The oboe ( / ˈ oʊ b oʊ / OH -boh ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but they can also be made from synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or mixtures of different materials.
The most common oboe, called the soprano oboe and tuned to the note C, is about 65 cm (25 1/2 inches) long. It has metal keys, a cone-shaped inside, and a bell that flares outward. Sound is created by blowing air into the reed with enough pressure to make it vibrate with the air inside the instrument. The oboe’s sound is known for being bright and clear. When the word "oboe" is used alone, it usually refers to the soprano oboe rather than other similar instruments, such as the bass oboe, the cor anglais (English horn), or the oboe d’amore.
Today, the oboe is often played in orchestras, concert bands, and small musical groups. It is especially common in classical music, film scores, and some types of folk music. It is also sometimes heard in jazz, rock, pop, and other popular music styles. The oboe is well known for playing the note A, which helps musicians in an orchestra tune their instruments.
A person who plays the oboe is called an oboist.
Sound
The soprano oboe is sometimes called a "bright and penetrating" instrument. A book called The Sprightly Companion, published in 1695, described the oboe as "Majestical and Stately, and not much Inferior to the Trumpet." In the play Angels in America, the oboe's sound is compared to "that of a duck if the duck were a songbird." The oboe has a cone-shaped inside, unlike the cylindrical shape of flutes and clarinets. This shape gives the oboe its rich sound. Because of its clear, strong sound, oboes are easier to hear over other instruments in large groups. The highest note the oboe can play is a semitone lower than the highest note of the B♭ clarinet. The clarinet can play lower notes, which are a minor sixth deeper than the oboe's lowest note.
Music for the standard oboe is written in concert pitch, meaning it is not a transposing instrument. The oboe's range is usually from B♭3 to G6. Orchestras use the first oboe to tune to a concert A because its sound is clear and consistent. The oboe's pitch is affected by how the reed is made. The reed greatly influences the sound. Differences in materials, the reed's age, and how it is shaped or cut all change the pitch. German and French reeds sound different because of these variations. Temperature and humidity also affect the pitch. Skilled oboists adjust how they hold the instrument and the air pressure to control the sound.
The oboe uses a double reed, like the bassoon. Most professional oboists make their own reeds to control the sound, intonation, and how the instrument responds. They can also adjust for their personal playing style and the way they hold the instrument. Novice oboists usually buy reeds instead of making them because the process is hard and time-consuming. Store-bought reeds come in different hardness levels, with medium-soft reeds being popular for beginners. These reeds are made from a type of grass called Arundo donax, like reeds for clarinets, saxophones, and bassoons. As oboists gain experience, they may learn to make reeds themselves or buy handmade ones. Special tools like gougers, knives, and shapers are used to make and adjust reeds. The reed is the hardest part of the oboe to master because each reed is unique, making it hard to get a consistent sound. Small changes in temperature, humidity, or the reed's shape can affect how it sounds.
Oboists often prepare multiple reeds to ensure a consistent sound and to be ready for problems like a broken reed. They may soak their reeds in water before playing to help them sound best. Plastic reeds are rarely used for oboes, but they are available from brands like Legere. They are less common than plastic reeds for other instruments like the clarinet.
History
Long before the Spanish and Portuguese took over parts of the Americas, an early version of the chirimía came to Europe from the Middle East through cultural exchanges. The Crusades helped Europeans learn about the Turko-Arabic zurna. However, the oboe’s origins go even further back, connected to ancient reed instruments from Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Greek aulos and Roman tibia. During the Dark Ages, the oboe was nearly forgotten in the West. It returned in the 13th century with the Arabic zurna, then evolved through European bagpipes and became the French hautbois in the 17th century, marking the start of modern oboe history. Before 1770, the standard instrument was called hautbois, hoboy, or French hoboy in English. This name came from the French word hautbois, made up of "haut" (high, loud) and "bois" (wood, woodwind), meaning "high-pitched woodwind." The spelling "oboe" was adopted in English around 1770 from the Italian oboè, which copied the French name’s pronunciation.
