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Afroburst
(53 points)
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I was begging my band director to let me learn oboe for concert season next year and he told me no becuase it will mess up my embrochure. Is this true becuase I really want to play it but not it if I can't keep playing flute.
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rogi
(35 points)
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I'm sure there are exceptions, but in my case it effected my embouchure. The oboe desentitized my lips, sort of like a mild numbness.
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Micron
(1408 points)
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If you have a foundation of good flute embouchure, I am sure you can learn to have the sensation of numbness from reed playing not affect your flute playing. Eventually reed instrument playing had no effect on my flute playing. Experienced doublers can get used to ignoring the feeling of numbness, so that it has no effect, even swapping instruments within seconds.
BTW, the sensation of numbness is only temporary anyway.
The extra breath support that is vital to oboe playing may well have a spin-off for your flute playing.
Also, Sir James Galway wrote in his forum on October 22, 2002:
I play the French horn and saxophone (real bad on both) and it has not affected my embouchure at all. In fact, playing the French horn actually improved it. I became more aware of the changes which are necessary on the flute.
My brother plays the flute, Clarinet and Sax and I think he is great on the flute. |
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rogi
(35 points)
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I agree that the numbness is temporary.
My experience is that single reed instruments are easier on the embouchure than the double reed oboe.
<Added>
BTW: My flute teacher's husband was an oboist. When I took my flute lessons at her home, I could hear her husband crowing oboe reeds and practicing. I wished at the time that I could switch from flute to oboe. Fifteen years later, about five years after stopping flute lessons, I started taking oboe lessons from my flute teachers husband.
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Patrick
(1467 points)
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it seems to depend on the discipline of the doubler, I have taught a number of doublers who play flute quite well, they practice the long tones and technique exercices that I prescribe...so Micron is correct, you can't just pick up another instrument and not expect it to feel strange...if I pick up my kids trumpet and try to play it, I can play flute a few minutes later..
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StephenK
(389 points)
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Starting oboe won't kill your embouchure, it will just put it into a coma. 
What will probably happen is that you'll practice the oboe more than your flute and you'll really not get that good on oboe so soon, but your flute playing will plummet with neglect. So you won't play anything really well for a while.
Oboe playing doesn't really numb the lips, the vibrating of the reed is really inside the mouth. If playing oboe for a long period of time you can tire your lips and start to bite which puts an indentation that doesn't wear away too soon so it can get in the way of flute playing or you can play around it (or it could possibly go numb with severe biting, don't bite).
You may get to a point that to have high quality oboe playing or high quality flute playing you have to make sacrifices or practice a hell of a lot. The sad part is that the flute has to be that sacrifice. You can neglect the flute and have some tone/intonation issues, but if you neglect the oboe you will experience PAIN/suffocation/tone/intonation issues.
There aren't many flutists that double on oboe, they become oboists that double on flute.
Interestingly there is a saying that oboists make poor flute players. Though I think that it's people who fail at flute that find hope in the oboe.
If you really want to play oboe go rent one and find a good source of reeds (check out reedreviews.net). I would recommend finding a private teacher to help you pick out a working rental an get you started correctly. If you can play the oboe well your teacher will love it. They probably have bad oboe experiences... it can really sound HORRID when you don't practice. It's better to not have an oboist, than to have one that doesn't practice! Really!
The oboe can be fun or it can be hell. Depends on which way the wind blows. <g>
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suzie
(420 points)
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Personally I didn't notice too much of a downfall when switching from flute to oboe. While in a community band in MN, there was a time where I had to immediately switch between oboe to a piccolo solo (joy!) however the only issue I, personally, noticed between switching is the somewhat lightheadedness from the double reed issue. The only thing about switching to oboe that's somewhat hectic is trying to tune a duet with a flute player that's constantly out of tune-- ouch! =) I'd say to give it a try and see how it goes. You may like it and it may benefit your flute tone/embouchure and you may not like it and it may make your flute tone plummet-- who knows but at least you can say you tried! =) Good luck!
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leighthesim
(242 points)
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why not try one oboe lesson and then see if it has impacted your embrochure and if it hasn't just make sure you pay enough attention to your flute playing.
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Micron
(1408 points)
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In my experience, and I think, that of most doublers, it takes far longer than "one lesson" to get used to swapping instruments without affecting embouchures. Like everything else, it requires practice. Practice at switching instruments.
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