When playing the oboe, there are times when you ask yourself, "Why did I ever pick this stupid thing?" because it seems that no matter how hard you try, your intonation is terrible. But then you find the right spot, your tone is rich and full, and you let your fingers fly in an incredible dance. All of your efforts come together, so you listen to yourself and can't help but to smile. That's when you say, "That's why I picked the oboe." Thank you for this video.
After squeezing it at high velocities through a tiny hole with a back-pressure that makes your face feel like it will explode. The oboe is beautiful while playing. The oboist ? Never while playing.
Good comment. I learned from my teachers thought that instead of pinching, regard the embouchure as a kind of gasket seal around the reed. Also, as Marcel Tabuteau said and other oboists have said, breath completely out, then make the tone. It is surprising how much air is still in the lungs after you breath out. This really reduces the back pressure you are talking about. If you haven't obtained it, Tabuteau has a great CD he made near the end of his life where he discusses this and other subjects.
7:15 - "You get that little buzz in your mouth, and you hear that sweet, piercing sound. And you decide nothing else will ever be good enough for you. It's a strange thing, the oboe." Brother, you pretty much summed it up right there.
Same. I had no idea what I was getting into... That was five years ago and I'm still with it into high school! oh the pain we just keep wanting more lol
"...and you decide nothing else will ever be good enough for you." -this is so true. I don't know if every Oboist gets this, but I know I certainly do. It has the most beautiful sound I have ever heard, and I feel so proud just to know that I play one of the most beautiful musical instruments that exist. :')
I started playing the Oboe when I was 11, I'm fourteen now, from the video I've seen I have still got a long way to go! Hahaha high 5 to other Oboe players
Nieve Stenton That’s wonderful and get a professional teacher to keep you on the right track, as you’re already advanced and now you are other instrumentalists inspiration.
I play the oboe. I started with the Alto Saxophone and I didn't like it and I was about to quit the band but then I discovered the oboe and after 2 years of playing I got into an Arts school. I love it so much.
Katherine Cabrera I play clarinet but I'm now interested in learning oboe as a doubling instrument. I'm a freshman music education major at University of Massachusetts Lowell and the woodwinds are the main thing that drew my attention in an orchestra. I've been wanting to double on oboe since my senior year of high school but had no guts to tell my band director I wanted to learn oboe because he would have flipped his shit and laughed! It looks very common to make your own reeds for oboe but is it possible just to buy some? I think it would be easier that way instead of putting all my time and energy into hand making them and failing. Reed making looks like it's very time consuming but the oboe is the 2nd most beautiful woodwind instrument I hear.
I had the same reaction :) Flute is on the other end of the resistance spectrum to the oboe.....it only ever truly occurs to me how much effort it takes to blow the flute when I watch my beginner students.
Yeah, the technical demands of the flute are very high.You are expected to tongue at ridiculous speeds, play impossibly long phrases, stay in tune, play the piccolo (much harder than it looks but worth it), deal with the flute's dynamic capabilities and still sound beautiful.
Yeah, I agree with what you guys are saying. I'm a clarinetist, and I do realise that it isn't as simple as the lady in the video makes it sound. I think the point she was trying to make was that for you, the embouchure hole cut into your head joint is made at the factory and is going to give you a good sound. True, there are poorly cut head joints, but the standard is pretty damn high. It doesn't change every day with the weather and you don't have to cut a new one yourself every other day and hope it works. Your embouchure hole is much more reliable than a reed and in that sense when you blow into your embouchure hole the only thing you have to worry about is problems on your end as a musician. We reed players have to fret about our reeds. We have to do all the same things you do, but we have to worry about the reed, which you don't. You will notice, though, that I'm not saying the flute is easier. The flute uses a lot more air than other wood winds and is a lot more resistant. It doesn't have a reed, but it has its own challenges.
Totally. I know. I was just saying what I thought she meant by it. It wasn't supposed to be a slight. Even though it came out that way. lol I feel your pain, too. People tell me my instrument is easy all the time...
The oboe? The Devil's reed? The ill wind that nobody blows good; suffocation on a stick? Why wouldn't anyone want to play an instrument that demands total dedication in the construction of a vital component guaranteed to fail almost as soon as you finish shaping it, if it's even usable once it's first finished? An instrument where an inadequate student's instrument costs more than some lower level professional grade clarinets and a few used cars? Because I love the sound of an oboe, and if I could afford one I'd buy one. Nothing else sounds even close to an oboe.
I'm a retired oboe player. I played two Laubins in my career, by the way, and I've been to Mr. Laubin's shop. Fascinating to watch the amazing craftsmen at work. (I still have nightmares about reeds and I imagine I will to my dying day!) :-)
us oboe players are a rare sort, ask any of us and we'll tell ya there's no going back once you've started and though there may be horror story's of cracked skulls from the intense pressure if ur too young it is an art form that is revered by many and therefore I tell you all ' I am proud to be an oboe
I am a soloist for the oboe in my school and I find the oboe something out of this world! Nobody in my family plays the oboe but when this girl that came to my school to show us the sound I different instruments, I fell in love! It was love at first sight!
I've been playing flute for 11 years and picked up the oboe at the beginning of 2022 because there was no oboist in my church's orchestra. Around 9 or 10 months later, here I am, in a love-hate relationship with the oboe. I can't play for too long and I'm always uncertain of my reeds' moods for that practice session; but the sense of accomplishment that I feel when the note blends beautifully with the orchestra really keeps me going. Ah, what an instrument!
I'm in grade 9 and just started playing oboe. I have never played any other wind instruments before but I thought I'd give band music a shot. My teacher was showing my class all the different instruments we could choose from and she played the oboe.. I fell in love!! I didn't realize just how hard it is! I almost quit after a couple months but I'm glad I didn't :) It's a great feeling when you play that solo perfectly!! :)
Both my parents played the Oboe. Professionally. They were good! And I’ll never forget the sound as I went to sleep every night listening to them. I miss it very much.
