Classical Music Would be Ordinary without the Oboe
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Melanie Woody
English 1010-C92
17 September 2013
Classical Music Would be Ordinary without the Oboe
Handel, Bach, Mozart, Saint Saëns, Beethoven and many more composers wrote countless music for full, grand orchestras and their pieces of music have been played regularly and imitated to this day. In almost each work, they chose to exhibit one instrument in particular: the oboe. Why the oboe? What does it have that other instruments are lacking? If many world-renowned composers chose to highlight the oboe, there must be a quality that makes this instrument superior. The oboe is unique, essential and challenging because it can create such a range of emotion – from high elation to the deepest sorrow. Through these dynamics, the oboe plays a key role in orchestral history. Classical music would not be as emotionally stirring if not for the oboe. To genuinely appreciate classical music as one knows it today, one must understand the skill and the time invested in perfecting the oboe tone. In order to produce a sound, air must travel from a firm, fixed embouchure through the double reed. Unlike the reed to the clarinet, which is single and attaches to the instrument, a double reed is two pieces of reed bound together and inserted into the top of the oboe. The oboe reed is made from cane, similar to bamboo, and has a narrow opening resembling the eye of a needle. As a result of the constricted opening, very little air is expelled from the lungs. Composers see this as an advantage of the oboe. This difference in breathing allows long sections to be played without taking another breath because the lungs of an oboist never fully empty whereas the breathing in other wind instruments is needed more often due to the demand of other wind instruments. Not only does a double reed have a constricted opening, but must also be kept wet while playing. This is critical as a dry reed is more challenging to produce a noise and it has a higher risk of breaking.
An
Melanie Woody
English 1010-C92
17 September 2013
Classical Music Would be Ordinary without the Oboe
Handel, Bach, Mozart, Saint Saëns, Beethoven and many more composers wrote countless music for full, grand orchestras and their pieces of music have been played regularly and imitated to this day. In almost each work, they chose to exhibit one instrument in particular: the oboe. Why the oboe? What does it have that other instruments are lacking? If many world-renowned composers chose to highlight the oboe, there must be a quality that makes this instrument superior. The oboe is unique, essential and challenging because it can create such a range of emotion – from high elation to the deepest sorrow. Through these dynamics, the oboe plays a key role in orchestral history. Classical music would not be as emotionally stirring if not for the oboe. To genuinely appreciate classical music as one knows it today, one must understand the skill and the time invested in perfecting the oboe tone. In order to produce a sound, air must travel from a firm, fixed embouchure through the double reed. Unlike the reed to the clarinet, which is single and attaches to the instrument, a double reed is two pieces of reed bound together and inserted into the top of the oboe. The oboe reed is made from cane, similar to bamboo, and has a narrow opening resembling the eye of a needle. As a result of the constricted opening, very little air is expelled from the lungs. Composers see this as an advantage of the oboe. This difference in breathing allows long sections to be played without taking another breath because the lungs of an oboist never fully empty whereas the breathing in other wind instruments is needed more often due to the demand of other wind instruments. Not only does a double reed have a constricted opening, but must also be kept wet while playing. This is critical as a dry reed is more challenging to produce a noise and it has a higher risk of breaking.
An