(plays Tchaikovski's "Swan Lake")
The oboe started life in the Middle Ages as a shawm,
a very old instrument, and it developed from the shawm
into the first oboe from
the Baroque times, around 1680-1690,
and was used extensively
by baroque composers such as Handel and Bach,
and the baroque oboe was made of a different kind of wood
from the modern oboe, it was made of boxwood,
and it only had two keys at the bottom of the oboe,
a C key and an E-flat key, the rest were just holes,
but it had the double reed and it made a fairly similar sound.
Following this, the oboe developed into the Classical period
where Mozart and Haydn wrote for it
and started adding keys as they went along,
until it became a lot more developed
into the 19th century, early 20th century,
and changed to this grenadilla wood that we have now,
and developed into the modern oboe.
The wood that is used on a modern oboe
is a lot heavier and more durable
than on the baroque and classical oboe,
and also helps produce a darker sound.
Most modern oboists make their own reeds,
and to make a reed, you start off with a tube of cane,
a bit like bamboo, which you split into three pieces,
and then you do a process called gouging
on a machine, which makes it thinner,
you get it down to a very, very precise thin measurement,
you then use what called a shaper,
to shape the cane into the shape that you're seeing now,
and at this point you then fold over this piece of cane
and tie it onto the staple,
which is the piece of metal with cork on it,
using thread, and then you use a sharp knife
to scrape the reed very precisely,
leaving certain areas thicker and certain areas thinner,
until you end up with the finished article.
The reed-making process is a never-ending learning curve,
I think I'll be learning how to make reeds
until the day I stop playing the oboe,
but it's all part and parcel of playing the oboe.
(orchestra playing Debussy's "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune")
The oboe comes apart into three sections, like this.
We have what's called the top joint,
and the middle joint,
and the bell.
And they fit back together.
The metalwork has to be very carefully aligned,
because it's quite delicate.
The modern oboe has approximately 46 pieces of keywork,
the functions of which vary from
simply covering the main tone holes,
these six keys here,
to trill keys,
(plays trill)
and also these keys, on the back,
which your thumb operates,
to help you play into the higher octaves.
(plays scale)
To make a sound on the oboe,
you have to place the reed on your lower lip,
and roll your lips over your teeth, and blow.
(plays sustained note)
Because the opening at the top of the reed is very small,
the oboe demands a lot of pressure,
and it's quite hard work.
It helps to start notes using the tongue, like this.
(plays staccato scale)
Sometimes, in oboe writing, the music is written slurred,
or legato, which means no tonguing in between the notes.
(plays slurred scale)
Because the pressure involved in playing the oboe
is quite high, it takes time to build up the stamina
in order to play long phrases that sometimes
composers demand of the instrument.
The sound of the oboe can be made more expressive
by the use of vibrato.
Vibrato is produced using a combination of the diaphragm,
which is a muscle at the base of your ribcage,
and also controlling it using muscles in your throat.
I'll play a note, starting without any vibrato,
and then I'll add vibrato.
(plays increasingly vibrating note)
In some contemporary music written by living composers,
various techniques are asked for of the modern oboist.
One of these is a glissando,
which is quite hard to do on the oboe.
There are two ways of doing it,
you can do a short glissando just using the mouth muscles.
(plays short gliding note)
Or you can slide your fingers gradually off the keys
to try and do a larger glissando.
(plays longer gliding note)
Another technique that modern composers often ask for
is flutter-tonguing, which is basically
playing the oboe whilst rolling your Rs
at the back of your mouth.
(rolls R)
(plays fluttering note)
Playing both very quietly and very loudly
on the oboe is quite difficult.
It's all controlled by muscles in your tummy,
your diaphragm, just below the rib cage,
so to play quietly you have to almost use
more air and more support than if you're playing loudly.
I'll try now.
(plays quiet scale)
And to play loudly on the oboe,
you have to open everything up,
really support with your diaphragm,
open your throat, and go for it.
(plays loud scale)
Lots of composers have used the oboe
to carry some of the main tunes
in their writing for the orchestra.
An example of one of my favourite tunes
that the oboe plays in the orchestral repertoire
is this, from the slow movement of Brahms' Violin Concerto.
(plays Brahms' Violin Concerto)
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(orchestra playing Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique)
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