The regular oboe first appeared in the mid-17th century and was called hautbois. This name was also used for its earlier version, the shawm, from which the hautbois design was based. Key differences between the two include the hautbois being divided into three sections (for easier manufacturing) and the removal of the pirouette, a wooden ledge below the reed that helped players rest their lips.
The exact time and place where the hautbois was created are unclear, as are its inventors. Evidence suggests members of the Philidor and Hotteterre families may have been involved. The instrument spread across Europe, including Great Britain, where it was called hautboy, hoboy, and other variations. It was a main melody instrument in early military bands until replaced by the clarinet.
The standard Baroque oboe is usually made of boxwood and has three keys: a "great" key and two side keys (often doubled for easier use with either hand). To play higher notes, the musician must "overblow," increasing the air stream to reach the next harmonic. Important makers of the time included German craftsmen Jacob Denner and J.H. Eichentopf, and English maker Thomas Stanesby and his son. The Baroque oboe’s range comfortably spans from C4 to D6. In the mid-20th century, interest in early music led some makers to copy historical instruments.
During the Classical period, the oboe’s bore was gradually narrowed, and more keys were added, including those for D♯, F, and G♯. A key similar to the modern octave key, called the "slur key," was added but used differently at first, like the "flick" keys on the modern German bassoon. Later, French makers redesigned the octave key for modern use. The narrower bore made higher notes easier to play, and composers began using the oboe’s upper range more often. The Classical oboe’s range extends from C4 to F6, though some German and Austrian models can play one half-step lower.
Several Classical-era composers wrote concertos for the oboe. Mozart composed a solo concerto in C major and parts of other works. Haydn and Beethoven also wrote oboe pieces, as did Johann Christian Bach and others. Many oboe solos appear in chamber, symphonic, and operatic works from this time.
The Wiener oboe (Viennese oboe) is a modern version that keeps the historical oboe’s bore and tone. Developed in the late 19th century by Josef Hajek, it is now made by makers like André Constantinides and Yamaha. It has a wider bore, a shorter reed, and a different fingering system compared to the conservatoire oboe. Experts note that the Viennese oboe has a richer sound in the middle and upper registers and blends well with other instruments. It is a key part of the Vienna Philharmonic’s instruments.
The Triébert family of Paris improved the oboe in the 19th century, using ideas from the Boehm flute’s key system. A variant called the Boehm system oboe was used in some military bands but never widely. F. Lorée of Paris further refined the modern oboe. Small improvements to the bore and keys continued into the 20th century, but the instrument’s basic design has not changed much in recent decades.
The modern standard oboe is usually made from grenadilla, a type of African blackwood, though some use other woods like cocobolo and rosewood. Student models are often made of plastic for affordability and durability. Conservation efforts have increased the cost of these woods.
The oboe has a narrow, cone-shaped bore and is played with a double reed made of two thin cane blades tied together on a metal tube. The oboe’s range typically spans from B♭3 to G6, though its most common range is from C4 to E♭6. Some student oboes lack a B♭ key and only go down to B3.
A modern oboe with the "full conservatoire" key system has 45 keys, with possible additions like a
Other members of the oboe family
The standard oboe has several related instruments of different sizes and musical ranges. The most well-known is the cor anglais, also called the English horn. It is a transposing instrument, meaning it changes the pitch when played. It is tuned to the note F, which is a perfect fifth lower than the oboe. Another instrument is the oboe d'amore, which is slightly smaller than the cor anglais. It is tuned to A, a minor third lower than the oboe. J.S. Bach often used the oboe d'amore, as well as the taille and oboe da caccia, which were earlier versions of the cor anglais.
A less common instrument is the bass oboe, also called the baritone oboe. It sounds one octave lower than the standard oboe. Composers such as Delius, Strauss, and Holst wrote music for this instrument.
