, which uses the first three notes of the Bb major scale. Enjoy (and please ignore my weird facial expressions)!
Good job!! The oboe is notorious for being the most likely hardest instrument in concert band, so don’t feel discouraged!! In high school our band hardly ever had an oboist just because they are so challenging to master.
Sounding good! Great progress and thanks for incorporating a video. Just a tip, you will have better video quality if you film in landscape mode as opposed to portrait. See https://www.covideo.com/horizontal-vs-vertical-videos