What are some keys to encouraging my daughter (age 11) to stick with playing the oboe?

Oboe will be a hard instrument to encourage her to stay with because it isn't a very popular instument and you don't see or hear (I guess I should say) many people playing one. As she grows up she'll notice. But the best thing that could come out of it is it would teach your daughter how to read music which could lead to other instruments in the future.

Take her to hear performances of music where oboe is prominent. I sang in a concert of Arvo Part's Passio last night and the oboe part was so gorgeous I almost forgot to come in on my cue. Bach and Mozart both wrote pieces with lots of oboe (the Bach Brandenburg concertos come to mind. Listen to the second movement of the Brandenburg #2, the oboe part will break your heart. Here is a chance for your daughter to hear the exact opposite of "competition": the synergy and cooperation of distinct sounds: the oboe, the flute/recorder and the violin are the three featured instruments in that piece. ). Look up "oboe concerto" and "chamber music" featuring oboe on itunes or the internet and let her pick out some recordings to listen to. Let her fall in love with the sound and have something to go toward, instead of fighting against negatives (fear, competition, the tedium of practice). This will be motivating, and anyway, no good art can come out of fear. she has to want to be good because she loves the music, not so that she can be somehow "better" than other kids. Nurture her love of the music and she will be more motivated to practice and to measure her success against her own idea of how she wants to sound, not against others. She will also enjoy her instrument much more and you will be giving her the gift of a lifelong love of music, which will continue long after her oboe is gathering dust in her closet.

Encourage her because there are very few oboe players left. The double-reed instrument is dying out. I myself play bassoon and know only of 1 of bassoonist in my town. My band director never took bassoon because it is a dying art. So tell her that oboe is unique and she should be proud to carry on a dying art

Just keep encouraging her. Tell her how much progress she is making. Never make it a punishment to have to practice.

I play the flute and piano and always wanted to learn how to play the oboe. Just let her know that she can get scholarships that pay for her college, she can be in marching band and go on all the fun band trips on Friday nights! In my high school the "cool" people were in band!!! hahahaha!!

I got my daughter to continue violin (shes 11 too)by getting her a few lessons, once week, the teacher gave her some cool music and she got really interested in it. If you can find a great teacher, she will get in to it.