The heckelphone is similar to the bass oboe but has a larger body and a fuller sound. Only 165 heckelphones were ever made, and skilled players are rare because the instrument is so uncommon.
The least common instruments are the musette (also called the piccolo oboe or oboe musette), which is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the family (usually tuned to E♭ or F above the oboe), and the contrabass oboe, which is much larger and tuned to C, two octaves lower than the standard oboe.
Folk versions of the oboe are found in many parts of Europe. These include the musette in France, the piston oboe and bombarde in Brittany, the piffero and ciaramella in Italy, and the xirimia (or chirimia) in Spain. These instruments are often played with local types of bagpipes, such as the Italian müsa and zampogna or the Breton biniou.
In David Stock’s concerto “Oborama,” the oboe and its family members are used as solo instruments. Each movement features a different instrument, such as the oboe d’amore in movement 3 and the bass oboe in movement 4.
Use in non-classical music
The oboe is not often used in jazz music, but it has been used in some important ways. Some early bands in the 1920s and 1930s, especially the band led by Paul Whiteman, included the oboe to add special sounds. At that time, the oboe was mostly used for dance band music, but sometimes oboists played solos similar to how saxophonists perform. Most of these oboists were already playing other woodwind instruments in the band or orchestra. Garvin Bushell, a multi-instrumentalist who lived from 1902 to 1991, played the oboe in jazz bands as early as 1924. He continued using the oboe throughout his career and recorded with John Coltrane in 1961. Bob Cooper was the first modern jazz musician in the early 1950s to play the oboe and its relative, the English horn, in solos. He performed with flutist and saxophonist Bud Shank in several recordings. Composer and bassist Charles Mingus included the oboe in his piece "I.X. Love" from the 1963 album Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus, played by Dick Hafer.
With the rise of jazz fusion in the late 1960s and its growth in the 1970s, the oboe became more common in some jazz music. It sometimes replaced the saxophone as the main instrument. The Welsh musician Karl Jenkins used the oboe successfully in his work with groups like Nucleus and Soft Machine. The American woodwind player Paul McCandless, who co-founded the Paul Winter Consort and later Oregon, also used the oboe.
In the 1980s, more oboists began exploring non-classical music, and many performed or recorded alternative styles on the oboe. Some modern jazz groups, such as the Maria Schneider Orchestra, include the oboe in their music.
Indie singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens, who studied the oboe in school, often uses it in his music, especially in his geographic tone-poems Illinois and Michigan. Peter Gabriel played the oboe while he was part of the band Genesis, most clearly on the song "The Musical Box." Andy Mackay of Roxy Music also plays the oboe, sometimes using a wah-wah pedal.
The 1977 song "Modern Man Blues" by 10cc from the album Deceptive Bends includes an echoed oboe melody during the introduction, bridge, and guitar solo. The oboe part was played by Tony Spath, a sound engineer and occasional band collaborator.
A solo oboe, played by Deborah Workman, appears in the final part of R.E.M.'s song "Nightswimming" (1993). It begins with a short solo and later gently repeats the theme to end the song.
The oboe is often used in film music to highlight emotional or touching scenes. An example is the 1989 film Born on the Fourth of July. One of the most famous uses of the oboe in film is Ennio Morricone's "Gabriel's Oboe" from the 1986 film The Mission.
The oboe is also featured as a solo instrument in the theme "Across the Stars" from the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, composed by John Williams. It is also used as a solo instrument in the "Love Theme" from Nino Rota's score to The Godfather (1972).
Descriptive assessments
According to Jesse Green of the New York Times, professional oboe players and fans have described the instrument as "invented by a sadist," "really awkward technically," and sounding like a "wild duck" during the first three years of learning. The oboe is also known by nicknames such as "the melancholy reed," "the sprightly companion," and "the ill wind that blows no good," which reflect its "wonkiness and honkiness" and its loud yet uniquely comforting sound.