Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2006-05-25 03:40
>I have yet to see one oboe in that school in 5 yrs, and yet they have excellent students and an otherwise excellent music program. can't figure that one out.<
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Yeah, that is kind of a mystery, isn't it?
What is your setting -- i.e., rural, suburban, urban?
It may have something to do with what your band director, or the lower division directors, feel capable to teach.
I suspect that at least some of the oboe's reputation for being difficult, or being unpleasant when poorly played, has to do with the lack of adequate teacher training in music ed. programs. How many oboists end up as school band directors, at whatever level? (First clue: you can't march an oboe!) So, unless they have lessons, school oboists are almost always being taught by a non-player.
It appears to me that in most cases, a school program will excel in whatever area the director has the most expertise. A good brass player turns out good brass players; a clarinetist will turn out great clarinet and sax players.
And the more common the instrument, the greater the likelihood that any given director will have heard it played well often enough to know what it sounds like when played well, and thus be able to at least point his or her beginners in the right direction.
But there are just so many fewer oboists, period, so the likelihood of really "absorbing" good oboe sound and then being able to coach others toward excellence is also less likely.
Glad you want to get your kid some lessons! Go for it!
Susan
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