Fil-Am Vets Rondalla
bassoon, oboe, clarinet or flute? which instrument to get in a symphony orchestra?
Hi there, I’m working to get in a music school this year, but I’m twenty now and I’ve never played an instrument. I have done a little research on these instruments, but I want to learn that which one has more chance to get me in a local symphony orchestra after a 4 years of practice in school? I heard bassoon may have a little more chance due to its rarity but I don’t know how easy to master it. I appreciate all comments, thanx.
I’m never one to discourage anyone from learning music, but I’m a little uneasy about your ambition to play in a symphony orchestra if you’ve never played an instrument. How do you know you will even like it? Classical music is an extremely competitive field, and there are many, many people out there competing for jobs who have been playing since they were five years old. On the other hand, I have heard of some extremely gifted people who mastered an instrument up to professional level in just a few years, but that is very, very rare.
Of the four you mention, from the most to the least competitive are : flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon. So, yes, bassoon puts you at a huge advantage on the job market.
But a bassoon is expensive to buy, very difficult to master as a first instrument, and requires that you learn how to make your own reeds–as does oboe. If you don’t really, really enjoy working on finely-detailed projects with your hands, neither oboe nor bassoon are right for you, no matter how musically gifted you are.
Despite all this, the most important factor in choosing an instrument has to be how you feel about it. You have to like the sound, and you also have to love how it feels to play it. It has to feel good in your hands and in your mouth. To play really well you have to feel as if the instrument is really a part of you, which will only happen if you feel passionately about it.
In order to do well, you will have to practice many, many hours a day, at least four, preferably more. There’s no way you can do that for years on end if you don’t absolutely love it.
Best of luck.
5 Responses to “bassoon, oboe, clarinet or flute? which instrument to get in a symphony orchestra?”
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October 22nd, 2009
Posted by admin in flutes instrument | 5 Comments »
Clarinet is the most popular I think, I’d go with bassoon and oboe.
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i’ve played the flute for years and so have a lot of people. it depends on how many of them they have and what parts they need. i think u should put on the resume that you play all of them and then write which one ur best at or the one u like to play the most. then they’ll have a choice of what they need, and you’ll have a larger chance because you are versitile
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Well you are correct about the bassoon…it is a great thing to play, and has just a great sound….however i do know it is the hardest of your options to play, it takes alot of practice, and is not an easy thing to pick up…in 4 years…that might be hard. The oboe is also a different sound, not quite as hard as the bassoon, but also a hard one to pick up. These are uncommon in some symphony orchestras, but I have seen them.
The Flute is the easiest, and has a great sound, with practice in 4 years you would be ready…problem is there are alot of people who play this instrument. I
The clarinet is my least favorite of your choices, although it would be easier to learn, and they are also common in an orchestra,.
I would say if you have ALOT of time to practice, and pick up these kinds of things, go for the bassoon…..or oboe…..if you want to breeze through, play the flute its a good sound, with less practice.
References :
I’m never one to discourage anyone from learning music, but I’m a little uneasy about your ambition to play in a symphony orchestra if you’ve never played an instrument. How do you know you will even like it? Classical music is an extremely competitive field, and there are many, many people out there competing for jobs who have been playing since they were five years old. On the other hand, I have heard of some extremely gifted people who mastered an instrument up to professional level in just a few years, but that is very, very rare.
Of the four you mention, from the most to the least competitive are : flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon. So, yes, bassoon puts you at a huge advantage on the job market.
But a bassoon is expensive to buy, very difficult to master as a first instrument, and requires that you learn how to make your own reeds–as does oboe. If you don’t really, really enjoy working on finely-detailed projects with your hands, neither oboe nor bassoon are right for you, no matter how musically gifted you are.
Despite all this, the most important factor in choosing an instrument has to be how you feel about it. You have to like the sound, and you also have to love how it feels to play it. It has to feel good in your hands and in your mouth. To play really well you have to feel as if the instrument is really a part of you, which will only happen if you feel passionately about it.
In order to do well, you will have to practice many, many hours a day, at least four, preferably more. There’s no way you can do that for years on end if you don’t absolutely love it.
Best of luck.
References :
My wife plays the bassoon and I know it is a very hard instrument to play. I am assuming you haven’t played an instrument before, you might have a hard time to master it enough to get into a local orchestra. I hope this helps.
Best of luck with your decision.
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