I was supposed to play the clarinet like my cousin....but my dam self changed my mind at the last second from clarinet to oboe. My god I spent my first year trying to make a sound . But now I got it!!!!
my highschool band hasn't had an oboe player in a while and last Friday my friend and I asked our director if we could learn it. she wasn't very confident but I'm excited!
I'm a music teacher in Chattanooga Tennessee and was delighted to see a classmate, Sherry Syler, discussing the love of playing oboe. I was a violinist as well as a singer, and we played as an orchestra frequently. I didn't follow her career until I saw a website for the New York Phil. last year, and she was pictured in the oboe section. Brava! Sherry!
My english horn player told me about this video this morning in rehearsal, glad it's available for everyone. Joe! Greetings from your old friends in Mexico! The Xalapa oboe section.
I don't play the oboe, but my daughter does. She decided when she was 7 that it is the instrument for her. Now she's 12. She's been playing oboe for 9 months after a semester proving her musical ability on the flute. In addition to playing at school, I have her taking private lessons. She has already volunteered to go to the intermediate school next spring to demonstrate the oboe to students interested in joining the band next year. Recently she announced that she would like to be a band direct
This video made me so happy! I play oboe, and have spend years of people thinking that I play the clarinet. I enjoyed hearing how great musicians love oboes. I will definitely show this to my former band teacher, who also plays oboe.
Hi, i have 3 years studying oboe, i love this marvelous instrument, it´s a really hard instrument, a lot of practice, a lot of concentration but i enjoy every time playing it, even when i should practice scales, arpeggios or bloody studies. im learning the art of the reed making, and i say wow! it is a entire new world of learnning, thanks for posting the video, it almost make me cry at the last part. almost i forget it! im a mexican oboe student =D
I was a clarinet player in the Australian Army (Sydney 1972) and the section was so sloppy what when a vacancy came up for Oboe, I applied for it. I loved the sound and studied under the best teacher (Pauline Strait, Sydney Con). Then I learned how exposed an Oboe can be. It taught me the fears of being a soloist with an instrument that requires constant attention. I learnt more about being a MUSICIAN on Oboe than any other instrument.
This is an awesome video! I, too, am still in love with this instrument after a quarter century of playing it and for all the reasons described. There's nothing in the world like it!
When I first joined band, I ended up vetoing every instrument (although I almost chose clarinet, but decided against it, I can’t remember why.) My mother told me, “hey, this instrument is weird, and you are too!” So, I was interested, and so we rented an oboe from a music store! I was pretty bad for the first 4 years of playing it, but last year and this year I’ve started taking lessons and improved drastically. In fact, I almost made district this year (my first ever actual audition), and I got a score of 78! I got my first ever wooden oboe last year (a YOB-441) and have been hoping to start making my own reeds soon too. I’m going to keep practicing as much as I can with my busy school schedule, and I hope to get really good at my instrument.
+Christina Brown You are the first to reply to my question about finding good cane. I also use Alliaud cane, from ebay seller goreedfactory. Try the medium-soft.
Thanks for posting this video, I play the oboe for fun these days but I am very grateful I put the time in when I was young to be able to get all the solos in community bands :) That is definitely what makes it worth it.
I'm 15. I started oboe when I was in 6th grade. I was not born saying I wanted to play oboe, but I heard it on a video and from then on I had decided to play. I would never change now that I've started because it is just so beautiful!
I love how this line of dialogue fits perfectly with the background music. "We don't know where oboists come from, but THANK GOD THEY'RE HERE," right as the oboe solo reaches the end. It actually leaves me a bit teary eyed!
I played oboe for 16 years in a various army bands. I switched from sax and took lesson with a wonderful college professor who made me fall in love with the instrument. I guess since I didn't know what I was getting myself into I stuck with. My first horn was a Lesher my second horn was a Loree, my last oboe was a Laubin which I LOVED DEARLY!
I was 19 and auditioned for the USAF Academy Band and passed the audition. In 1975 we flew to Washington DC and played on the US Capitol steps 2 days in a row. The same place where the insurrection on January 6, 2021 took place.
My wife says it's so true - the same reed can be different on different days and even start off great and then suddenly die and misbehave.She says she always has 3 ready as spares and regularly quietly beeps them to see how they are behaving, so a new one can be popped in as needed.
I'm in 7th Grade, and I have two years of Oboe under my belt. Whenever I get the chance to play, it feels wonderful. I play with flutes, and when they play a note on a high register, I lose my ears! I also played the Clarinet in 5th Grade, and that was an amazing experience. All and all, I think everyone should take a moment to thank Oboists, and what they do for our orchestras.
Thank you for this, I finally feel honored about being an oboe, everyone makes fun of me for my different sound, and it's hard to stay commuted, but these compliments always make me feel better
Cosmonaut989 Nothing wrong with selecting a more challengeing instrument. In 7th grade I started out on the trumpet. But I was better than the rest of the other trumpet players. So at my band directors request, I switched to French Horn, where I worked up to 1st chair and even made all city and all district bands
I was once a bassoon player, and I can relate to this. But I can say that the bassoon's larger reed allowed a bit more leeway than that skinny little thing that my oboist friends had to blow through.
Chose to play almost 7 years ago in elementary school. I insisted I played oboe even though I am from a line of flute players. I refused to play anything else and I am still happy with that decision. In my opinion, oboe, English horn, and bassoon have the best sound of any other instrument there is.
I played the oboe a lot from 11 to 18 and now after a very busy career when I didn't play at all, I am picking it up again in my 50s. And yes - I remember why I fell in love with it in the first place, but it's still a fickle thing to play!
When I asked my band teacher if I could play the oboe, he barely said yes. I understand now, after two years of playing, how difficult the oboe can be. I'm glad I picked it though. Over all, it is a lovely instrument.
