Woodwinds · Double reeds
Oboe
A conical woodwind played with a double reed. Its focused, penetrating tone carries over the whole orchestra, which is why the orchestra tunes to the oboe's A.
- Family
- Woodwinds · Double reeds
- Classification
- Aerophone · double reed
- Transposition
- None (concert pitch)
- Clefs
- Treble
- Sounding range
- B♭3 – A6
Parts of the oboe
Shown without the reed, which fits into the top of the upper joint. Photo: Yamaha Corporation, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Labels added by Musicians Tools.
Range
Most orchestral writing stays below about G6. Playback uses a neutral tone, not the instrument's own sound.
Writing for the oboe
- The lowest notes (B♭3 to D4) are thick and hard to play quietly.
- Very little air passes through the reed, so players run out of oxygen before they run out of air. Leave places to breathe out and in.
- Reeds are handmade and sensitive. Exposed soft high entries and wide slurred leaps are risky.
- Ideal for long lyrical melodies in the middle register; fast staccato is possible but less brilliant than on flute or clarinet.
History
The oboe developed in France in the mid-17th century from the louder shawm, among the wind players at the court of Louis XIV. Keys were added through the 18th and 19th centuries, and the conservatoire system used today dates from the late 19th century.
Listen
Key works featuring the oboe. Each link opens a YouTube search, so you can pick the recording you like.
- Mozart – Oboe Concerto in C, K. 314
- R. Strauss – Oboe Concerto in D
- Britten – Six Metamorphoses after Ovid
- Tchaikovsky – Swan Lake, Scene (oboe theme)