Author: Chris P
Date: 2018-03-11 13:59
There's the practical range which should be the one composers/arrangers should adhere to, yet there's the full range which composers/arrangers shouldn't know about. Just because an oboe can play a full three 8ve range doesn't mean the extreme range should be written for.
So stick with a practical range and write in the range that suits the dynamics best, so no pp low notes like Dvorak did and use more of the lower register for solos as it's a nice register to play in with the least stress.
So for orchestral, band or chamber writing, a practical range of low B to altissimo F is sufficient, but avoiding pp low B-E and fff top C to altissimo F.
If you want to write squeaky gate music, then do what you like provided it can be played - seek advice from an oboist instead of just writing stuff out using a piano or music software as it may not always be practical or possible for a player.
Brahms didn't tend to write above high D and the Strauss concerto has a range from low C to altissimo F whch is the basic range of a Baroque oboe. Low Bb may not be possible for some players whose oboes are built to low B (eg. Vienese oboes).
A clarinet player asked me what the basic range of an oboe is. I told her it's two and a half 8ves (low Bb to high F). She then said 'That's not much', which I replied 'Saxes have that same basic range too'.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repair Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
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