What Kind of Instrument is the Oboe?

Everyone, when you hear the word “oboe”, what immediately comes to mind?
Some people immediately have to ask themselves, “what kind of instrument is that?”
The oboe is an expensive instrument that costs at least 300,000 yen and some schools do not offer it to their students. Even if the oboe is available, it is often left unused because there are no players.
Compared to other instruments, the number of players is small. I played the flute in junior high school and moved to the oboe when I entered high school.
I have been playing the oboe for seven years, but I have never made a close friend who also plays the oboe, and even people around me say they have never had a friend who plays the oboe.
So, this time, I would like to introduce the oboe to as many people as possible and tell them what kind of instrument it is! I hope that I can persuade people enough for them to say, “I want to play the oboe!”

The oboe is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “world's most difficult woodwind instrument”. Unlike single reed instruments such as clarinets and saxophones, which only require one reed to produce a sound, the oboe is classified as a “double reed instrument” that uses two reeds to produce a sound.
Double reeds are not mass-produced like single reeds, and they are expensive, costing approximately 3,000 yen and up per reed , and the reeds are then cut, wound around a tube, and shaved by hand.
Many people wind and shave their own reeds and use reeds that they have made themselves.
It is a lot of work to pursue the material of the cane, the material of the tube, the thinness, etc. so that you can make it to your own liking! I think it's a good idea.

There are two types of wood used for tubing: granadilla, which is black, and kingwood, which is brown.
Granadilla produces a clear sound that flies far and wide, while kingwood produces a more resonant and gentle sound.
By the way, I use Kingwood.

If you listen to a piece inserted into a movie or drama, you can actually hear the sound of an oboe...
The oboe is also the instrument that sets the tuning note before the orchestra's performance.
It’s often buried in brass band music and is often entrusted with important solos in orchestras.

Here, I would like to introduce some famous oboe pieces that everyone has heard at least once.

“Swan Lake” from the ballet Swan Lake Suite, Act 2, Scene / Tchaikovsky

Interlude from Cavalleria Rusticana / Mascagni

“Dance of the Dagatans” from Prince Igor / Borodin

Oboe solo from 3:08

It is true that it is difficult to produce a sound and it’s also true that it’s difficult to control the oboe once you are able to produce a sound. However, the greatest appeal of the oboe is that the more difficult it is, the greater the sense of accomplishment you feel when you are able to play it.
You can start playing the oboe for less than 100,000 yen.

PLAYTECH / PTOB-200

If you’re thinking, “It's too expensive! I can't afford that!” or “I want to try it but it seems too difficult,” this is the time to start.
Perhaps you can take this opportunity to start?