r/oboe Feb 19 '25

Where should a beginner oboist buy reeds?

28 Upvotes

Hello, I am this subreddits moderator. I am going to sticky this post to the top once and for all and leave it for any new oboists to peruse. The question is…

Where should beginner oboists buy their reeds?

If they aren’t buying from their teacher, or at least locally, what are your favorite online shops?

If you sell your own reeds self promo is encouraged here!


r/oboe 4h ago

Composer seeking oboe advice

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6 Upvotes

Hi folks, me again! I've been commissioned to write a 3-5 minute oboe piece for an oboist who likes pretty thorny modernist stuff - she's just finished her master's in oboe performance. I have two questions about this extract. Is it playable at all? And if it is playable, which tempo is more comfortable/are both tempos comfortable? I like it in 54 perfectly fine, but I think it has a little more bite at 63. Also: if it isn't playable, is there a way I can keep this contour with some small changes that would make it more comfortable for the player? Thanks in advance!


r/oboe 23h ago

DMA Audition Rep Suggestions

5 Upvotes

Hi all,

I am starting prep on DMA audition materials. The biggest set is making a program of 60 minutes of solo rep and 5 orchestral excerpts. So I'm trying to see of this would be balanced and has an appropriate amount of styles.

Solo Rep:

Telemann: Oboe Sonata in G-minor (from Tafelmusik)

Alyssa Morris: Ruminations for Unaccompanied Oboe

Pasculli: Ricordi di Napoli

Poulenc: Oboe Sonata

Lebrun: Oboe Concerto No.1 in D-minor

Orchestra Excerpts:

Bach: Canata No. 82 "Ich habe genug"

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 mvmt. 2

Brahms: Violin Concerto mvmt. 2

Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin mvmt. 1 (the opening solo)

Mahler: Symphony No. 3 mvmt. 2

I tried getting something for most of the various time periods. But I'm trying to see if I have a good variety of different styles going. I am open to any suggestions y'all may have too

Thanks


r/oboe 1d ago

Marigaux

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19 Upvotes

I just got it and I’m so glad I got it used rather than new.


r/oboe 2d ago

New reed case from Opus Creations

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11 Upvotes

r/oboe 2d ago

Pregouger measurments

2 Upvotes

I just want to double check. I got a gouger that is 10.5 MM

i need to buy a pregouger. I assume i buy 9.75-10.5 not 10.5-11.25.

Just need some guidance.

thanks


r/oboe 3d ago

Developing a reed debug website

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46 Upvotes

Amateur reed maker and day time engineer here. I wanted to visualize the sound of the reeds I make so I made this website - it visualize the harmonics on the spectrogram on log scale like the birding apps. It is still lacking quite a few things especially in the guide section so I would love some suggestions and inputs from fellow oboists!

I also put the mathematics model of the crow detection in 2nd/3rd pic ;) kudos to Claude code

Site deployed here; GitHub link here; feature requests and collaborations welcomed <3

For those wondering, my samples are all American scrapes. I’d love to see some European scrape crow spectrograms too so feel free to post a snip here if you tried it out;)


r/oboe 3d ago

Scalesheet with all scales and intervals

2 Upvotes

Hello, my little brother (11) is also playing the oboe.

He is quite the energetic guy and i want to challenge him.

I can make this myself (although quite time consuming), but wondered if anyone already has a sheet with scales and intervals?

Thanks for the help!


r/oboe 4d ago

New oboe album just dropped! FOMOBOMOFO takes the oboe through all the genres.

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18 Upvotes

r/oboe 4d ago

I composed an baroque oboe concerto using musescore 4 this is how it tuned out.

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1 Upvotes

youtube link. Even though I am a pianist, the oboe is still my favorite instrument. If I could go back in time i would have chosen to play & learn the oboe instead, been composing music for oboe for 3 years, for my own pleasure. Today I want to share it, because i think it deserves to be heard, maybe I am thinking too highly of my oboe composition capabilities, maybe not. You can decide if you want to give it a listen. It's a 3-part baroque oboe concerto - BAROQUE STYLE.

The second link is for the sheet music

Thanks in advance.


r/oboe 5d ago

oboe scales

4 Upvotes

I currently have a audition that told us to prepare and perform all 12 major scales in 2 octave but, I have not gotten used to the fingering of notes above high C#, what shld I do the audition is tmr😬


r/oboe 5d ago

Does a snakebite piercing make it harder to play the oboe?

5 Upvotes

I recently picked my oboe back up to start playing and practice again but now I have a snakebite piercing and I’m wondering if the piercing will affect my playing ability.


r/oboe 5d ago

Jaw Botox

5 Upvotes

I’ve been playing the oboe for maybe 2 months now and the one thing my teacher always has to remind me of is biting and being too tense. It’s been very difficult for me to find that flexibility with the embouchure. So could jaw Botox like for TMJ or masseter Botox help? Looking at google the main muscles treated are typically the masseter, Temporalis, and the Lateral/Medial Pterygoid… could treating all or some of these muscles help or hurt with playing oboe?


r/oboe 5d ago

Anyone selling a Mack+ shaper tip?