I started playing the oboe when i was 10, I'm 19 now and I've played in several amateur orchestras, ranging from band to symphonic to a musical-specific orchestra. There have been times when i would cry in frustration listening back to my performances, not liking the way i sounded. Times when i was embarrassingly redfaced and out of breath, like after playing the swan lake solo for the first time. times when i would break down after having to do an audition for an orchestra or doing a musical exam. But in the end i love the sound of the oboe, there are bad days but they are so worth it for the fun experiences I've had in the orchestras I've played it, and knowing you are able to play an instrument that only very few people do (relatively). I've had a few periods of very few practice, close to zero, and i would be afraid that i would forget everything I've learned. But when i pick up the instrument again and start practicing more intensively I'm realizing how much more i can do now, I'm able to do vibrato, I'm able to reach the high F above the bar. I'm able to play in tune in the third octave, I've finally unlearned my bad habit of sliding to the right E-flat key from the C-sharp key. The oboe has become a real friend for me, and I know that I'll keep on playing it for a long time.
I found this fascinating and illuminating. It is as was said, the quest for a beautiful sound and voice. I am having the career I never had, in my 70's. It should keep the brain alive. I am fascinated by oboe, oboe d'amore and English horn, what we in UK call a Cor Anglais, Rigoutat made wonderful instruments for me.
One of my best friends has been a professional oboist all her life...She is very fine.. When we were roommates at Eastman, I always wondered how she could stand the sound...and blow through that little reed. I have since learned to love the sound.....and understand her attachment to the instrument. Myself, I am attached to the piano in the same fashion...so there isn't a lot of difference there!!!
the oboe is a very BOOTIFUL instrument, and it may sound like a duck in labor at first but once you learn a few notes the sound will be bootiful as well
Yes I've been playing the oboe since 1965, and I have made many reeds, and still do, and they keep getting better. It's and art in itself, and worth if for all the beautiful music that's written for it. My father a Yale Music School pianist who graduated in three years said when I was 10, and I didn't want to play any other instruments they had, he said, why don't you play the oboe, you'll get all the solos .... I said ok and he bought me reeds and then I learned to make my own shortly after
Joseph Robinson, the oboist in this video who played with the NY Philharmonic, is from my home town of Lenoir, NC. We are very proud of him and the scores of other musicians who came from the small town who went on to play in the major orchestras of America. Lenoir, NC - a musical jewel.
I have great respect for people who play the oboe. I do myself as well. It's a hard instrument to learn but once you get it you basicly have it. When I was trying out for band I immeditatly went to that oboe and asked the guy "Whats this?" So many kids don't know about this instrument and it's a shame but I'm glad soo many people do appricitate it like others intsuments. I'm told time and again how I make my sound beautiful and they always ask me how and I awnser "The Oboe speaks to me"
when i started playing the oboe i was like 6 years old and i couldn't just handle cuz it was so heave for my age . My teacher helpd get through this nad now after 7 years i am one of the 3 best oboes in me philharmonic !! OBOE IS MY LOVE
Oboe is life. I've been playing for 7 years now. I started out thinking I was playing the clarinet... and then I realized that I definitely had the wrong instrument, but I was too embarrassed to tell the band director I messed up... and then I was glad I never spoke up because oboe rocks. I'm a little embarrassed about this fact, but I don't know how to make my own reeds. 7 years and still don't know! I have the basic materials (knife, bore, a few pieces of cane, the little chopping block, etc) but never really learned. I've done it a few times under guidance, but not enough to be able to do it on my own with success.
I am In 5th grade,(just started it) and band is coming up. I picked the oboe. I love it without quite playing it yet. (Well I tried it out like a test blow and got a long sound. Because I blew a long time.) I am so exited!!😃 My parents are picking out the rental stuff Thursday!!😄😄😄😄😄💗💗
I play the oboe, I got to go in trying the different instruments for band in grade school and I found it the easiest to make sound with. I couldn't blow into the flute or make tone out of the clarinet. I almost picked the sax, I could make notes with it and the keys were easier to reach. My mom said she loved the sound of the oboe, so I picked the oboe. I love my oboe. I've had it since 1989.
I'm an oboe player and i can't answer the question of the video because you only now you want to play oboe when you play it because it's an amazing feeling to make that beatiful sound that comes out of it and when you make it you will be adicted to it
Clarinet was my first instrument, but I changed to oboe in seventh grade because I liked the sound of it. I'm in tenth grade now and it's an outlet for my negative emotions. Honestly, my oboe is my best friend and I can't imagine what my life would be like without it.
I love playing the oboe, have been for 3 years. Sadly though, my time allowed with my beloved instrument is limited. I'm only in middle school, so once I leave and go to high school the only option they got is Marching Band. Nothing against it, but really, I feel like I can only play the oboe. And as we all know, it's reed suicide to go marching with an oboe :'3 Hopefully when I grow older I might be able to take up oboe again and feel the warm literal vibrations in my heart
That soooo sad you should make a wood wind ensemble with your friends. I'm in a rock band on guitar it's really fun! (Of course Oboe is my favorite and I would give up all of my instruments for it) Star with a school event maybe a talent show post it on RUclips and see if someone will offer you a gig. That what I did.
1st played the violin from 3rd to 5th grade. when i got middle school, i transitioned to wind ensemble/band. so when my band director had me trying out instruments, i tried the flute, could barely make a sound lol tried the trumpet, it was alright, tried percussion, blah.... then he gave me the oboe, i was like whoa....thts different. he said ill probably be the only one...so i gave it a shot. played it from 6th to 12th grade. it came naturally. i really enjoyed it. im 28 now, and i miss it.
I am the only oboe at my school and I am in 8th grade and UMSL is already wanting me in their program I am starting bassoon also and I can play flute, ukulele, viola, and paino
Why would anybody want to play the oboe? Single most beautiful orchestral instrument invented. The others are fantastic as well, but double-reed instruments are astoundingly beautiful - the Oboe being absolutely magnificent, but the bassoon and cor anglais also astoundingly beautiful.
