hey there I'm totally new to woodwind and I always thought the oboe was always in tune but its the reeds that effect how u sound. care to share a bit more here. I always thought u are always in tune on woodwind but it's the reeds or the technique on how u blow yea.

there's something about that oboe sound I like and it draws me in. I wanna do lots of research to get to know the oboe well before buying yea. I play guitar at the moment and used to play piano. I once heard an oboe in the tomb raider game theme, it's a lovely sound yea. I often watch youtube videos to hear the oboe in action.

You can get much info from Geoffrey:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Oboe-2282/indexExp_13570.htm

(how to tuning, nice oboe to start with..... and much more)

hi thanks I will check that link in a moment. I should get myself a nice oboe book, not one with the pieces u can play but one that tells u about the oboe in great detail and maintenance and things. see with electric guitar I find the way u sound isn't that much your gear but more your techniques yea.

i noticed where people say oboe is hard, i feel its mostly the cost and where they get this weird duck sound that they overcome in time. what do u think? many times it sounds as if players blow too hard and it sounds airy and almost like if u blow hard on to grass lol i guess this is where people say its hard due to getting a good sound out of it.

Whoever told you woodwinds are always in tune is simply wrong. Oboe is perhaps even more difficult to tune when starting out. Tuning on the oboe is primarily a matter of embouchure - many band directors who do not know anything about oboe will tell you to pull your reed in or out. Do not do this. The reed should always sit as far in as it will go. Tuning is done by changing your embouchure with your upper lip. Your lower should not really be involved, except perhaps on the lowest notes. To tune up, pull your upper lip inwards, almost bunching it. To tune down, you should feel like you're pushing away from your nose.

Try working with just your reed and either a tuner or piano. Try to get an C, Bb, and Ab out of it. Your C embouchure should be used roughly for notes above a D or E on the staff. Your Bb is for notes roughly between your Ab on the staff and your E. Your Ab embouchure will be used to tune notes lower than your Ab. It's not exactly so cut and dry in practice, as you may need to shift your embouchure more or less on specific notes depending on your instrument, but it's where you should start.

Also, always breath deeply and have plenty of air support!

hey thanks that was rather intresting. I honestly thought it wad as simple as doing key work on oboe to play the notes, I didn't think the embrochure was this tricky. thanks.

No problem! Embouchure really is everything when it comes to double reed instruments. Other instruments have tuning valves or joints you can move to change pitch, but you just can't do any of that on oboe.

Whomever said woodwinds were always in tune is wrong. Brass isn't always in tune, either. Percussion is the only one I can think of that is (correct me if I'm wrong).
Anyway, there should be a tuning sheet somewhere on the internet that you can fill out by printing it. Each time you get a new reed, you fill out a new one and you're good until you get another reed. I have a tuner, so I don't do that, unless I feel like it.
( I hate how expensive reeds are )

Why is it that everyone, even professional players & teachers, says embouchure is the most important part of playing in tune?
Breathing is the prime thing to get right. The trouble I suspect is that 'embouchure' is an easier concept to get across than 'breath support'.

contra,
yep, you're right. Air and how we use it really is the most important part of anything we do. With proper air our embouchure should develop on it's own, it certainly has to work less. When teachers talk about embouchure so much I believe students try to make the embouchure do the work instead of letting the air do the work. Which results in tight, stiff, poorly supported tones and hard changes between notes.

Good point contra.

Hi Bartz-
I'd recommend picking up a good method book (and a good teacher). There are a couple of books I've used for years and really offer some good fundamental advice for beginning oboists+. They are the Andreaud or Barret method books. Both are very good. They are available here. http://store.mmimports.com/oboe-music/.

Also, the quality of your instrument can affect the sound. If you're a beginner, investing in a good student oboe like the Fox 333 Oboe is a great first step. Found here: http://www.mmimports.com/2013/09/fox-330-oboe-special/

Good luck!

If you aren't getting taught yet, get a good teacher. Its hard to explain how to stay in tune while playing, but the teacher will explain better than me