The oboe is a member of the double reed group of woodwinds and is both a family of instruments and a single instrument. Bagpipes, baritone oboe, bassoon, contrabassoon, English horn in F, heckelphone, and oboe d’amore are also included in this ensemble. Members of the family’s double reeds are listed below, in order of lowest to highest value.
The bass oboe, also known as the baritone oboe, is one octave lower than the regular oboe. It was used English composer Gustav Holst in his opera The Planets, but it hasn’t been used much recently. Today, the heckelphone, a 4 foot (1.2 meter) long instrument with an octave lower pitch, is frequently substituted. The heckelphone was created in response to a request from Richard Wagner during a visit to the Heckel factory, a German bassoon manufacturer, in the late 1800s.
The English horn, also known as the cor anglais, is a fifth lower in pitch than the oboe.
The oboe d’amore is a minor third lower than the oboe d’amore.
An oboist plays a regular oboe, which is a non-transposing instrument.
In the 17th century, Frenchmen Jean Hotteterre and Michel Philidor developed the oboe from its predecessor, the shawm, a one-piece instrument. The shawm was a Medieval–Renaissance double-reed instrument. Along with trumpet and drums, it was part of the Saracens’ military band during the Crusades. The shawm was available in six different sizes, ranging from sopranino to great bass. Bombardes were the larger shawms. The English called it a hautbois or hoboy in the early days of its use, which hints at how the name evolved.
An oboe is made up of three parts: the upper joint, the lower joint, and the bell. Tenons are used to join these pieces together. There are two main construction systems: the French conservatoire system, which was developed Frédéric Triébert in the late 1800s, and the English thumbplate system. Oboes with two systems are also available.
Oboes are used in both orchestral and band settings. This instrument is featured in Johann Sebastian Bach’s first two Brandenburg Concertos. In Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, it plays the duck. Oboes are also used in jazz, as evidenced Charlie Parker’s Bird with Strings album.