I play the oboe and I know exactly what these great oboists are talking about ... When you get that beautiful, extraordinary tone it's just hard to play any other instrument with the same emotion... The oboe IS a very emotional instrument.
The oboe reed is like a newborn baby, its so sensitive and easily damageable. Cold temperature can change the sound, when you are in a airplane, the reed sound will change once you land! That's what makes the oboe so special!
I love the sound of a Oboe! And that's why I just started today!! Why would I want to? It's different, then any other instrument. I love the duck sound it makes, and it seems like a challenge. They also get you scholarships! DUH!
Um yeah most instruments get scholarships. Also not true sometimes oboe can sound like flute a clarinet. Idk why oboe has to get all this praise when every instrument is amazing.
This is my sixth year playing the oboe. I still have much to learn but at school, my band director tells the band how lucky they are to have someone as talented as myself. Now, that's up for debate, but I do take pride in my oboe. I love it. More than air sometimes. Why would anybody want to play the oboe? Because it is, hands down, the most amazing instrument in the world.
I've played my oboe for 2 years now and I love my oboe! When I first started playing I sounded like a duck, and everyone told me that, but I kept practicing an practicing. I'm a lot better then when I first started. In my middle school next year I'm going to be the only oboe in my entire school, because my friend doesn't like band anymore. So it's up to me now, and I'm going to STAY STRONG :).
In first grade, the symphony came to my school, and there was an oboe soloist. After that day, I started learning everything I could about music. Infer
When I joined band oboe was the only instrument I could make a sound out of, it was the only instrument I wanted to make a sound out of, but I didn't know anybody who played it.
I am oboe performer, not a professional one, but I loved, play the oboe is one of the best thing has happened to me. In my opinion when you blow the oboe you can feel how the oboe touch every single nerves of your body , the oboe can change your personality , for be an oboist you need to have healthy the body and your mind because is demanding.
I played the oboe for 3 months. 30 minutes to 45 minutes a day, 6 times a week. Took 1 lesson a week with a professionnal oboist. I got so discouraged by my lack of endurance (my upper lip is short, it's a disadvantage), and being constantly out of tune, that I decided to give the clarinet a shot, for 1 month, and then decide which one I would pursue (played the flute 5 years). After 1 week of clarinet, my decision was made, and I switched to the clarinet. It broke my hearth... BUT!!! Now with the clarinet, I'm almost always in tune, reeds are cheap, compared to the oboe, and there is waayyyyyyy more music sheets for the clarinet. I bought a granadilla wood Yamaha YCL-550AL Allegro clarinet. It is super beautiful, the sound is rich. Having played the oboe 3 months before switching to clarinet is a huge plus. My mouth muscles were greatly streghtened and my tone is good on the clarinet for a begginner. I use 2.5 reeds for now. I find some fingerings waaayyyy harder on the clarinet than the oboe, but it will be overcome (crossing the break from A to B for example). Everytime I watch oboe stuff, my hearth cracks in 2 pieces... but I am happy with my clarinet whatsoever 😁
Whoops. After playing clarinet for another two years, I switched to oboe with only my method book and my creativity to learn from. It's been 2.5 years (I've been playing with lessons for 1 of those) and I absolutely love my instrument more than anything. I finally got a solo a while back, and I was so happy, I could hardly breathe. I got into the advanced band this year even though my band teacher and I aren't exactly buddies (I'm very annoying), and I hope my story will inspire oboists to come.
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When playing the oboe, there are times when you ask yourself, "Why did I ever pick this stupid thing?" because it seems that no matter how hard you try, your intonation is terrible. But then you find the right spot, your tone is rich and full, and you let your fingers fly in an incredible dance. All of your efforts come together, so you listen to yourself and can't help but to smile. That's when you say, "That's why I picked the oboe."
Thank you for this video.
Playing the oboe is putting your soul on a column of air and letting it sing...
After squeezing it at high velocities through a tiny hole with a back-pressure that makes your face feel like it will explode. The oboe is beautiful while playing. The oboist ? Never while playing.
Good comment. I learned from my teachers thought that instead of pinching, regard the embouchure as a kind of gasket seal around the reed. Also, as Marcel Tabuteau said and other oboists have said, breath completely out, then make the tone. It is surprising how much air is still in the lungs after you breath out. This really reduces the back pressure you are talking about. If you haven't obtained it, Tabuteau has a great CD he made near the end of his life where he discusses this and other subjects.
7:15 - "You get that little buzz in your mouth, and you hear that sweet, piercing sound. And you decide nothing else will ever be good enough for you. It's a strange thing, the oboe."
Brother, you pretty much summed it up right there.
I am that kid who walked up to his band director and asked to try out the oboe.
same!
Same. I had no idea what I was getting into... That was five years ago and I'm still with it into high school! oh the pain we just keep wanting more lol
same
same, but im waiting to play it
Same, but my band directors refuse to teach me.
"...and you decide nothing else will ever be good enough for you." -this is so true. I don't know if every Oboist gets this, but I know I certainly do. It has the most beautiful sound I have ever heard, and I feel so proud just to know that I play one of the most beautiful musical instruments that exist. :')
probably should have been practicing during this video
Oh, that's marveous! Lol.
I should have been making reeds :)
I started playing the Oboe when I was 11, I'm fourteen now, from the video I've seen I have still got a long way to go! Hahaha high 5 to other Oboe players
*high fives* HAIL OBOES
Are you still playing
Nieve Stenton That’s wonderful and get a professional teacher to keep you on the right track, as you’re already advanced and now you are other instrumentalists inspiration.
How is it now?
High five!
I play the oboe. I started with the Alto Saxophone and I didn't like it and I was about to quit the band but then I discovered the oboe and after 2 years of playing I got into an Arts school. I love it so much.
