Selection Criteria:

• Good musicianship skills

• Physical suitability to the instrument

• Commitment to attending a week BMS Evening Centre Ensemble

• Family support and ability to meet financial commitment

• Currently prioritising pupils in Yr.4 or Yr.6 (this year) but children in other year groups will be considered

We will be holding special double reed selection evenings and choosing up to 16 children from Brent schools to learn the oboe or bassoon.

Oboe and bassoon lessons will take place on Thursday evenings at Queens Park Community School and Monday evenings at Claremont High School. Your child will receive ten 30 minute group lessons per term. These lessons will take place between 5pm and 7pm. Children will be required to join a BMS ensemble (these also take place at our evening centres on a Monday and a Thursday) once they reach a suitable level (usually within the first term of learning).

Lessons will start in September 2021.

Between lessons your child will be expected to undertake regular practice (ideally 20 minutes a day while at beginner level). Children who practice make better progress and enjoy their lessons and making music and are more likely to continue long term.

Double Reed Play Day with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

In the Autumn term of 2021, all oboe and bassoon students will take part in a Play Day with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. This fantastic opportunity will be free for pupils on the Double Reed Program.

The Oboe

The Oboe is a double reed, woodwind instrument and can be found in almost all orchestras. The oboe is often considered a rare instrument due to the fact that they are expensive to own and there are fewer teachers available. Oboe players will always be able to find a place in school, county and amateur orchestras.

Double Reeds

Unlike most other wind instruments, the oboe does not have a mouthpiece, but is played by blowing into two small pieces of bamboo, called a reed (or in the case of the oboe, a double reed). These reeds can be expensive (around £10 each) and a student oboe player can expect to get through roughly 4 each term. At a higher level, pupils learn to make their own reeds, which is something all professional players do.

Oboe in the Orchestra

The oboe has one of the most important jobs in an orchestra. It is used to tune the whole orchestra. You will often hear oboe players practicing playing long notes for this purpose. In professional orchestras, oboes often get lots of great solos to play. As pupils get more proficient, they may get the chance to try the Cor Anglais, which is a bigger version of the oboe and often appears in orchestral music.

Buying an Oboe

At Brent Music Service, we are able to hire junior (small reach) oboes to our primary school pupils and intermediate oboes to our secondary school pupils. However, once your child becomes more proficient and shows dedication to playing long term, you may wish to purchase an oboe for them. This should be done in consultation with your child’s teacher, as they will be able to advise on a suitable model to best suit your child. We suggest that your child plays for at least one term before you purchase an instrument. As oboes are not massed produced and are intricate to build, they are more expensive to buy than many other woodwind instruments. A brand new, intermediate oboe (which would take pupils to around grade 6 level) is likely to cost around £1,500, with higher level models taking pupils to grade 8 and beyond closer to £2,500. For this reason, many people choose to rent for as long as possible and then buy a second-hand instrument, which is usually significantly cheaper.

Playing the Bassoon

The bassoon is a double reed, woodwind instrument and can be found in almost all orchestras. The bassoon is often considered a rare instrument due to the fact that they are expensive to own and there are fewer teachers available. Bassoon players will always be able to find a spot in school, county and amateur orchestras. There is also a shortage of bassoon players at university and music college level, so great bassoon players are often snapped up quickly by institutions!

Mini Bassoons

If you watched the above videos, you will have noticed that bassoons are rather large instruments. For primary school beginners, we have special mini bassoons which are much smaller. Pupils usually move to larger (short-reach) bassoons in year 7.

Double Reeds

Unlike most other wind instruments, the bassoon does not have a mouthpiece, but is played by blowing into two small pieces of bamboo called a reed (or in the case of the Bassoon, a double reed). These reeds can be expensive (around £12 each) and a student bassoon player can expect to get through roughly 3 per term. At a higher level, pupils learn to make their own reeds, which is something all professional players do.

Bassoon in the Orchestra

The bassoon is a main stay of all classical orchestras, with usually two or three players per orchestra. In professional orchestras you will often see contra-bassoons, which are around double the size of a regular Bassoon!

Buying an Bassoon

At Brent Music Service, we are able to loan mini bassoons to our primary school pupils and short-reach bassoons to our secondary school pupils. Often parents will consider buying an instrument for their child once they become more proficient and show dedication to playing. However, as the bassoon is a very expensive instrument to buy, many families continue to loan student instruments from BMS or more advanced instruments from specialist shops. Brand new short-reach and full-size bassoons start at around £4,000 to £5,000. For this reason, many people choose to continue renting or to buy second hand.

The table below shows the costs for the programme in the first year and (depending on the size of the lesson groups) subsequent years.

The costs are payable annually in advance.

Reeds

A small number of reeds will be provided in the autumn term only. After this, reeds must be purchased separately and cost between £7 and £10 each.

Future Years

The total annual costs will be reviewed in line with inflation and the underlying costs of the programme.

Please complete the Double Reed Application Form