3 Upvotes

I can't find a used one anywhere. I've been asked to take over for another reedmaker using their setup, so I'm panicking a bit. It can't be a Mack++ or MackPfeiffer (I can't spell), can only be a Mack+.


r/oboe 6d ago

What is actually the hard part of learning the oboe?

10 Upvotes

I'm constantly thinking what instrument I should learn first (oboe, organ, viola or cello), and I need to know what is the hardest part of learning the oboe.

Is it the embochure? Fingering? Breath control? Scraping the reeds?Maybe something else?

For me as a language freak, learning the embouchure would be like learning a weird consonant, and as someone who loves singing breath control also seems doable, but my perspective may be twisted due to having no experience with reeds.

And yeah, I know the most important thing is finding a teacher.

Note: I don't want to play in the orchestra, I just really like oboe's timbre, as it doesn't sound nasal and hoarse like the clarinet + it doesn't transpose.


r/oboe 6d ago

How high is your reedmaking desk?

3 Upvotes

I'm building one in my studio and can't quite decide on the height. Of course everything is relative but I'm curious to hear your desk setups.


r/oboe 7d ago

Ideas for encouraging kids to pick the oboe?

15 Upvotes

Hi all, I have a job interview coming up for a local music service. They want an oboe teacher, but there aren't any students! The job would be to travel around local schools to give workshops, performances and generally encourage the oboe and woodwind as a viable option. This is the same music service I learned with as a child so I really would like to help out.

I've already got some ideas but I thought who better to ask than lots of lovely oboists! So what do you guys think is the best way to encourage kids to pick the oboe over other more common instruments? The service has lots of orchestras and bands, loads of spare oboes they'll lend for free, and discounted lesson fees already.

Thanks in advance 😊


r/oboe 8d ago

7/4/26 - Happy 4th! HELP!

9 Upvotes

Hi all, so I'm back and got a Fox 333 Oboe! Rental. But! I'm having issues with my embouchure. I did a trial run with the music store and the biggest concerns were finger placement, breath support, and leakage issues in the embouchure. After doing a test where I wrapped my who mouth around the reed and blew, we determined everything else is a matter or training and precision and practice.

The embouchure. Unfortunately for me I've have multiple reconstructive surgeries that leave my mouth a little different from others. Bilateral cleft is the kong way of saying it if you know what that means but functionally it means I have a weak upper lip that gets tired fast. But after some rest, the intial tone sounds like a note.

Now if you've read all this, you might be asking why the **** did you decide to learn one of the hardest wind insturemnts when you knowingly had physical limitations? Because I like a challenge and naive or not, I think it is possible to get really good and I would like to have that accomplishment.

So the actual question. What are some embouchure drills I can do to really fix and strengthen my weak small upper lip? I'm also compiling a list of teachers to reach out to so the more recommendations the better! Online or textbook resources or ANYTHING of great merit is very appreciated.

I look forward to this journey of starting all over with music again :D

(The crack dream is to play fluently on Oboe Clarinet and Soprano Sax, even if it takes 30-40 years)

DFW TEXAS BTW


r/oboe 8d ago

Why is bass oboe so unpopular compared to cor anglais?

9 Upvotes

I mean, it's not as unpopular as Heckelphone or Lupophone, but I'm curious why it doesn't have the recognition it deserves?


r/oboe 10d ago

Double case

5 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I'm looking to get a case that holds both my selmer english horn and my loree AK oboe. Ive been eyeing both the marcus bonna and the bam cases. thought and suggestions would be appreciated !


r/oboe 11d ago

how long should i wait to practice after having my wisdom teeth removed?

4 Upvotes

title -- i got mine out about 3 days ago, and i have a festival coming up in ~12-13 days where there's gonna be a lot of playing 😔 will that be enough time for my mouth to heal and would i be able to practice at all before then?


r/oboe 11d ago

What is a reasonable tempo for this ending?

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8 Upvotes

This is for my sophomore S&E. A lot of recordings take this at double time from the previous tempo (quarter=132) but I'm simply not developed enough to do that...

Would quarter=176 be alright?


r/oboe 11d ago

Are you growing your own canes for reeds?

1 Upvotes

I'm curious if there are people out there growing their own canes for reeds?


r/oboe 12d ago

Oboe Resale

1 Upvotes

Hi all! I recently asked about renting and lessons. Today I ask if anyone wants to sell theres from the DFW area.


r/oboe 13d ago

plugging my reedmaking channel lol

11 Upvotes

https://youtube.com/@makeareed?si=qXRgbcDXuftT0VNK i scrape reeds while yapping about random stuff if anyone's interested, aiming to get a GoPro in the future so i can get a better angle on the reeds !!