Moving From Flute to other wind instruments

[ABC]

I was wondering how smooth is the transfer from playing to flute to playing other wind instruments, such as the oboe or clarinet. How similliar is it eventually?

Thanks.

[fluttiegurl]

I have picked up both clarinet and oboe in the last two years. Once I got used to the reed idea, it was pretty easy. As for similarities, other than some oboe fingerings, I don't think they are much alike at all. On the other hand, I have heard many people say differently. I think adding resistance was very different, but that may be just me.

[concertmaster3]

If you have a basic idea of being a musician and know your theory pretty well, you will be fine. It's going to be mainly learning embouchure and fingerings. The fingerings are similar...but you will need to think of it as a completely new instrument, rather than think about how much they are the same. I treat each instrument as an individual, carrying over only my musicality to each. I started my serious musical life as a violinist in middle school, and still play it now, but learned all the woodwinds in High School after being bored with my high school orchestra. I now have a bachelor's and master's in oboe/English horn performance, and am going to do my DMA in multiple woodwinds.

[pied_piper]

There are similarities and differences. Fingerings of the oboe and saxophone are similar to the flute (but not identical).

The basic fingerings (D, E, F, G, A, B) are essentially the same in the lowest octave (if the flute LH thumb key is closed). Flute, oboe, and saxophone are all octave based instruments. The second octave fingerings are mostly the same as the lowest octave. The big difference from the flute however, is that the oboe and sax use an octave key to jump to the second octave, whereas on the flute the second octave is achieved by overblowing to the next harmonic. In the third octave, the fingerings are different on all three instruments.

The clarinet is not octave based. Instead it overblows a twelfth. The lowest octave is called the chalumeau register and the fingerings are offset by a twelfth from the flute fingerings. For example, on the flute, oboe, and sax, with the first two fingers of the left hand down, they all play a written A. On the clarinet in the lowest octave, the first two left fingers play a written D below the staff. With the same fingering, but adding the register key, the clarinet jumps up a twelfth to the A one ledger line above the staff.

The flute has little resistance when blowing. Flutists are always trying to conserve air to keep from running out. The oboe has great resistance, so it's exactly the opposite of the flute. Oboists sometimes have to exhale excess air before taking another breath. In terms of resistance, the order (from least to greatest) would be flute, saxophone, clarinet, and then oboe.

So, for a flutist, from the perspective of fingerings only, it would probably be initially easier to learn oboe or sax. IMO, the saxophone would be the easier instrument for a flutist to learn. The fingerings are closer in the first two octaves and the embouchure is looser on the sax than on the clarinet or oboe so there's less likelyhood of interfering with your flute embouchure.

[pied_piper]

@Sesska

Mon chien ne dort jamais quand j'exécute la musique. Elle hurle!

[numptie]

I was wondering how smooth is the transfer from playing to flute to playing other wind instruments, such as the oboe or clarinet. How similliar is it eventually?

Thanks.

My ex- flute teacher is a saxophone player. He says that he treats every instrument as an individual instrument and loves playing new instruments. He has everything you could imagine in his studio.

He seems to have forgotten how to play the flute tho'