In my opinion, study of oboe and bassoon is better delayed to an older age. A few crucial factors that determine whether your child is ready or not:
- Finger stretch. The hands should be big enough so that the fingers can comfortably cover the finger holes and/or keys. The hole spacing on the bassoon is particularly wide, which requires bigger hands.
- Arm length: the arms should be long enough so that the instrument can be held comfortably. The wrists should be in a normal position and should not be turned at an angle in order for the fingers to cover the holes/keys.
- Physical strength: oboe is supported by the player’s right thumb. Most young children’s right thumb is not strong enough for bearing the weight of an oboe for a prolonged period of time. Furthermore, the angle at which the oboe is held makes any kind of neck support (neck strap, shoulder strap etc) less effective than on, for example, saxophone or clarinet.
Bassoon presents a different challenge. It is big and cumbersome, and needs to be supported in a different way. Young children will find it difficult to handle and to support the instrument. - Teeth. Before the adult front teeth are firmly in place, any activity that puts pressure on the teeth runs the risk of dental deformation. Because of the angle of the mouthpiece, oboe and bassoon present less of a hazard than clarinet and saxophone, but the risk should still be considered.
Solution:
- Wait until the kid is older to commence the study of oboe or bassoon. Starting on descant recorder is an attractive option. It enables young children to learn the basics of reading music, exercising fingers, tongue and the breathing mechanism effectively on a light, easy-to-handle instrument with low blowing resistance. Most of the skills acquired from learning descant recorder are transferable to oboe and bassoon, and students who started with descant recorder will make much quicker progress once they start the study of oboe and bassoon.
- Start with a small-size instrument designed specifically for young kids. There are a number of junior oboes on the market that offer simplified keyworks (for reduced weight), closer key spacing and possibly lower blowing resistance. For bassoon, there are bassoons with specially-designed keyworks to reduce finger spans. There are also mini-bassoon (either transposing or non-transposing) that significantly reduce the weight as well as hole/key spacing to render the instrument more suitable for small children.