Katherine Cabrera I play clarinet but I'm now interested in learning oboe as a doubling instrument. I'm a freshman music education major at University of Massachusetts Lowell and the woodwinds are the main thing that drew my attention in an orchestra. I've been wanting to double on oboe since my senior year of high school but had no guts to tell my band director I wanted to learn oboe because he would have flipped his shit and laughed! It looks very common to make your own reeds for oboe but is it possible just to buy some? I think it would be easier that way instead of putting all my time and energy into hand making them and failing. Reed making looks like it's very time consuming but the oboe is the 2nd most beautiful woodwind instrument I hear.
musiciangal02453 I also play clarinet and want to play oboe!
Proud to Be a Oboist!
YES.ME TOO
*BE AN OBOIST
Same!! #OboePlayers
Sane
Preach!
Pick it up like a flute and just blow?!!! I spent freaking hours perfecting my tone!!!
I had the same reaction :) Flute is on the other end of the resistance spectrum to the oboe.....it only ever truly occurs to me how much effort it takes to blow the flute when I watch my beginner students.
Yeah, the technical demands of the flute are very high.You are expected to tongue at ridiculous speeds, play impossibly long phrases, stay in tune, play the piccolo (much harder than it looks but worth it), deal with the flute's dynamic capabilities and still sound beautiful.
Yeah, I agree with what you guys are saying. I'm a clarinetist, and I do realise that it isn't as simple as the lady in the video makes it sound. I think the point she was trying to make was that for you, the embouchure hole cut into your head joint is made at the factory and is going to give you a good sound. True, there are poorly cut head joints, but the standard is pretty damn high. It doesn't change every day with the weather and you don't have to cut a new one yourself every other day and hope it works. Your embouchure hole is much more reliable than a reed and in that sense when you blow into your embouchure hole the only thing you have to worry about is problems on your end as a musician. We reed players have to fret about our reeds. We have to do all the same things you do, but we have to worry about the reed, which you don't. You will notice, though, that I'm not saying the flute is easier. The flute uses a lot more air than other wood winds and is a lot more resistant. It doesn't have a reed, but it has its own challenges.
Duncanmn I agree, but the way she said it was a bit...
Totally. I know. I was just saying what I thought she meant by it. It wasn't supposed to be a slight. Even though it came out that way. lol I feel your pain, too. People tell me my instrument is easy all the time...
The oboe? The Devil's reed? The ill wind that nobody blows good; suffocation on a stick?
Why wouldn't anyone want to play an instrument that demands total dedication in the construction of a vital component guaranteed to fail almost as soon as you finish shaping it, if it's even usable once it's first finished?
An instrument where an inadequate student's instrument costs more than some lower level professional grade clarinets and a few used cars?
Because I love the sound of an oboe, and if I could afford one I'd buy one. Nothing else sounds even close to an oboe.
Exactly! I myself have the honor if having an onoe
Oboe*
Spangle TheStallion
I admit to being jealous.
"Suffocation on a stick"
most accurate thing I've ever heard.
Sofia Nishimura
But it still sounds wonderful. I admire anyone who can do that.
I just started playing oboe recently, and I've already found a love for it. playing has helped me through a lot of things
beautiful sound..difficult instrument....
Try French Horn if you want difficult! It's like trying to crochet whilst being attacked by a bear, while you mother is watching.
I'm a retired oboe player. I played two Laubins in my career, by the way, and I've been to Mr. Laubin's shop. Fascinating to watch the amazing craftsmen at work. (I still have nightmares about reeds and I imagine I will to my dying day!) :-)
us oboe players are a rare sort, ask any of us and we'll tell ya there's no going back once you've started and though there may be horror story's of cracked skulls from the intense pressure if ur too young it is an art form that is revered by many and therefore I tell you all ' I am proud to be an oboe
I love the oboe, just like they preach!
It's just as difficult as they say, people.
It's a physical challenge as well as a balancing act.
Sara Packard it's kinda easy.....
Ethical I know it gets harder but it's kinda easy, the main concept of playing it.
I am a soloist for the oboe in my school and I find the oboe something out of this world! Nobody in my family plays the oboe but when this girl that came to my school to show us the sound I different instruments, I fell in love! It was love at first sight!
I've been playing flute for 11 years and picked up the oboe at the beginning of 2022 because there was no oboist in my church's orchestra. Around 9 or 10 months later, here I am, in a love-hate relationship with the oboe. I can't play for too long and I'm always uncertain of my reeds' moods for that practice session; but the sense of accomplishment that I feel when the note blends beautifully with the orchestra really keeps me going. Ah, what an instrument!
I'm in grade 9 and just started playing oboe. I have never played any other wind instruments before but I thought I'd give band music a shot. My teacher was showing my class all the different instruments we could choose from and she played the oboe.. I fell in love!! I didn't realize just how hard it is! I almost quit after a couple months but I'm glad I didn't :) It's a great feeling when you play that solo perfectly!! :)
Fascinating documentary. I'm teaching myself the oboe. It's a real challenge after playing the flute for 25 years! I love it!
My high school band have never had an oboist and now there proud to have me in there !!
Both my parents played the Oboe. Professionally. They were good! And I’ll never forget the sound as I went to sleep every night listening to them. I miss it very much.
I was supposed to play the clarinet like my cousin....but my dam self changed my mind at the last second from clarinet to oboe. My god I spent my first year trying to make a sound
. But now I got it!!!!
my highschool band hasn't had an oboe player in a while and last Friday my friend and I asked our director if we could learn it. she wasn't very confident but I'm excited!
How did it go?
I'm a music teacher in Chattanooga Tennessee and was delighted to see a classmate, Sherry Syler, discussing the love of playing oboe. I was a violinist as well as a singer, and we played as an orchestra frequently. I didn't follow her career until I saw a website for the New York Phil. last year, and she was pictured in the oboe section. Brava! Sherry!
My english horn player told me about this video this morning in rehearsal, glad it's available for everyone. Joe! Greetings from your old friends in Mexico! The Xalapa oboe section.
