Why Learning Clarinet or Oboe: Advantages and challenges

Because they give you two of the most recognisable colors of the orchestra and the band. The clarinet is a motif: warm at the grave, bright at the sharp, capable of whispering or bearing the tune of a band of pits. The oboe has a unique, clear and penetrative voice and as there are often less oboists than flatists or clarinetists, who play it well is very welcome in youth orchestras camera groups.

The two of them are pounding with cane and that's what the experience means: a very expressive sound, but also a scuba that you have to care about and put back. Here we tell you what each of them contributes to, where they are to be touched in Colombia, to whom every instrument best goes and what challenges to expect.

To sum up

The clarinet uses simple cane and is of the most versatile instruments: gangs, orchestras, jazz and music from the Caribbean and the Colombian Pacific.
The oboe uses double cane, gives the one to tuning the orchestra and has a sound that distinguishes between all the others.
There are often less oboists than clarinetists, so an oboist prepared is highly valued in orchestras and camera groups.
Both train a fine monitoring of air and lips and an ear that's very attentive to tuning.
challenges: change of clarinet registration, demand of boe double cane and care with climate changes.

The colors of wood: why they sound so different

Flute, oboe, clarinet and fagot are from the same family but each one produces the sound in a different way and that's why the composers use them as a pallet of colors. At Prokophiev's "Peter and the wolf," the bird's the flute, the duck's the oboe, the cat's the clarinet and the grandfather's the fagot: four characters, four timbres a child recognizes at first attempt.

Clarinet: simple cane and many characters

The clarinet has a cane that vibrates against the nozzle and an almost cylindrical tube. That's why his serious record (called chalumeau) sounds dark and velvety and his sharp, bright and clear. Few instruments change so much character within his own registry and few can play so soft: a pious of clarinet can be about a whispering.

Oboe: double cane and a singing voice

The oboe is touched with two pits of cane that vibrate with each other. The result is a focused sound with a nasal and very expressive touch that is heard above the orchestra without the need to play strong. That's why the composers entrust them with pastoral, melancholic or very lyric melodies and by tradition it's the instrument that gives them the instrument for the whole orchestra to tuning.

Where they play in Colombia

Clarinet and oboe in different formats
Format	Clarinet	Oboe
Wind band (college, town or symphonic)	It's the base: it's usually the largest row and carries a good share of the melody, as with the violins in the orchestra.	Not all gangs have them, and in symphonics they usually have outstanding soles.
Fandangoes and pawns of the Caribbean	Protagonist with an agile and adorned melodies.	Unusual.
Symphony or youth Orchestra	Two or three an orchestra with important soles.	Two or three per orchestra, sometimes one of them also plays an English horn.
Camera music	A quintet of wind, trios and quartet of clarinet.	A quintet of wind, trios with piano and Baroque sonatas.
Popular music	Orquestas de porro y cumbia, chirimia del Pacific and traditional jazz.	Arrangements for film music, orchestral pop and fusion.

The clarinet's tradition in Colombia was very strong. The porro and cumbia orchestras of the mid-20th century had as its leading character, with Lucho Bermudez, his own clarinetista, as one of his great reference points. At the Chocoa Pacific's chirimia, the clarinet often holds his main voice. And at the gangs of schools and municipalities, most often, his instrument with more attril, if that's his best interest, reads his wind bands in Colombia: how to start with..

Why the oboe's low and so valued

In youth orchestras, symphonic gangs and camera groups, there are often more flute or clarinet seekers than oboe. The reasons are known: the instrument is more expensive and delicate, double cane requires a more patient start and few children know it when choosing instrument.

That's a very good side for those who are cheered up. A good-sound oboist usually finds place in assemblies, has many alone in the orchestral repertoire and, at least, each weighs more into the group. If you're attracted to have his own voice within the orchestra with a repertoire that goes from Baroque concerts to great symphony solo, the oboe gives it to you.

What train each

With the clarinet

A stable air column, because the clarinet punishes the irregular air with shilling or falling notes.
Agile and coordinated Fingers: The passage between logs, the famous bridge, forces several fingers to move at once with precision.
Transpository reading: The clarinet itself reads a note and sounds another, something that you learn to manage with nature.

With the oboe

A very fine control of the lips: minimum changes to the mouth move tuning and sound color.
A different air management from that of other winds: little air, a lot of pressure and to learn how to let go of the remaining air before breathing again.
A very attentive ear: as an oboe hears so much, any detuning also hears.
Handicraft patience: to review, remove and, with time, to adjust the rods is part of the trade.

Clarinet or oboe?

Clarinet and oboe, side by side
Aspecto	Clarinet	Oboe
First sound	He arrives relatively soon, and what costs after that is his registration step.	More picky at first by double cane.
Reeds	They buy them made, in boxes, and they rotate.	They are bought and more delicate and with the years, many oboists learn how to put them into place.
Gender diversity	That's quite an extensive feature: classical, and with his band and his jazz and his Colombian music.	Especially classical orchestra, camera and repertoire.
Seas in assemblies	There's a lot of clarinetists, so they compete more for a place.	There are less oboists and they are valued.
That's what you're up to if...	You want to play with a band and in different styles.	That's how orchestral sound looks and you enjoy polish details.

On the pages of clarinet classes and oboe classes and if you doubt between the clarinet and the flute, at [truthful or clarinet flute]](/blog/flauta-traversa-o-clarinete) We've been completely comparing them.

Honest challenges (and the Colombian climate)

The clarinet bridge. It's the first great challenge of the instrument: at first the notes are cut or squealed at that step and outperformed with slow practice.
The double cane of the oboe. At first it's hard to find a stable sound, and the cane greatly influences the result. To have several rods in good condition and to guide a teacher from the first day prevents frustrations.
Reeds that are spent and changed with climate. The two instruments have to have their replacement and the oboe should plan with time to get them. In the dry air of Bogotá they are resected faster and in hot ground they respond differently.
Delicate tools. The oboe has a fine mechanism that gets bad with the pounding and the wooden clears also demand care. Learn how to care about them from the start. In the case of an oboe, we tell you about how to care for an oboe and its rods.

Frequently asked questions

Can you move from clarinet to oboe?

That's a common path. Reading, air handling and several digitations that you have from the clarinet help you, but the double-cane pursuit will be learned again. It's best to do so with a teacher that will correct the pursuit from day one.

What's an English horn?

He's a relative of the oboe, longer and worse, with a paddle-shaped bell and a darker and more melancholy sound. He's usually touched by oboists, so learning oboe also opens that door to you.

Clarinet as a bemol or as a cleft?

To start with, as a bemol: it's the most widely used in bands, orchestras and study methods. The clarinet appears in the orchestral and camera repertoire and the clarinetists that go that way add up later.

Why Learning Clarinet or Oboe? The Colors of Timber