Does the Oboe go down to the B below middle C? Yes, random question... sorry

Yes, it does Lowest note is B flat below middle c.

Nocturne is correct but if you're writing for young/inexperienced oboists, my advice is to leave the lowest note as bottom C (middle C on the piano). That's quite low enough for a novice player - the lowest two notes are not easily produced and the tone quality can leave much to be desired in the early days (even further on sometimes ).

Hope this helps.

Thanks - it does help! (both posts!)

I composed a trio for 2 oboes and bassoon trillions of years ago for my A Level, and then was really confused recently having talked to a friend who said that C was the lowest note, then having a read of my trio and thinking "hold on a minute...!". I wasn't sure if it was my friend's inexperience or that my teachers had made a huge huge blunder when giving us the details for that composition task, looks like the former.

It was a random question... *grin* thanks again for clearing that up for me!

What's the highest note an oboe can reach?

I'm not expert, but according to this page, http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase...music/oboe.html, "The modern oboe's range extends from the B-flat below middle C (B3-flat) to the A nearly three octaves higher (A6). "

Apparently there's some difference between the French and Viennese oboes?

http://www.vsl.co.at/english/instruments/w.../oboe/Range.htm

I should have looked before I asked my question *grin*

QUOTE

my advice is to leave the lowest note as bottom C (middle C on the piano).  the lowest two notes are not easily produced

...and extremely difficult to play quietly. A test of nerve and ability on any oboist

I'll bear that in mind in the future.

Anyone know what the deal is with French and Viennese oboes? Which one is the usual one?

Again, the upper range given here may be true for some oboes but by no means all and very few oboists would thank you for even thinking of asking them to play that high. Grade 8 oboe requires a player to get up to F sharp two octaves above middle C (ie three ledger lines up on the treble clef) but it's not a particularly nice sound and some student model oboes I've come across just won't go up there. For safety I'd stop at F natural even with a more advanced pupil and probably at D, or a pinch E/E flat for a younger student. A real beginner might struggle up to C two octaves up from middle C.

The oboe is not particularly friendly in the extremes of its range and certainly not so in the hands of a novice player.

Hmmm... I'll have to bear this in mind: planning to play some duets with an oboist, the previously mentioned friend, and will obviously have to be a bit careful with flute duets which will assume a greater and easier range upwards than that!

I once had to play the top G, two octaves above middle C in Gershwin's Catfish Row of movement 2. Even for me, starting the DipABRSM syllabus in oboe this was a challenge.

I seem to remember in this piece there is a passage which asks the oboists to play, as high as top A, B and even C 3 octaves!

Unless you are Heinz Hollinger, Edwin Roxburg or someone like that who can play in these extreme registers not many people can get up to these notes.

Actually just checked out the Appendix of the book Oboe by Leon Goossens & Edwin Roxburgh (Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides) and it actually gives you the fingering charts for all the notes up to top C.