The oboe is one of the most distinctive and expressive instruments in the woodwind family, known for its rich, reedy tone and lyrical quality. With its penetrating yet warm sound, the oboe has played a crucial role in orchestras, chamber music, and solo performances for centuries.
From its hauntingly beautiful melodies in classical symphonies to its playful, agile passages in Baroque concertos, the oboe’s voice is both versatile and unmistakable. Beyond its musical role, it holds a special place in ensembles as the instrument responsible for providing the tuning note before performances.
Read on for our insider's guide to this soulful woodwind instrument.
What is the oboe?
The oboe is a woodwind instrument with a conical bore (a cone-like tube), metal keys, a flared bell and a double reed, which vibrates when the player blows through it. Although it is a pillar of the classical orchestra - in fact its stable pitch and distinctive sound is often used for tuning other orchestral instruments - it can be heard across all sorts of musical genres, including folk, jazz, rock and pop.
What does the oboe sound like?
Unlike the mellow-sounding clarinet, the oboe has a clear, bright and penetrating timbre. There are those who have likened it to a quacking duck, but they've probably just heard the wrong oboists. This is an instrument capable of great clarity and warmth, and, like the human voice, can express a wide range of emotions.
Is the oboe hard to play?
In all honesty, yes it is. In fact, the oboe is considered one of the most difficult woodwind instruments to learn, owing to their tricky fingering technique and the enormous amount of breath support and sound control they require. In fact, most beginners struggle to produce a sound at all. And odds are, if you’ve ever hung out with oboists, you’ll have heard a fair amount of chat about their reeds.
That’s because most oboists have to customise their own reeds in order to accommodate their unique embouchure and playing style. It’s a headache, and I’d almost recommend avoiding it altogether, were it not for the beautiful sound that the oboe will produce once mastered.
Which is easier: oboe or clarinet?
I’d love to say it’s six of one and half a dozen of the other. But no, the oboe is almost certainly harder to play than the clarinet as it requires more precise breath control, more fiddly fingerings, and the mastery of the double reed.
How do you play the oboe?
You start off by bringing your lips together as if whistling, with your lips in front of your teeth, slightly pursed. Rest the reed on your lower lip just far enough into your mouth to vibrate when you blow out air. Surround the reed with your lips, keeping them completely sealed around the reed, then blow out to create a sound.
Did that work for you? Don’t worry if not. For a little more solid guidance (in the absence of a teacher), check out this video.
Is there more than one kind of oboe?
Yes, there are many. The one we tend to know and love is the “modern” oboe, but other instruments within the family include the English horn (cor anglais), oboe d’amore, bass oboe and the Heckelphone.
There's a famous (and beautiful) cor anglais solo in Sibelius's atmospheric tone poem The Swan of Tuonela. It paints an evocative picture of the mythical swan floating through Tuonela, the land of the dead in Finnish mythology. Have a listen below - you'll see the cor anglais come in right near the start. A haunting sound, no?
What’s the difference between the different types of oboe?
Each of these types has its own individual pitch and sound quality. The bass oboe, which is rarely used, is the lowest-pitched member of the oboe family. The Oboe d’Amore, also slightly lower pitched than the “modern” instrument, has a soft, mellow sound. Meanwhile, the heckelphone sounds like a cross between an oboe and a bassoon. Aside from the “modern” oboe, the most commonly used is the cor anglais, which is larger, more mellow and, dare we say it, slightly less honky than the parent instrument.
Does the oboe require transposition?
No, unlike the clarinet or the trumpet, the oboe does not need to be transposed when reading music, meaning that the notes written on oboe music are the exact pitches that you hear when played. Handy.
When was the oboe invented?
The oboe was invented in France in the mid-17th century by two French court musicians, Jacques Hotteterre and Michel Philidor. But its roots can be traced back to ancient reed instruments in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome.
What is the oboe made of?
Oboes are often made of wood, such as grenadilla and rosewood, but they can also be made of plastic, resin or synthetic composites.
What is the range?
The modern oboe typically has a range of over two and a half octaves.
How expensive is the oboe?
It varies! While a good quality student instrument might set you back about £1,400, a professional one might go for anything up to about £11,000.
What are the most famous pieces written for oboe?
Ah, this is an instrument with some wonderful repertoire. Here we go...
Richard Strauss: Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra (1945)
Written during what biographers often describe as Strauss’s ‘Indian summer’, this piece harks back to the Classical/early Romantic style of Strauss’s youth: it bubbles with youthful exuberance and playfulness.
Francis Poulenc: Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano (1926)
With its Mozartian touches, this is a piece full of delicate lyricism and elegance. The sardonic side of Poulenc’s musical personality also comes across in the first and third movements.
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Oboe Concerto (1943-44)
Although not performed as often as some of Vaughan Williams’s works, this concerto ranks among the finest for the instrument, with its finale, in particular, demonstrating a real sense of gravitas. There’s plenty of virtuosity and intricate passagework and Vaughan Williams’s signature pastoral style is on display throughout.
Bohuslav Martinů: Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra (1955)
Stravinsky, jazz and Czech polka are some of the influences that work their way into this one-of-a-kind three-movement work. The result is as offbeat, harmonically spicy and stylistically eclectic as you would expect from Martinů, a fascinating 20th-century Czech composer, who emigrated three times over the course of his eventful life.
Most famous oboists
Heinz Holliger
Widely admired for his technical prowess and versatility, Holliger - now 85 - is perhaps the most prominent oboist of his generation. His repertoire is huge, including lesser-known Romantic works, his own compositions and other contemporary works, which he has often performed with his wife, the harpist Ursula Holliger.
Albrecht Mayer
The principal oboist of the Berlin Philharmonic, Albrecht Mayer is known for his beautiful sound and for the expressivity of his playing. Here he is delivering a wonderful account of the solo in Schubert's grand, expressive Ninth Symphony, aka the 'Great'.
Nicholas Daniel
Ever since winning BBC Young Musician of the Year in 1980, Daniel has been one of Britain’s best-known musicians, widely praised for his nuanced and deeply emotional performances, and his dedication to commissioning new works for the oboe.
François Leleux
His professional career began at 18 when he became principal oboe at the Paris Opera. Nowadays, the French oboist François Leleux remains highly regarded for his musical energy and exuberance. Here he is in scintillating form in Strauss's above-mentioned Oboe Concerto.
Evelyn Rothwell
This great British oboist, who died in 2008, gave the British premiere of Bohuslav Martinů's Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra at the Proms in 1959 before putting her career aside in order to devote herself to her husband, the conductor John Barbirolli. After his death in 1970, however, she resumed playing, teaching at the Royal Academy of Music, where she was affectionately known as “Lady B”.
