Questions tagged [oboe]
The oboe is a soprano-ranged, double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family made from a wooden tube roughly 65 cm long, with metal keys, a conical bore and flared bell.
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Why doesn’t the English Horn play higher than the Bass Oboe here?
In Mars, Fig II, there's a large Db major tutti chord. Holst scores this with bass oboe playing concert F4 and English horn playing Ab4, concert Db4. I would expect to put the Db in the bass oboe and ...
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When did the oboe wind up being the standard to tune other instruments in an ensemble / orchestra?
As a follow up to the question why does the orchestra tune to the oboe, I'm asking since when this became standard practice? For example, was it since the Modern oboe, or already since the Classical ...
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How well can professional oboe players tremolo between G/B and Eb/G?
How likely are professional oboe players to be able to execute this? The goal is the fastest possible alternation between the notes. I don't know a ton about oboe, but the Oboe 2 tremolo looks easy ...
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If I were to switch from playing clarinet (6 years) to starting oboe, how hard would it be? [closed]
So I'm aware that oboe is one of the hardest instruments to pick up and learn (partially because of embouchure, reed maintenance, etc.) but I love the instrument and I'd really like to start learning. ...
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Fat/Thick lips/skin making endurance on oboe difficult?
I have an observation leading to my question.... all top oboe players seem to have thin lips. I initial thought that playing the oboe might tone the facial muscles differently and cause thinner lips, ...
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What is up with the bell on the English horn?
What is the story behind the shape of the bell on the English horn (AKA the cor anglais)?
But first, a quick look at the clarinet family for a comparison.
The standard clarinet (in Bb or A) has a ...
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Why are western double-reed instruments smoother than double-reed instruments outside Europe?
When one thinks of the timbre of double reed instruments, we tend to divide them as two groups:
Oboe, English horn, bassoon. (Western instruments.) The sound is very smooth and pure.
Other double-...
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Playing song more smoothly on oboe
I have to play John Rutter's A Gaelic Blessing but I am finding it a little hard to play smoothly. I can play it through with good fingering but I am having trouble with the dynamics and sometimes I ...
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Mastering oboe dynamics
I have been playing the oboe for a term now, and I have come across some songs that require me to use dynamics. How do you achieve dynamics on the oboe, and what exercises can you do to master it.
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Decades of wrong oboe embouchure
I started learning the oboe when I was 10, and went up to get a distinction at Grade 8 in the UK. However, my lips were nearly always sore, and I realise now that my teeth were biting in to my lip. I ...
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Oboe and wide interval playing
I'm a composer and creating a new piece of music involving an oboe.
I have been studying some possibilities for the oboe to create a particular atmosphere with wide interval playing, such as found in ...
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What is the "tip" of the reed
What is the "tip" of an oboe reed?
Is the upper part of the hole of the reed or the bottom part?
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When playing the oboe, should I touch the top or the bottom side of the reed?
I have been playing the oboe for one year now but I was touching the reed on its top side and I was told that's now the best way.
My teacher says I should touch just the bottom side
So my question ...
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What do the letters D and E above the staff represent here?
A mystery from a musician friend of mine:
In the Alpine Symphony by Strauss, the oboe, Eflat clarinet, and bass clarinet/C clarinet have these D's and E's scattered throughout the back half of the ...
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Any way to make my oboe reed shorter?
I had an oboe reed handmade for me and the reed itself is very good and responsive, but the cork of the reed is too long, essentially making everything I play sound flat, even when pushed in all the ...
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