Oboe rental and lessons...affordable at all?

Question:My school's wind ensemble's oboe player (who's extremely talented, and'll be playing in college) is graduating this year. It just so happens he's the only oboe player in all of our band, and I'll be moving for symphonic to wind ensemble the start of next school year. I've been playing clarinet for six years now, and have wanted to learn oboe since my second, so this seems sort of perfect- if I can manage decency on the instrument by next year that is.

SO- I just need to know about how much rental of an oboe and lessons would cost. I'm also looking to rent a sax and get lessons for that so I can join jazz band next year, and possibly bass lessons, so I'm just trying to see if this is affordable. It's starting to look like I'll have to put off getting my first car in exchange for all this!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: My school's wind ensemble's oboe player (who's extremely talented, and'll be playing in college) is graduating this year. It just so happens he's the only oboe player in all of our band, and I'll be moving for symphonic to wind ensemble the start of next school year. I've been playing clarinet for six years now, and have wanted to learn oboe since my second, so this seems sort of perfect- if I can manage decency on the instrument by next year that is.

SO- I just need to know about how much rental of an oboe and lessons would cost. I'm also looking to rent a sax and get lessons for that so I can join jazz band next year, and possibly bass lessons, so I'm just trying to see if this is affordable. It's starting to look like I'll have to put off getting my first car in exchange for all this!

Oboe is an interesting instrument. I am a clarinet major and am currently taking an oboe class. Lessons are definitely necessary to get you going. As a clarinetist, the fingerings should not be too difficult, though compared to the clarinet I think they are poorly designed. The biggest and hardest thing you will need to learn if you are serious at all about the oboe is reed working.

Lessons for just about anything at a high school level run about $15 per half hour. Better teachers will cost more. I paid a college professor $60 an hour for lessons in high school.

A new student model oboe runs about $3000. You can normally rent one anywhere from $50 to $100 a month. Because the oboe is so temperamental, I would recommend not going too cheap.

You should learn to make reeds. If you don't, buying decent ones normally runs about $15 each rather than for a box of ten like you are used to.

My only other advice is on the sax. I picked up alto my senior year for jazz band. It is not hard switching from clarinet to alto. I did pretty well without any lessons and with very little work. (I was really only concerned with clarinet.)