Author: mschmidt
Date: 2007-04-27 19:53
"...it's interesting that C is the basic note that creates the optimal vibrations for the other instrument (the oboe) to manipulate and elaborate..."
Well, sort of, but not quite. The oboe-instrument works by essentially forcing the reed vibrations to occur at the frequency determined by the pipe-length and harmonic (i.e. register) of the note to be played. A reed has to be able to vibrate at all pitches of the instrument, from low B flat to the top notes in the third register. In the reed-instrument, the pipe length has less of an influence, which is why you get reeds that play other pitches besides C, despite the constancy of the bore length. The reed is always a factor, even in the long-tube oboe, but much less of one; your low C may be flat with a wide, open and soft reed, but it won't be two steps flat like your reed by itself can be. Unfortunately the "solution" to the oboe "equation" includes both the relatively simple physics of air in a rigid, conical bore (fairly well understood) and how the vibrations of this air interact with the complexity of a non-rigid reed, which, as far as I can tell from my reading, nobody understands....
I wish my Ph.D. was in physics; I'd be in a much better position to try and solve this problem. As it is, my Ph.D. is in Inorganic Chemistry, which I brandish here not to impress, but only to excuse my lousy oboe playing. ;-)
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
Post Edited (2007-04-27 19:58)
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The Oboe BBoard
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