Plenty of people are looking for careers as woodwind players, all on different instruments. So, assuming they’re all a high standard, which instrument gives them the best chance of getting a job? Some instruments are much more popular than others, so it makes sense to get one of the less common ones. But how uncommon is too uncommon – at what point is the instrument so rare that there is barely any music written for it?
Some woodwind instruments that are always needed but hard to find people for are bassoons, bass clarinets, Eb clarinets, baritone saxes and cor anglais. The type of music you’re going for is also really important – e.g. don’t get a baritone sax if you want to do orchestral work, as in the majority of pieces there won’t be a part for you.
Some instruments, such as flutes, Bb clarinets and alto saxophones are so common that there is huge competition for positions. Alternatively, if you get, say, a contrabass sax, you’ll be one of very few people that play it and you’ll have almost no competition, but chances are there will be nobody playing anything that has a part for you.
The first thing to consider is the type of music work you’re looking for. Do you want to play in an orchestra, a jazz band etc. This will give you the pool of instruments you’re choosing from. Let’s think about it in terms of a few different ensembles.
Orchestras
Orchestras are a very popular choice of ensemble for classical musicians. There aren’t always a huge amount of opportunities for woodwind players in orchestras and the parts will vary dependent on the orchestral work being played. There will always be flutes, Bb clarinets and oboes. One of the flautists will double on piccolo, at least one Bb clarinettist will normally double on A clarinet or bass and an oboist will double on cor anglais.
An obvious way of making yourself more employable is to get yourself one of the doubling instruments, however, flutes and clarinets are two of the most commonly played instruments so this may still not be enough. An oboist with a cor anglais is starting to get more rare though, so this could be a good way to go.
Another option is to get one of the less common instruments that still have a part in most orchestral works. The two that come to mind first are bassoons and Eb clarinets. These are common enough to be found in almost all orchestral music, so it’s unlikely that they wouldn’t be needed, but they’re not that commonly played. Bassoon is possibly a better choice as there are usually multiple parts for bassoon.
There’s also the option of going even more obscure on the instrument you pick, like contrabassoon or alto flute. While these can be good though, there’s always a risk that there won’t be any parts written for them and you’ll struggle to find someone to employ you for that reason, rather than the competitiveness! I would always aim for the least played of the instruments that will pretty much always have a part.
Wind bands/orchestras
Wind bands and orchestras are a great option as a professional woodwind player. There are lots more instruments and more players on each instrument than in an orchestra, so the competition is automatically reduced a bit. The main addition compared to the orchestral line-up is the sax section – alto, tenor and baritone parts.
Although saxophone is one of the most popular instruments to play, their aren’t always that many wind band saxophonists, as a lot of sax players favour jazz. The alto section is still very unlikely to be easy to break into, but tenor is a possibility and baritone even more so, if you can get hold of one. Doubling one of the other saxes with soprano could also be helpful, as there are a few wind band pieces with soprano parts or even features.
In terms of the other instruments that are useful to get you into a wind band, again, doubling oboe with cor anglais can be a really good one. Bassoon, bass clarinet and Eb clarinet are also good options. As there are more woodwind instruments in a wind band than an orchestra, you might have more luck with some of the more obscure ones like contrabassoon, as there might be more piece that have parts for them.
Big bands/ swing bands
By big bands and swing bands, I mean any large bands (approx. 20 players) that play music from the jazz, swing etc. genres. The woodwind section of these will be a sax section only, with alto, tenor and baritone saxes.
These bands can be really competitive as the sax is a popular instrument anyway, and it’s often considered to be a jazz instrument so a lot of sax players specialise in this genre. There are some ways that you can maximise you chances of getting picked to play though.
First, if you play a sax, you should probably play all of the saxes. You can specialise, but you’ll be much more employable if you own and can play all of them, although this can be really expensive! It’s also often that case that some parts will have a small clarinet or flute part written into them, so it really helps to be able to double on as many of those as you can.
Another thing to consider if you’re keen to play in a jazz band is that the majority of people seem to be either good at solos or good at sight reading, and not that many are good at both. If you can master both at once, you’ll have a much better chance.
Orchestra pits
Woodwind players always seem to get one of the hardest jobs in orchestra pits, as they’re expected to be able to play loads of instruments in the same show. In this case, it’s not always best to play the more obscure instruments.
Oboes often don’t have parts in musicals, unless it’s a more traditional, classical style like Les Mis, or an operetta, like Gilbert and Sullivan. Sometimes, there will be an oboe part in one of the other parts, but it will also be written out for clarinet or flute too, as it’s not often expected that players will be able to double between single and double reeds.
While there is still a lot of competition for flute, clarinet and sax parts, if you can play all three to a good standard, you have a much better chance of getting work, particularly if you have all the combinations of instruments available to you, including piccolo and bass clarinet. You ideally don’t want to have to turn a part down because you don’t have all the instruments.
People will often specialise either in high woodwind or low woodwind in pit band music. High woodwind is usually flutes, piccolos, Bb clarinets and alto saxes, whereas low woodwind will be bass clarinet, tenor and baritone saxes. You might occasionally see some bassoon parts in the low woodwind but this is fairly rare. Low woodwind is usually the less competitive of the two as the instruments aren’t as common. If you can do both, even better!
Small ensembles
A good way to get into playing with a good group of people is to make your own small group. Sax quartets, for example, are very rarely looking for players, so if you try to find an existing one to join, the chances of you being successful are pretty small. But starting you own can be a great way round this. There are usually plenty of people wanting to join groups but not that many wanting to start them.
If you do start a small ensemble, make sure you get yourselves some places to perform. If people see you playing and are impressed, it can be a really good way of getting your name out there. Don’t be scared of starting an ensemble for an unusual mix of instruments – this will make you more interesting. You might have to arrange your own music though.
I would always say the most important thing to do when trying to get yourself work as a woodwind player is to be flexible. In a lot of groups, it’s assumed that you will be able to double on multiple instruments. If you can’t do this, you really need to be the absolute best on the instrument you do play.
Playing an instrument that not many people play is great. Just be careful about going so obscure that nobody is looking for anyone that plays that instrument. Most important though, is to make sure you don’t sign up to play instruments that you’re not really that comfortable with. Play something badly and you’ll never be asked back, so it’s important to be really confident that you can do a good job.