If you’ve ever tried to get a note out of the oboe, you’ll have some level of understanding of how difficult it is. You blow down the reed and nothing happens unless you really push all the air you possibly can into it. The note that comes out when you do this is inevitably horrible, so how do oboists get to the point where they can make a nice sound? There is such a small opening that it seems almost impossible to achieve.
The fact that the opening in the oboe reed is so small is the main reason that the oboe is such a difficult instrument to play. The bore itself requires plenty of air to resonate, but the reed can only take very small amounts at once. This means very high pressure is required to push the air through the reed at a speed that’s quick enough to give the bore enough air to resonate.
Woodwind instruments fall into three categories, instruments without reeds, instruments with single reeds and instruments with double reeds. It is widely accepted that those with double reeds are the hardest of the three to produce a nice sound. These include the oboe, the cor anglais and the bassoon. I want to understand in more detail why double reed instruments are so difficult.
How does the oboe produce a sound?
Before we start thinking about why the oboe is such a difficult instrument to play, we need to understand how it actually works. Oboes don’t have mouthpieces like most instruments, instead the player blows directly into the reed itself. This is fragile and has to be replaced quite often, so for a start there is none of the choosing the mouthpiece that works well for you and sticking with it. More adaptability is needed.
The double reed is made up of two pieces of cane bound together with wire. Each piece of cane is cut and shaped before being bound. There is a small gap between the two pieces of cane, shaped so that the edges touch and the gap is in the middle. This gap between the two pieces is where the sound waves are created. When blown, the two pieces of cane vibrate against each other, creating a resonance between them.
Why is a double reed more difficult to play than a single reed?
It is definitely the case that it’s harder to produce a sound on a double reed than it is on a single reed, but why is this the case? If you look at the gap between the two pieces of cane on a double reed and the gap between a single reed and the mouthpiece, they are similarly small. But when playing the oboe, it seems much more difficult to direct the airstream into the hole in a uniform way.
The main difference between the two types of reed is not the size of the gap, but the size of the opening behind that gap. If you think of a double reed, the gap between the reed and the mouthpiece might be small, but once the air has made it through that small opening, it enters a much more spacious cavity inside the mouthpiece itself. The air then suddenly has lots of space to resonate and there is room for plenty of air to be in the cavity at any time.
The bigger the single reed instrument, the bigger its mouthpiece, so the bigger reed instruments have bigger cavities in which the air can resonate. This means, to some extent, that bigger instruments are easier to get a sound out of than smaller ones. However, at some stage, it reaches the point where it is difficult for the player to push enough air into the instrument to create a full resonance within the cavity, and making a sound becomes more difficult.
With double reed instruments, the size of the cavity is very small. This means that it is very easy to push too much air through the reed and make a horrible honking sound. It is also difficult to direct the air into the cavity in the correct way, as there is such a small area to work with. This can end up with no sound at all coming out of the instrument. It takes a lot of training to find the correct way of blowing to fill the cavity with just the right amount of air to sound the note nicely.
Is it painful to play the oboe?
It is often said that it can be painful to play the oboe. While this can be true, it is a sign that you haven’t learnt to correctly push air through the instrument if you are in pain while playing it. One of the things that takes a huge amount of control to get right with the oboe is the amount of pressure you need to be able to apply to your diaphragm to control the amount of air flow.
The air flow through the oboe needs to be such that the cavity is full, and the air also needs to be moving fast. This is due to the small size of the cavity – the air must be directed through at high speed so that there is enough sound to come out of the instrument, but also in small quantities, so that the cavity isn’t overfilled, which gives the honky noise that is common amongst beginner oboists.
This technique of forcing small amounts of air through a small space very quickly takes a huge amount of diaphragm control. The player needs to be able to hold the air in their diaphragm for long periods of time and let it out in a very slow, controlled manner. This requires the diaphragm to come under a lot of pressure.
When learning this technique, beginner players will often complain that it causes them pain – this might mean they are trying to go too quickly and straining their diaphragms. It takes a long time to build up the muscle strength needed. Beginners need to start with softer reeds, as these vibrate more easily, meaning that less air is needed to create a resonance. These will have a harsher tone, but players can work up to reeds with more resistance over time, as they learn to control the air flow through the instrument.
Summary
To sum up this post, oboes are difficult to play because of the small cavity that the air is required to resonate in. There is a huge amount of diaphragm control needed to play the oboe, and this can only be achieved through training, which takes time. Players will often find it very difficult to even get a note to sound at first, and if they do, it will often make a honking noise.
If trained correctly, the oboist shouldn’t find it painful to play, but it’s quite common for oboists to feel pain when learning, as they often put too much pressure on their diaphragms too soon. It’s very important to learn at the right pace for your diaphragm and do exercises like long notes to help improve your control over it.