I play the oboe for fun for about the past year, and it seems after i play for about a minute and it feels like I just ran a mile. My heart rate is up and i have to like breathe very hard. My friend has the same problem except she feels dizzy. What am i doing wrong?

the reed might be too hard

Yes, the reed could be too hard. Also, you should use breath support. If you don't know how to do this, you should find an oboe instructor who can show you. You could also possibly be blowing to hard. The oboe takes a lot or air, but it is possible to overdo it! Hope this Helps!

Oboegirl

Yeah, the oboe does take a lot of air. But you need to force all that air into a very small reed. You really should have an oboe instructor at least for a few lessons. You have probably developed lots of bad habits by now. Over blowing may be one, or even the wrong embouchure. Your reeds may be very leaking, oboe not sealing, all sorts of things.

I don't know about anyone else but when Im done, Im always hungry... I think its because the reed is too hard, but my oboe teacher said to go up to a medium.

In other words, I say the reed is too hard, or yes it could be the emboucher (sp?)

YES! Me and my oboe teacher ALWAYS get hungry after playing. It just takes a LOT of energy to play. I know when I was a beginner oboist I was usually dizzy and tired.

Anyway, playing the oboe is not an easy thing and you will be physically tired, at least more than when playing the piano. However feeling exhausted is not normal. The way one breathes IN and OUT is extremely important. This breathing technique is quite specific to the oboe (not identical to the saxophone breathing technique for ex.). Probably you get exhausted because you don't breathe out conveniently. Get all the air out of your lung before breathing in. This technique must be thoroughly trained and mastered to avoid excessive fatigue.