 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Theboy_2
Date: 2003-02-26 22:18
i was wondering what an oboe sounds like. i've heard a university(college) student play one and it sounded neat, but i've also heard a novice play it and it sounds like a dieing duck. can anyone describe the sound?
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Author: TorusTubarius
Date: 2003-02-27 00:51
Well you definitely should <i>not</i> go by what a novice sounds like since the oboe is so very easy to make sound so <i>very</i> bad. I can go one better than describing what an oboe sounds like, I can show you as long as you have some version of Windows Media Player or Realplayer on your computer. (If you don't, downloading one of them would be well worth your effort if you're curious.) Then follow this:
1) Go to www.cdnow.com
2) Then click the blue tab at the top for music
3) Then in the search window at the top left, select a classical music search
4) Type in "Respighi - Gli Uccelli" and hit search
5) Select CD choice #6
6) Scroll down, and under listen to samples select track number five "Gli Uccelli: Jacques de Gallot: La Colomba (The Dove)"
You should then hear one of the most beautiful solos ever written for the oboe in all of orchestral repertoire performed by one of my absolute favorite oboists Kathy Greenbank.
To get a better idea, I recommend you also go back and listen to CD choice #5 to hear John de Lancie play it, and then select CD choice #1 to hear John Dlouhy's interpretation of it.
Then if your still curious go to CD choice #4 and listen to track #3 to hear John de Lancie do some of the Tombeau de Couperin.
Now the reason I'm giving you all these people's names is not just because I'm a huge oboe nerd. These are people who play with the so-called American sound which is what every oboist where I'm from strives to have. The only Canadian orchestra I've ever heard that I can remember is Montreal, and their oboes didn't sound too dissimilar from what I'm talking about, but not exactly like Americans either. However, what I'm driving at is that your question as a whole is more complicated than you realize since it turns out each region of the world has its own idea of what the oboe should sound like. An English oboist for example sounds nothing like an American who sounds nothing like a German, etc. Actually there are differences even within the US; John Mack sounds different from John de Lancie who sounded different from Ray Still to me, but that may be something you can only really appreciate if you play the oboe yourself.
If you want to try and hear the differences between countries, there are other CD's listed on there played by English orchestras and one from Australia even. They sound pretty scary to me, but I wonder what your or anyone else who wishes to try them out thinks.
Can you guys hear a difference? And if so which do you like best/least?
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Author: Theboy_2
Date: 2003-02-27 01:10
that solo sounds beautiful and what the university oboeist sounded like too.
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Author: d-oboe
Date: 2003-02-27 03:59
It takes a while to really understand what the oboe really could sound like.(I won't say should, because that's an interpretation thing) Since you are a newer player, try to listen to some high level people, especially from top-end university groups, high-quality orchestras, etc. More importantly, focus on what you(yes-you!) sound like. Some people actually have difficulty with this. The thing you should strive for is the best possible tone you can acheive-in other words: does it actually sound pleasant, or thin, dry, and depressing? Start off by elminating anything that you can control. If the tone is fuzzy, make in un-fuzzy. How? in most cases more air. Now, this doesn't mean louder(actually, you can be loud, and have less air stream pressure than when you play soft)this mean having the fastest and fullest air stream possible. So, for loud notes, concentrate on having fast, and broad air going through. Fow quiet, think more focused, and fast air. For most other tone descrepancy factors, for beginners, it's usually their inexperience, and sometimes, even the oboe-God help them. Practice for at least 15 minutes each day,or as frequently as possible, and then begin bumping it up to as much as you can handle. And hey, if you think you can go on, do so, it doesn't hurt: there's always something to be learned. One last piece of advice: get an OBOE, not flute or other, but,OBOE teacher, someone who knows what they're talking about. Look for degrees or certification from reknowned schools. For people coming out of university, look for credentials like:
Bachelor(if you can't find any thing else) Master, or phD
degrees in:
Music
Performance of Oboe
They show up like this: BMus, MMus, DMus, and so on.
Happy oboing(if that's a word)
D-oboe
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Author: Theboy_2
Date: 2003-02-27 21:59
Oh, i'm sorry if i mislead you. I just wanted to know what the oboe sounded like, i'm not actually learning it. But if i was i'd certainly know what to do now.
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Author: d-oboe
Date: 2003-02-28 16:16
oh... you mean I went on that shpiel for nothing?!!hehe...Just listen to the "big" orchestras. If you live anywhere near edmonton, alberta come listen to the ESO; they have a very good oboe player. I haven't acutally heard many others, except some american ones, and off of various soundtracks,but, i didn't find out which symphony was playing.
D-oboe
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