I don't play the oboe, but my daughter does. She decided when she was 7 that it is the instrument for her. Now she's 12. She's been playing oboe for 9 months after a semester proving her musical ability on the flute. In addition to playing at school, I have her taking private lessons. She has already volunteered to go to the intermediate school next spring to demonstrate the oboe to students interested in joining the band next year. Recently she announced that she would like to be a band direct
This video made me so happy! I play oboe, and have spend years of people thinking that I play the clarinet. I enjoyed hearing how great musicians love oboes. I will definitely show this to my former band teacher, who also plays oboe.
I saw this video about a year ago at a masterclass with Mr. Robinson. Thank you very much for uploading this video.
I've been playing the oboe for 3 years and I love it ! But I wouldn't be this good without my I or mentor ! Your the best thanks for everything :)
Hi, i have 3 years studying oboe, i love this marvelous instrument, it´s a really hard instrument, a lot of practice, a lot of concentration but i enjoy every time playing it, even when i should practice scales, arpeggios or bloody studies. im learning the art of the reed making, and i say wow! it is a entire new world of learnning, thanks for posting the video, it almost make me cry at the last part. almost i forget it! im a mexican oboe student =D
the oboe is the absolute love of my life.
you still play the oboe?
I was a clarinet player in the Australian Army (Sydney 1972) and the section was so sloppy what when a vacancy came up for Oboe, I applied for it. I loved the sound and studied under the best teacher (Pauline Strait, Sydney Con). Then I learned how exposed an Oboe can be. It taught me the fears of being a soloist with an instrument that requires constant attention. I learnt more about being a MUSICIAN on Oboe than any other instrument.
This is an awesome video! I, too, am still in love with this instrument after a quarter century of playing it and for all the reasons described. There's nothing in the world like it!
When I first joined band, I ended up vetoing every instrument (although I almost chose clarinet, but decided against it, I can’t remember why.) My mother told me, “hey, this instrument is weird, and you are too!” So, I was interested, and so we rented an oboe from a music store! I was pretty bad for the first 4 years of playing it, but last year and this year I’ve started taking lessons and improved drastically. In fact, I almost made district this year (my first ever actual audition), and I got a score of 78! I got my first ever wooden oboe last year (a YOB-441) and have been hoping to start making my own reeds soon too. I’m going to keep practicing as much as I can with my busy school schedule, and I hope to get really good at my instrument.
Both are beautiful in their own way. There is some lovely music for the clarinet.
I get good cane from Hodge Products. I'm a real fan of her Alliaud cane. I play on a Laubin from the 1960's. And I love playing oboe!
+Christina Brown You are the first to reply to my question about finding good cane. I also use Alliaud cane, from ebay seller goreedfactory. Try the medium-soft.
Thanks for posting this video, I play the oboe for fun these days but I am very grateful I put the time in when I was young to be able to get all the solos in community bands :) That is definitely what makes it worth it.
I'm from Uruguay and I play the oboe too, I think that it's an amazing instrument and I love play it! excellent video!
I'm 15. I started oboe when I was in 6th grade. I was not born saying I wanted to play oboe, but I heard it on a video and from then on I had decided to play. I would never change now that I've started because it is just so beautiful!
I love how this line of dialogue fits perfectly with the background music. "We don't know where oboists come from, but THANK GOD THEY'RE HERE," right as the oboe solo reaches the end. It actually leaves me a bit teary eyed!
I played oboe for 16 years in a various army bands. I switched from sax and took lesson with a wonderful college professor who made me fall in love with the instrument. I guess since I didn't know what I was getting myself into I stuck with. My first horn was a Lesher my second horn was a Loree, my last oboe was a Laubin which I LOVED DEARLY!
I was 19 and auditioned for the USAF Academy Band and passed the audition. In 1975 we flew to Washington DC and played on the US Capitol steps 2 days in a row. The same place where the insurrection on January 6, 2021 took place.
My wife says it's so true - the same reed can be different on different days and even start off great and then suddenly die and misbehave.She says she always has 3 ready as spares and regularly quietly beeps them to see how they are behaving, so a new one can be popped in as needed.
Amen, I never regretted playing the oboe, and I, too, am addicted to it's beautiful magnanimous sound...
Because of this:
Henrik Chaim Goldschmidt plays "Gabriel's Oboe"
(look for it on youtube)
I'm in 7th Grade, and I have two years of Oboe under my belt. Whenever I get the chance to play, it feels wonderful. I play with flutes, and when they play a note on a high register, I lose my ears! I also played the Clarinet in 5th Grade, and that was an amazing experience.
All and all, I think everyone should take a moment to thank Oboists, and what they do for our orchestras.
Thank you for this, I finally feel honored about being an oboe, everyone makes fun of me for my different sound, and it's hard to stay commuted, but these compliments always make me feel better
Cosmonaut989 Nothing wrong with selecting a more challengeing instrument. In 7th grade I started out on the trumpet. But I was better than the rest of the other trumpet
players. So at my band directors request, I switched to French Horn, where I worked up to 1st chair and even made all city and all district bands
I was once a bassoon player, and I can relate to this. But I can say that the bassoon's larger reed allowed a bit more leeway than that skinny little thing that my oboist friends had to blow through.
Chose to play almost 7 years ago in elementary school. I insisted I played oboe even though I am from a line of flute players. I refused to play anything else and I am still happy with that decision. In my opinion, oboe, English horn, and bassoon have the best sound of any other instrument there is.
Try to keep your hand in it, no matter what, David. You have worked so hard.
I played the oboe a lot from 11 to 18 and now after a very busy career when I didn't play at all, I am picking it up again in my 50s. And yes - I remember why I fell in love with it in the first place, but it's still a fickle thing to play!
When I asked my band teacher if I could play the oboe, he barely said yes. I understand now, after two years of playing, how difficult the oboe can be. I'm glad I picked it though. Over all, it is a lovely instrument.
I play the oboe and bassoon and piano and its awesome
I started playing the oboe when i was 10, I'm 19 now and I've played in several amateur orchestras, ranging from band to symphonic to a musical-specific orchestra.
