0 Why Does Oboist Always Tune Orchestra?

How does Oboe work?

Oboe is double reeds instrument. Like any of the reed instrument, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon etc., they are closed at one end and open at the other.  But oboe, bassoon and saxophone produce different harmonic series from clarinet, because they produce conical air column, unlike clarinet, which produce cylinder air column.

Oboe is similar to clarinet, but why do oboist use vibrato?

As my earlier post why don’t clarinet players use vibrato, but oboists? Here is the answer; conical air column always produce the same fundamental frequency as open cylinder air column, like flute. And that means; they produce full harmonic series too. When oboist, bassoon and saxophone use vibrato, they won’t face the difficulty of produced good vibrato sound.

Does orchestra need to tune with Oboe?

I, as a flautist, always wonder ever since I play the flute, why can’t I tune the whole orchestra instead of using oboe? The answers were simple from my teacher;

• Flute is not reliable of tuning. The most reliable instrument in the orchestra is oboe. Because of its physical, the oboe cannot adjust their mouthpiece like flute, or any other wind instrument that can pull out the mouthpiece when it’s too high, or pull it in when it’s too low. 
• Oboe can only adjust their tune by humor their individual note from the reeds, flatter or sharper. So whatever the possibility out come of oboe tuning, the whole orchestra has to follow, because oboe can’t be tuned.

Oboe music suggest to listen

• Händel Oboe Sonata No.8 in C minor, HWV 366
• W.A. Mozart Oboe Concerto in C major, K 314 
• Francis Poulenc Sonata for Oboe and Piano  (1962)
• Luciano Berio Sequenza VII for Oboe (1969)