Editing Oboe (section)

== History ==
Centuries before the Spanish and Portuguese conquests in the New World, the early version of the ''chirimía'' arrived in Europe from the Middle East due to cultural exchanges. The Crusades brought Europeans into contact with the Turko-Arabic ''zurna''. However, the oboe’s roots go back even further, linked to ancient reed instruments like those of Egypt and Mesopotamia, as well as the Greek ''[[aulos]]'' and Roman ''[[Tibia (reedpipe)|tibia]]''. Nearly lost in the West during the Dark Ages, the oboe reappeared with the Arabic ''zurna'' in the 13th century, evolving through European bagpipes and finally becoming the French hautbois in the 17th century, which is when modern oboe history truly began.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Geoffrey Burgess and Bruce Haynes |title=The Oboe |date=January 2004 |publisher=The Yale Musical Instrument series |isbn=0-300-09317-9 |pages=9}}</ref>  In English, prior to 1770, the standard instrument was called a ''hautbois'', ''hoboy'', or ''French hoboy'' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|əʊ|b|ɔɪ}} {{respell|HOH|boy}}). This was borrowed from the [[French language|French]] name, {{lang|fr|hautbois}} {{IPA|fr|obwɑ|}}, which is a compound word made up of ''haut'' ("high", "loud") and ''bois'' ("wood", "woodwind").{{sfn|Marcuse|1975|loc=371}}  The French word means 'high-pitched woodwind' in English. The spelling of ''oboe'' was adopted into English {{Circa|1770}} from the Italian ''oboè'', a transliteration of the 17th-century pronunciation of the French name.

The regular oboe first appeared in the mid-17th century, when it was called a ''hautbois''. This name was also used for its predecessor, the [[shawm]], from which the basic form of the ''hautbois'' was derived.{{sfn|Burgess|Haynes|2004|loc=27}} Major differences between the two instruments include the division of the ''hautbois'' into three sections, or joints (which allowed for more precise manufacture), and the elimination of the ''[[pirouette (mouthpiece)|pirouette]]'', the wooden ledge below the reed which allowed players to rest their lips.

The exact date and location of origin of the ''hautbois'' are obscure, as are the inventors. Circumstantial evidence, such as the statement by the flautist composer [[Michel de la Barre]] in his ''Memoire'', points to members of the [[Philidor]] (Filidor) and Hotteterre families. The instrument may in fact have had multiple inventors.{{sfn|Burgess|Haynes|2004|loc=28 ff}} The ''hautbois'' quickly spread throughout Europe, including Great Britain, where it was called ''hautboy'', ''hoboy'', ''hautboit'', ''howboye'', and similar variants of the French name.{{sfn|Carse|1965|loc=120}} It was the main melody instrument in early military bands, until it was succeeded by the [[clarinet]].{{sfn|Burgess|Haynes|2004|loc=102}}

The standard Baroque oboe is generally made of [[boxwood (genus)|boxwood]] and has three [[key (instrument)|keys]]: a "great" key and two side keys (the side key is often doubled to facilitate use of either the right or left hand on the bottom holes). In order to produce higher pitches, the player has to "[[Overblowing|overblow]]", or increase the air stream to reach the next harmonic. Notable oboe-makers of the period are the Germans [[Jacob Denner]] and J.H. Eichentopf, and the English Thomas Stanesby (died 1734) and his son Thomas Jr (died 1754). The range for the Baroque oboe comfortably extends from [[Scientific pitch notation|C<sub>4</sub> to D<sub>6</sub>]]. In the mid-20th century, with the resurgence of interest in [[early music]], a few makers began producing copies to specifications taken from surviving historical instruments.

=== Classical ===
The [[Classical music era|Classical]] period brought a regular oboe whose bore was gradually narrowed, and the instrument became outfitted with several keys, among them those for the notes D{{Music|sharp}}, F, and G{{Music|sharp}}. A key similar to the modern octave key was also added called the "slur key", though it was at first used more like the "flick" keys on the modern German [[bassoon]].{{sfn|Haynes|Burgess|2016}} Only later did French instrument makers redesign the octave key to be used in the manner of the modern key (i.e. held open for the upper register, closed for the lower). The narrower bore allows the higher notes to be more easily played, and composers began to use the oboe's upper register more often in their works. Because of this, the oboe's [[tessitura]] in the Classical era was somewhat broader than that found in Baroque works. The range for the Classical oboe extends from C<sub>4</sub> to F<sub>6</sub> (using the [[scientific pitch notation]] system), though some German and Austrian oboes are capable of playing one half-step lower.

