The thought of becoming a delinquent band nerd–I had a slight bias as an orchestra kid–gave me anxiety; my comfort zone was with the dulcet sound of strings, not the harsh, shrill cacophony of woodwinds and brass. Instead of the nice, calm orchestra community, I was entering the world of “this one time, at band camp...” and nasty spit valves. Nevertheless, I had to get past my preconceived opinions about band and choose a new instrument. Woodwinds were my first choice, but the flute and clarinet didn’t appeal to me; it seemed as if everyone played those two instruments, and I wanted something unique. Maybe subconsciously I was drawn to the oboe because my previous orchestra teacher told me that it would be too difficult to learn quickly. Whatever the reason, when my new band director asked me which instrument I wanted to learn, I replied “oboe” without
The thought of becoming a delinquent band nerd–I had a slight bias as an orchestra kid–gave me anxiety; my comfort zone was with the dulcet sound of strings, not the harsh, shrill cacophony of woodwinds and brass. Instead of the nice, calm orchestra community, I was entering the world of “this one time, at band camp...” and nasty spit valves. Nevertheless, I had to get past my preconceived opinions about band and choose a new instrument. Woodwinds were my first choice, but the flute and clarinet didn’t appeal to me; it seemed as if everyone played those two instruments, and I wanted something unique. Maybe subconsciously I was drawn to the oboe because my previous orchestra teacher told me that it would be too difficult to learn quickly. Whatever the reason, when my new band director asked me which instrument I wanted to learn, I replied “oboe” without