There have been times when i would cry in frustration listening back to my performances, not liking the way i sounded. Times when i was embarrassingly redfaced and out of breath, like after playing the swan lake solo for the first time. times when i would break down after having to do an audition for an orchestra or doing a musical exam.
But in the end i love the sound of the oboe, there are bad days but they are so worth it for the fun experiences I've had in the orchestras I've played it, and knowing you are able to play an instrument that only very few people do (relatively).
I've had a few periods of very few practice, close to zero, and i would be afraid that i would forget everything I've learned. But when i pick up the instrument again and start practicing more intensively I'm realizing how much more i can do now, I'm able to do vibrato, I'm able to reach the high F above the bar. I'm able to play in tune in the third octave, I've finally unlearned my bad habit of sliding to the right E-flat key from the C-sharp key.
The oboe has become a real friend for me, and I know that I'll keep on playing it for a long time.
👍I'm going to play the oboe and I just joined band in my middle school and it seems cool and fun I'm excited👍
Well I hope you're going on into year two!
I found this fascinating and illuminating. It is as was said, the quest for a beautiful sound and voice. I am having the career I never had, in my 70's. It should keep the brain alive. I am fascinated by oboe, oboe d'amore and English horn, what we in UK call a Cor Anglais, Rigoutat made wonderful instruments for me.
One of my best friends has been a professional oboist all her life...She is very fine.. When we were roommates at Eastman, I always wondered how she could stand the sound...and blow through that little reed. I have since learned to love the sound.....and understand her attachment to the instrument. Myself, I am attached to the piano in the same fashion...so there isn't a lot of difference there!!!
I play the oboe and I love the beautiful sound it makes. I'm happy my teacher handed it to me.
The oboe is a screaming death stick
the oboe is a very BOOTIFUL instrument, and it may sound like a duck in labor at first but once you learn a few notes the sound will be bootiful as well
Haha I’m the only oboe in my band class.There’s only 2 other oboe players in my school.
Annabelle Farley but it will be beautiful if it’s played correctly,
Because it has a sound like no other instrument and touches the heart in ways that no other instrument does.
Even though I play the Violin and Piano, I always loved the Oboe and Harp, I'm grateful there are Oboe players.
Yes I've been playing the oboe since 1965, and I have made many reeds, and still do, and they keep getting better. It's and art in itself, and worth if for all the beautiful music that's written for it. My father a Yale Music School pianist who graduated in three years said when I was 10, and I didn't want to play any other instruments they had, he said, why don't you play the oboe, you'll get all the solos .... I said ok and he bought me reeds and then I learned to make my own shortly after
Joseph Robinson, the oboist in this video who played with the NY Philharmonic, is from my home town of Lenoir, NC. We are very proud of him and the scores of other musicians who came from the small town who went on to play in the major orchestras of America. Lenoir, NC - a musical jewel.
One day I said to my band teacher, "hey, can I play the oboe?" and he said sure. I had NO idea what I had signed up for.
the struggle is real
I have great respect for people who play the oboe. I do myself as well. It's a hard instrument to learn but once you get it you basicly have it. When I was trying out for band I immeditatly went to that oboe and asked the guy "Whats this?" So many kids don't know about this instrument and it's a shame but I'm glad soo many people do appricitate it like others intsuments. I'm told time and again how I make my sound beautiful and they always ask me how and I awnser "The Oboe speaks to me"
I've been playing the oboe for 14 years, my mom, probably 20 or more years. It is by far the best instrument in the entire orchestra.
when i started playing the oboe i was like 6 years old and i couldn't just handle cuz it was so heave for my age . My teacher helpd get through this nad now after 7 years i am one of the 3 best oboes in me philharmonic !! OBOE IS MY LOVE
Oboe is life. I've been playing for 7 years now. I started out thinking I was playing the clarinet... and then I realized that I definitely had the wrong instrument, but I was too embarrassed to tell the band director I messed up... and then I was glad I never spoke up because oboe rocks. I'm a little embarrassed about this fact, but I don't know how to make my own reeds. 7 years and still don't know! I have the basic materials (knife, bore, a few pieces of cane, the little chopping block, etc) but never really learned. I've done it a few times under guidance, but not enough to be able to do it on my own with success.
I am In 5th grade,(just started it) and band is coming up. I picked the oboe. I love it without quite playing it yet. (Well I tried it out like a test blow and got a long sound. Because I blew a long time.) I am so exited!!😃 My parents are picking out the rental stuff Thursday!!😄😄😄😄😄💗💗
I play the oboe, I got to go in trying the different instruments for band in grade school and I found it the easiest to make sound with. I couldn't blow into the flute or make tone out of the clarinet. I almost picked the sax, I could make notes with it and the keys were easier to reach. My mom said she loved the sound of the oboe, so I picked the oboe. I love my oboe. I've had it since 1989.
The voice of an oboe speaks to me above all the other sounds of the orchestra. And the voice of an English horn, also.
I'm an oboe player and i can't answer the question of the video because you only now you want to play oboe when you play it because it's an amazing feeling to make that beatiful sound that comes out of it and when you make it you will be adicted to it
The oboe is an amazing instrument! I love playing it.
"You might look at oboe playing as a kind of musical bungee-jumping."
Exactly that. The oboe sounds wonderful, but it's hell to learn.
Clarinet was my first instrument, but I changed to oboe in seventh grade because I liked the sound of it. I'm in tenth grade now and it's an outlet for my negative emotions. Honestly, my oboe is my best friend and I can't imagine what my life would be like without it.
One of the hardest but yet sweetest sounding instruments
chriss1152 ONE OF the sweetest sounding IF you actually play it right. Flutes can be sweet too! And so can clarinets.
