Why do we tune from the oboe?

[Wyvern]

I was thinking, why do orchestras take their tuning from the oboe? From my observations, the oboe is not a particularly in tune instrument.

Most brass instruments maintain their tuning better.

Any thought?

[iiipopes]

Because traditionally oboes have been made of one piece of wood with the reed stuck on, and can't be adjusted as to pitch easily, where strings have their tuning pegs, brass have their tuning slides, flute pitch can be adjusted by angle of embouchure, etc.

[tuba kitchen]

Because the oboes tune their reeds when they make them, making them relatively in tune with themselves.

(this does not help the ever-elevating pitch from orchestras!)

[OldsRecording]

When I was in college, the director of our wind ensemble took a brief sabatical so the band director at a nearby high school filled in. None of us were too crazy about this guy, and our first oboist took a particular dislike to him. So, at the concert, she took her revenge as only a first oboist can. She blew a tuning note, we all tuned, then she waited until he just started to step from the wings to accept the applause from the audience- then she blew another tuning note. Of course, the applause died immediately, and he looked like a complete fool.

[Tubaguyjoe]

I believe the tamber of the oboe is quite recognizable and easy to tune too. It is joked about why we tune to the most out of tune instrument in the orchestra. But I believe it's because the sound the oboe produces makes it easier for the other players to hear the core sound of the A being produced, in turn, making it easier to tune too.

[Søren]

I was told that it is because the oboe makes the cleanest sound. The oboe is the resonator that makes the best sinus wave with the least amount of false overtones. And that is why the orchestra tunes to the oboe.

Am I right??

[Chuck(G)]

What was said about the ease of tuning the oboe. When other not-easily-tunable instruments are introduced, it's customary to tune to them; e.g. piano.

[Rick Denney]

I was told that it is because the oboe makes the cleanest sound. The oboe is the resonator that makes the best sinus wave with the least amount of false overtones. And that is why the orchestra tunes to the oboe.

Am I right??

Not to my ears. A clean sine wave sounds like the flute stop on an electric organ, or like a ringing tuning fork. Oboe sound has a lot of harmonics that give the sound it's characteristic bite. In fact, if the tunup instrument were a clean sine wave, it might be hard to hear.

Personally, I think it's tradition and whatever we say is the reason is just putting a modern justification on something we do just because we always have.

The question I ask is: Why do we tune at all? I've watched string players. They listen to the oboe, run up and down the strings, turn a peg a little one way, play again, and then turn it right back to where it was.

That's what I do, too. I play my tuning note just to confirm that the slide position I have always used with that group in that room still works. It always does. If I'm outdoors or in some other circumstance that requires adjustment, I've usually made it by the time I'm warmed up.

Rick "whose ensembles are not an easy target to hit" Denney

[djwesp]

Why do we tune at all?

It is so the trumpet players have a "base pitch". That way they can play 15 sharp all the time, as well as the violins.



Wes "who thinks that violins and trumpet players tune sharp way too often---and doesn't buy the "brilliance" argument they provide" Pendergrass

[TubaRay]

Tune? Are we supposed to play in tune, too? Oh, no!

[JohnMCooper]

Tune? Are we supposed to play in tune, too? Oh, no!

My horns were all tuned at the factory! If I'm out of tune with everyone else, it's them, not me!

[miz-zoutuba]

I was in a recording session (playing string bass actually) with a Wind Ensemble. The oboist couldn't get a certain note in tune after a few takes. The WHOLE ensemble then had to re-tune to A=442 to make everything sound right.

Also, I worked with a band director who tried an experiment that he heard about from another big-time director...TUNE TO THE TENOR SAX! It maybe another one of those "tune to worst instrument" type approaches, but it seemed to work. (The tenor player was awesome, though he said the tenor sax was the bastard-child of the concert band.) The tone was bright enough for everyone in the band to hear and adjust.

Just a thought...
Blake

[Wyvern]

The question I ask is: Why do we tune at all? ...

I play my tuning note just to confirm that the slide position I have always used with that group in that room still works. It always does.

I too very rarely adjust my tuning slide - usually, only if I have changed mouthpiece, or playing with group with wildly different pitch.

I find the main benefit of tuning is just to get the lips buzzing before the first note of the concert. I tend to play the A at the bottom of the staff, then the one at the top and finish with a low A - a kind of mini warm up

"TUBA" - a musical instrument that, generally, offers the precision of intonation of a set of steel drums, but WITHOUT the consistency.

The intonation offered by an oboist, just like that of any other type of instrumentalist, varies with the caliber of the musician.

I think this equally applies to tuba players - better players are pretty consistent.

[Chuck(G)]

Rick Denney is about as correct as it gets: Tuning is a tradition that basically gives the musicians one last chance to adjust their stand, chair, and underwear...and to signal to the audience that it's time to shut up.

Listen to the oboe, blow a note, move the main tuning slide out exactly one-half inch, blow another note, look thoughtful, then push the main tuning slide in exactly one-half inch. Blow a note and look satisfied.

[finnbogi]

I was told that it is because the oboe makes the cleanest sound. The oboe is the resonator that makes the best sinus wave with the least amount of false overtones. And that is why the orchestra tunes to the oboe.

Am I right??

I can't say whether you are right, but I have been told the same thing and I think it makes sense.

[TubaRay]

Tune? Are we supposed to play in tune, too? Oh, no!

My horns were all tuned at the factory! If I'm out of tune with everyone else, it's them, not me!

I have to say I already knew that. I guess it goes without saying. Then why did I have to say...oh, never mind.

[DonShirer]

Soren wrote

I was told that it is because the oboe makes the cleanest sound. The oboe is the resonator that makes the best sinus wave with the least amount of false overtones. And that is why the orchestra tunes to the oboe. Am I right??

An oboe tone is more like a square wave, which contributes to its distinctive sound. The instrument producing a tone most like a sine wave is a flute.
(Although strangely, a soft held tone from many brass instruments is also fairly sinusoidal!)

[MaryAnn]

As someone who has just completed five glorious (not) weeks as a beginning oboe student, I'll say this: I did not know that oboe was an instrument that made you faint dead away if you forgot to pay attention to the fact that you do, indeed, need to breathe out as well as in. A far, far cry from tuba.

Intonation is not totally beyond the horizon but is behind that pesky lil need for oxygen. I'm surprised that oboe players do not simply blow up on occasion, and spatter themselves all over the landscape, leaving bug-eyed imprints on impressionable mounds of earth.


MA

[Rick Denney]

Listen to the oboe, blow a note, move the main tuning slide out exactly one-half inch, blow another note, look thoughtful, then push the main tuning slide in exactly one-half inch. Blow a note and look satisfied.

Yup. That's what I do. I wouldn't anyone to think I couldn't tell the difference.

Rick "who has a hard time noticing much difference with a half inch, except at home in front of a tuner...occasionally" Denney

[Rick Denney]

I'm surprised that oboe players do not simply blow up on occasion, and spatter themselves all over the landscape, leaving bug-eyed imprints on impressionable mounds of earth.

And a worthy fate it is, too, for most of them. Maybe they'll take out a violist.

Rick "looking at the bright side" Denney