Several Classical-era composers wrote concertos for oboe. [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] composed both the solo concerto in C major K. 314/285d and the lost original of Sinfonia Concertante in E{{music|flat}} major K. 297b, as well as a fragment of F major concerto K. 417f. [[Haydn]] wrote both the Sinfonia Concertante in B{{music|flat}} Hob. I:105 and the spurious concerto in C major Hob. VIIg:C1. [[Beethoven]] wrote the F major concerto, Hess 12, of which only sketches survive, though the second movement was reconstructed in the late 20th century). Numerous other composers including [[Johann Christian Bach]], [[Johann Christian Fischer]], [[Jan Antonín Koželuh]], and [[Ludwig August Lebrun]] also composed pieces for the oboe. Many solos exist for the regular oboe in chamber, symphonic, and operatic compositions from the Classical era.

=== Wiener oboe ===
{{Main|Wiener oboe}}
The [[Wiener oboe]] (Viennese oboe) is a type of modern oboe that retains the essential bore and tonal characteristics of the historical oboe. The Akademiemodel Wiener Oboe, first developed in the late 19th century by Josef Hajek from earlier instruments by C. T. Golde of Dresden (1803–73), is now made by several makers such as André Constantinides, Karl Rado, [[Guntram Wolf]], Christian Rauch and Yamaha. It has a wider internal bore, a shorter and broader reed and the fingering-system is very different from the conservatoire oboe.{{sfn|Haynes|Burgess|2016|loc=176}} In ''The Oboe'', Geoffrey Burgess and Bruce Haynes write "The differences are most clearly marked in the middle register, which is reedier and more pungent, and the upper register, which is richer in harmonics on the Viennese oboe".{{sfn|Burgess|Haynes|2004|loc=212}} Guntram Wolf describes them: "From the concept of the bore, the Viennese oboe is the last representative of the historical oboes, adapted for the louder, larger orchestra, and fitted with an extensive mechanism. Its great advantage is the ease of speaking, even in the lowest register. It can be played very expressively and blends well with other instruments."<ref>{{cite web|title=Modern Woodwind Instruments|url=http://www.guntramwolf.de/englisch/o_modern.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803063635/http://www.guntramwolf.de/englisch/o_modern.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 3, 2008|publisher=Guntram Wolf|access-date=27 November 2012}}</ref> The Viennese oboe is, along with the Vienna horn, perhaps the most distinctive member of the [[Wiener Philharmoniker]] instrumentarium.

=== Conservatoire oboe === <!--"Conservatoire oboe" redirects here-->
This oboe was developed further in the 19th century by the [[Charles Triébert|Triébert family]] of Paris. Using the [[Western concert flute#Boehm flute|Boehm flute]] as a source of ideas for key work, Guillaume Triébert and his sons, Charles and Frederic, devised a series of increasingly complex yet functional key systems. A variant form using large tone holes, the Boehm system oboe, was never in common use, though it was used in some military bands in Europe into the 20th century. [[F. Lorée]] of Paris made further developments to the modern instrument. Minor improvements to the bore and key work have continued through the 20th century, but there has been no fundamental change to the general characteristics of the instrument for several decades.{{sfn|Howe|2003}}

=== Modern oboe ===
The modern standard oboe is most commonly made from [[grenadilla]], also known as African blackwood, although some manufacturers also make oboes out of other species of the genus ''[[Dalbergia]]'', which includes [[cocobolo]], [[rosewood]], and violetwood (also known as [[Kingwood (wood)|kingwood]]). [[Ebony]] (genus [[Diospyros]]) has also been used. Student model oboes are often made from plastic resin to make the instrument cheaper and more durable.

The oboe has an extremely narrow [[conical bore]]. It is played with a double reed consisting of two thin blades of cane tied together on a small-diameter metal tube (staple) which is inserted into the reed socket at the top of the instrument. The commonly accepted range for the oboe extends from B{{Music|flat}}<sub>3</sub> to about G<sub>6</sub>, over two and a half octaves, though its common [[tessitura]] lies from C<sub>4</sub> to E{{Music|flat}}<sub>6</sub>. Some student oboes do not have a B{{Music|flat}} key and only extend down to B<sub>3</sub>.

A modern oboe with the "full conservatoire" ("conservatory" in the US) or Gillet key system has 45 pieces of keywork, with the possible additions of a third-octave key and alternate (left little finger) F- or C-key. The keys are usually made of [[nickel silver]], and are [[silver]]- or occasionally [[gold]]-plated. Besides the full conservatoire system, oboes are also made using the British thumbplate system. Most have "semi-automatic" octave keys, in which the second-octave action closes the first, and some have a fully automatic octave key system, as used on [[saxophone]]s. Some full-conservatory oboes have finger holes covered with rings rather than plates ("open-holed"), and most of the professional models have at least the right-hand third key open-holed. Professional oboes used in the UK and [[Iceland]] frequently feature conservatoire system combined with a thumb plate. Releasing the thumb plate has the same effect as pressing down the right-hand index-finger key. This produces alternate options which eliminate the necessity for most of the common cross-intervals (intervals where two or more keys need to be released and pressed down simultaneously), as cross-intervals are much more difficult to execute in such a way that the sound remains clear and continuous throughout the frequency change (a quality also called [[legato]] and often called for in the oboe repertoire).