I love playing the oboe, have been for 3 years. Sadly though, my time allowed with my beloved instrument is limited. I'm only in middle school, so once I leave and go to high school the only option they got is Marching Band. Nothing against it, but really, I feel like I can only play the oboe. And as we all know, it's reed suicide to go marching with an oboe :'3 Hopefully when I grow older I might be able to take up oboe again and feel the warm literal vibrations in my heart
you could join an orchestra out of school like me :)
Wow, no concert band or wind ensemble?! What a shame!!! How can a high school band director completely forget about the beauty of a concert ensemble?!
That soooo sad you should make a wood wind ensemble with your friends. I'm in a rock band on guitar it's really fun! (Of course Oboe is my favorite and I would give up all of my instruments for it) Star with a school event maybe a talent show post it on RUclips and see if someone will offer you a gig. That what I did.
damn this was 6 years ago, wonder how your life’s been like now
The oboe is the most beautiful, haunting instrument. I love oboe music.
I randomly picked an instrument and liked the name oboe and little did I know what I was gonna get myself into.
oboe players where u at
1st played the violin from 3rd to 5th grade. when i got middle school, i transitioned to wind ensemble/band. so when my band director had me trying out instruments, i tried the flute, could barely make a sound lol tried the trumpet, it was alright, tried percussion, blah.... then he gave me the oboe, i was like whoa....thts different. he said ill probably be the only one...so i gave it a shot. played it from 6th to 12th grade. it came naturally. i really enjoyed it. im 28 now, and i miss it.
I LOVE playing the oboe. The sound is so beautiful.❤
loved this video..so true about the oboe. does anyone know of anymore videos like this? Wonderful video...
I play the oboe at school! There used to be 3 oboes , but now there's 2 oboe players. There should be more!
I am the only oboe at my school and I am in 8th grade and UMSL is already wanting me in their program I am starting bassoon also and I can play flute, ukulele, viola, and paino
I love playing oboe. It creates a beautiful sound
Why would anybody want to play the oboe?
Single most beautiful orchestral instrument invented. The others are fantastic as well, but double-reed instruments are astoundingly beautiful - the Oboe being absolutely magnificent, but the bassoon and cor anglais also astoundingly beautiful.
I play the oboe and I know exactly what these great oboists are talking about ... When you get that beautiful, extraordinary tone it's just hard to play any other instrument with the same emotion... The oboe IS a very emotional instrument.
The oboe reed is like a newborn baby, its so sensitive and easily damageable. Cold temperature can change the sound, when you are in a airplane, the reed sound will change once you land! That's what makes the oboe so special!
I love the sound of a Oboe! And that's why I just started today!! Why would I want to? It's different, then any other instrument. I love the duck sound it makes, and it seems like a challenge. They also get you scholarships! DUH!
it'll probably take you a while before you sound good on the oboe. It's a great challenge but if you keep trying you'll sound absolutely beautiful.
Um yeah most instruments get scholarships. Also not true sometimes oboe can sound like flute a clarinet. Idk why oboe has to get all this praise when every instrument is amazing.
Jack Shephard it’s been four years. Do you still play the oboe
I play the oboe because it produces an amazing sound (if played well). Also, it's not mainstream like flute or violin.
This is my sixth year playing the oboe. I still have much to learn but at school, my band director tells the band how lucky they are to have someone as talented as myself. Now, that's up for debate, but I do take pride in my oboe. I love it. More than air sometimes. Why would anybody want to play the oboe? Because it is, hands down, the most amazing instrument in the world.
I've played my oboe for 2 years now and I love my oboe! When I first started playing I sounded like a duck, and everyone told me that, but I kept practicing an practicing. I'm a lot better then when I first started. In my middle school next year I'm going to be the only oboe in my entire school, because my friend doesn't like band anymore. So it's up to me now, and I'm going to STAY STRONG :).
The oboe is my third favourite instrument after the violin and piano. It's just so mysterious, especially when playing Celtic music
In first grade, the symphony came to my school, and there was an oboe soloist. After that day, I started learning everything I could about music. Infer
I play the Oboe! 20 years and still going!
When I joined band oboe was the only instrument I could make a sound out of, it was the only instrument I wanted to make a sound out of, but I didn't know anybody who played it.
I am oboe performer, not a professional one, but I loved, play the oboe is one of the best thing has happened to me.
In my opinion when you blow the oboe you can feel how the oboe touch every single nerves of your body , the oboe can change your personality , for be an oboist you need to have healthy the body and your mind because is demanding.
When you hear that sweet piercing sound you decide that no any other instrument is good enough for you.
I played the oboe for 3 months. 30 minutes to 45 minutes a day, 6 times a week. Took 1 lesson a week with a professionnal oboist. I got so discouraged by my lack of endurance (my upper lip is short, it's a disadvantage), and being constantly out of tune, that I decided to give the clarinet a shot, for 1 month, and then decide which one I would pursue (played the flute 5 years). After 1 week of clarinet, my decision was made, and I switched to the clarinet. It broke my hearth... BUT!!! Now with the clarinet, I'm almost always in tune, reeds are cheap, compared to the oboe, and there is waayyyyyyy more music sheets for the clarinet. I bought a granadilla wood Yamaha YCL-550AL Allegro clarinet. It is super beautiful, the sound is rich. Having played the oboe 3 months before switching to clarinet is a huge plus. My mouth muscles were greatly streghtened and my tone is good on the clarinet for a begginner. I use 2.5 reeds for now. I find some fingerings waaayyyy harder on the clarinet than the oboe, but it will be overcome (crossing the break from A to B for example).
Everytime I watch oboe stuff, my hearth cracks in 2 pieces... but I am happy with my clarinet whatsoever 😁
Whoops. After playing clarinet for another two years, I switched to oboe with only my method book and my creativity to learn from. It's been 2.5 years (I've been playing with lessons for 1 of those) and I absolutely love my instrument more than anything. I finally got a solo a while back, and I was so happy, I could hardly breathe. I got into the advanced band this year even though my band teacher and I aren't exactly buddies (I'm very annoying), and I hope my story will inspire oboists to come.