Hoboe

The oboe is a member of the woodwind family. The oboe is a long, slender wooden tube, widening out into a bell shape at the end. Attached to the wood are metal keys which are operated by the musician's fingers to open and close holes along the length of the tube. A standard oboe is 2 feet long.

The earliest oboe was modeled after an extremely loud, high-pitched Middle Eastern instrument called the shawm. The name oboe was originally hautbois, or "high, loud wood" in French, also sometimes spelled hoboy in English.

a woodwind instrument having a slender conical, tubular body and a double-reed mouthpiece. (in an organ) a reed stop with a sound like that of an oboe.

The French term for the oboe, hautbois, means wood of high-pitched or loud sound. The English and Italian term oboe, the German terms Oboe and Hoboe, and other words in other languages have the French word as their origins.

The oboe can be found in many types of musical ensembles, including the orchestra, symphonic band, woodwind quintet, and other chamber music combinations. It is often heard in movie and television soundtracks and can even be heard in jazz and popular music. In the orchestra, the oboist plays a very important role.

The bright, rather penetrating sound of the oboe was easy to hear, and its pitch was more stable than gut strings, so it was natural to rely on it for tuning (One can also imagine it settling, or preventing arguments. Twenty string players squabbling over a tuning note, then asking the oboist to intervene).

The oboe is a C woodwind, that is, a C major instrument. A lower pitched instrument is the A woodwind, the oboe d'amore, which is pitched in A major. Even lower is the F woodwind, the cor anglais (also known as the English horn), pitched in F major. Those are just two of the relatives of the oboe.

The oboe can be found in many types of musical ensembles, including the orchestra, symphonic band, woodwind quintet, and other chamber music combinations. It is often heard in movie and television soundtracks and can even be heard in jazz and popular music. In the orchestra, the oboist plays a very important role.

Curiosities about the oboe that will interest you.

• The oboe belongs to the woodwind family of instruments:
• The oboe plays an important role in concerts:
• There are usually between 2 and 3 oboes in an orchestra:
• The oboe reed is key:
• The oboe needs careful maintenance:

Fun Facts: The oboe is made out of wood and metal and gets bigger at the lower end, where it flares into the bell! The oboe plays a tuning note at the beginning of orchestra concerts. The English Horn, a sister to the oboe, is longer than an oboe, so it sounds lower. Its bell is shaped like a pear!

The oboe (/ˈoʊboʊ/ OH-boh) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument.

An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette.