| CLASSIFICATION: |
|
| Aerophone,
Woodwind, Double-reed |
| HISTORY: |
|
| In the 17th century, the original one-piece shawm
was turned into a jointed instrument
by Jean Hotterre pere and Michel Philidor II at the Court of France (1657).
They probably became the first ones to invent and both play the instrument
they had come to start refering to as the oboe. In England though
it was refered to as the hautbois or
the hoboy, and then later known as the
French hoboy. In 1951 Marx said
that Michel Philidor II modified the old shawm
reed, and with the help of Jean Hotteterre
the Elder, together they made the oboe around 1655. |
| PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: |
|
| This double-reed
instrument has a gently tapering
conical bore. There are many difficulties
that performers have come across when
playing the oboe. This is due to the volatile part of the oboe,
the reed. The reed
is inserted at the top of the instrument. |
| SOUND PROPERTIES: |
|
| The oboe is said to
have the most unique "voice" out of all the woodwinds.
It has a warm, reedy, almost squawking sound. The pitch
of the oboe is easily "lipped"
higher or lower by the player, and a well-trained oboist is able
to play long passages and long notes
in a single breath due to the nature of the instrument.
Sensitivity of the reed
makes the oboe a very taxing instrument
to play. The breath control required calls for an oboist
to have frequent rest periods. |
| RANGE: |
|
| There are four range
sections for the oboe. The first from B-flat
below middle C to F
in the first space in the treble clef
staff, which is very thick and heavy.
Next is from G on the second line
to A above the staff,
which gives off a warm and prominant sound. Then the range
from B above the staff
to E has a thin but clearn tone
characteristic. Finally the range from
high F to E
has a very pinched and ineffective tone. |
|
Also [Fr.] Hautbois, [Ger.] Oboe
or Hoboe, [It.] oboe.
|