Klarinet Archive - Posting 000732.txt from 1997/09

From: Jim Lytthans <lytthans@-----.net>
Subj: Tuning to Oboes
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 1997 03:01:52 -0400

R. Tennenbaum asked:
> Why do we tune to that um, instrument -- you know, the one that looks
> like a skinny clarinet but with a fancy straw at the end?
>

Tradition! Actually, the oboe (sometimes know as "the ill wind that
nobody blows good") has the smallest range of tuning adjustment in the
woodwind family. If the oboists makes or uses reeds with the correct
staple (that's the brass tube with the cork), (s)he will be relativly
close to A440. Besides, they pay more for their instruments!
--

Jim Lytthans "Primo Arundo Donax!"
Principal Clarinet
La Mirada (CA) Symphony Orchestra
Claremont Symphonic Winds
(http://www.galcit.caltech.edu/~dooley/csw.html)
My home page:
http://home.pacbell.net/lytthans/index.html