His father taught him the rudimentary elements of music theory and the basic notions of Solfège, along with his first piano lessons. Despite his manifested precociousness, and even without knowing the most basic rules of harmony, he began arranging some of Haydn and Mozart's musical compositions for flute, clarion, and cornet, once he was already becoming familiar with some wind instruments such as the clarinet, horn, and oboe, which he learned to play on his own. But without a firm understanding of piano method or further training in composition, his technique became flawed, a problem that persisted throughout his career. Oudrid was then brought by his father to the attention of composer Baltasar Saldoni, then director of Teatro del Príncipe. Still very young, he was musical director of the Liceo de Badajoz. After his father's death on 27 June 1843, Oudrid moved to Madrid the following year with Vicenta Munoz Vallejo, daughter of Jose Muñoz Santano and Pascuala Vallejo; they married in May 1855. His moving to Madrid was with the intention of succeeding as a musician and studying piano with Pedro Albéniz, as a recommendation of his music teacher Baltasar Saldoni, who asked his friends at the weekly magazine "Semanario Pintoresco Español" to help Oudrid make a living as a piano player at concerts and coffee shops. Another lucky break was a reference letter from Brigadier Juan Guillén Buzarán, director of the orchestra of Teatro Real, by whom he joined the Royal Orchestra as one of its clarinetists. Around this time, he became known as a successful pianist and arranger of operas, including in his musical programme his own compositions, songs and fantasias. His first song collections were published in 1845 and comprised "Las Recreos de Artist, Colecion de Consciones y Melodias Espanolas," based on the poetry of Ramon Valladares y Saavedra, and instrumental music for piano such as "Variaciones sobre el Hullabaloo de Jerez," "Fantasía sobre los temas de "Maria de Rohan"," and "Hernani." In 1847, Oudrid began working in the field of stage music as composer, presenting his Andalusian zarzuela "La Venta del Puerto o Juanillo El Contrabandista," with lyrics by Mariano Fernandez.