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Many musical instruments produce a myriad of sound colors resulting from diverse playing techniques, both traditional and extended. Such techniques include parameters that are often regularly manipulated in music, such as pitch, intensity (dynamics), articulation style, and duration. Despite the likely contribution of such timbral variations to musical experience, within-instrument timbral flexibility and its semantic consequences have not been addressed empirically. Participants rated sounds produced by the oboe and the French horn on 12 combinations of register and dynamics using the 20-dimensional timbre qualia model from Reymore and Huron (2020). Data are modeled with Exploratory Factor Analysis, partial proportional odds regressions, and random forest classifiers. Although trends between ratings and register/dynamics emerged, the results illustrate the complexity of within-instrument timbral variability. Some trends were approximately linear, others demonstrated non-linear patterns, and some timbre qualia dimensions displayed interactions between register and dynamics. While certain trends were shared between the oboe and French horn, such as an increase in sparkling/brilliant ratings with register, others seem to be unique to each instrument, such as the relationship of ratings of woody to register for the oboe or of ratings of muted/veiled to dynamics for the horn. Results demonstrate that within-instrument timbral variability based on dynamic and register is apparent to listeners and that semantic interactions among parameters can be present. The methodology established in this paper can be extended to address within-instrument timbral flexibility with respect to articulation, duration, and other sources of variation for any instrument or group of instruments.

Traditional approaches in timbre research have often equalized sounds according to pitch, loudness, duration in order to study timbral differences across instruments. In a compact case study of the semantic qualities of the oboe and French horn, Reymore (2021) takes a different approach and considers timbral differences within musical instruments, which arise due to the covariation of timbre with the musical parameters of fundamental frequency (pitch) and playing effort (dynamic level). The study constitutes a timely contribution to a growing body of work on the covariation between timbre, pitch, and loudness. After providing a background and summary of important aspects of the target article, I elaborate on results from a recent complementary study that analyzed acoustical signal properties regarding that matter. Finally, I address three important issues in this context that appear to be worthy of future research.

This article discusses the impact of instrumental and intellectual virtuosity on British Free Improvisation (BFI) from a feminist perspective. I argue that its pursuit may have contributed to the development of this genre as a masculine stronghold in which it has been difficult for women to gain agency or visibility. I propose a feminist practice of instrument de\/reconstruction within contemporary BFI and present three new instruments; my gliss anglais, a de/reconstruction of the cor anglais, together with the skin and bomb ‘cellos, devised by Khabat Abas. I offer insight into how our developing relationship with the materiality and possibility of these instruments frees us as improvisers from existing power structures in BFI and gives increased agency and sonic potential to us as performers. Collaboration is vital to my practice as an instrumentalist, and I present a case study of the gliss anglais as an example of how collaboration can influence the development of new instruments. I introduce the concept of "feministing" (after Reardon-Smith 2020) free improvisation, which involves adopting a feminist practice, inclusive of male feminists, that prioritises the knowledge of women, investigates the social context of its subjects, and fosters non-hierarchical relationships.

IntroductionThe condition of teeth and function of the oral organs are important when playing wind or brass instruments. Although there are some reports on dental treatment for musicians, few studies have investigated their acoustic performance following treatment. This report describes the prosthodontic rehabilitation provided for an oboist who had lost a tooth as a result of trauma and includes an evaluation of her subsequent musical performance using acoustic analyzes.Case descriptionThe patient was a 63-year-old professional oboe player who fractured the upper and lower alveolar bone and avulsed the upper right central incisor during a fall due to epileptic seizure. While the alveolar fracture was healing, she sought maxillofacial rehabilitation for the missing tooth to maintain her ability to play the oboe. Her rehabilitation consisted of a provisional removable prosthesis with an acrylic base and clasps followed by a fixed implant prosthesis. A recording of her musical performance was objectively analyzed at each stage of treatment. Rhythm analysis confirmed the stability of notes played rapidly. Her performance dynamics were analyzed by psychoacoustic measurements. Her satisfaction with the prosthesis was assessed by a self-reported questionnaire. The results of the acoustic evaluation helped to adjust the provisional prosthesis so that it was suitable for playing the oboe and the final prosthesis was designed accordingly.ConclusionProsthetic dental treatment for this patient included both subjective and objective evaluations that helped to ensure that she could continue playing the oboe at her previous performance level.

ObjectivesDuring their lifetimes, a majority of musicians experience playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD). PRMD prevalence is tied to instrument choice, yet most studies examine heterogeneous groups of musicians, leaving some high-risk groups such as oboists understudied. This paper aims to (1) ascertain the prevalence and nature of PRMDs in oboists, (2) determine relevant risk factors, and (3) evaluate the efficacy of treatment methods in preventing and remedying injuries in oboe players.MethodsA 10-question online questionnaire on PRMDs and their treatments was completed by 223 oboists. PRMDs were compared across gender, weekly playing hours, career level, age, and years of playing experience.ResultsOf all respondents, 74.9% (167/223) reported having had at least one PRMD in their lifetime. A majority of these injuries (61.9% of all respondents) were of moderate to extreme severity (5 or higher on a scale of 1 to 10). Females (mean = 5.88) reported significantly more severe injuries than males. No significant effects of career level (i.e., professional vs. student vs. amateur), age, or years of playing experience were observed. We found significant non-linear relationships between weekly playing hours and PRMD prevalence and severity. Injuries were most commonly on the right side of the body, with the right thumb, wrist, hand, and forearm being most affected in frequency and severity. Of those injuries for which recovery information was provided, only 26.1% of injuries were “completely recovered.” The perceived effectiveness of a few treatments (physical therapy, rest, stretching, occupational therapy, massage) tended to be ranked more highly than others.ConclusionThe oboists in this study experienced high rates of PRMD, particularly in the right upper extremities. Females and those playing 7-9 and 16-18 h per week reported a significantly higher severity of injuries than other groups.

Objectives: During their lifetimes, a majority of musicians experience playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD). PRMD prevalence is tied to instrument choice, yet most studies examine heterogeneous groups of musicians, leaving some high-risk groups such as oboists understudied. This paper aims to (1) ascertain the prevalence and nature of PRMDs in oboists, (2) determine relevant risk factors, and (3) evaluate the efficacy of treatment methods in preventing and remedying injuries in oboe players. Methods: A 10-question online questionnaire on PRMDs and their treatments was completed by 223 oboists. PRMDs were compared across gender, weekly playing hours, career level, age, and years of playing experience. Results: Of all respondents, 74.9% (167/223) reported having had at least one PRMD in their lifetime. A majority of these injuries (61.9% of all respondents) were of moderate to extreme severity (5 or higher on a scale of 1 to 10). Females (mean = 5.88) reported significantly more severe injuries than males. No significant effects of career level (i.e., professional vs. student vs. amateur), age, or years of playing experience were observed. We found significant non-linear relationships between weekly playing hours and PRMD prevalence and severity. Injuries were most commonly on the right side of the body, with the right thumb, wrist, hand, and forearm being most affected in frequency and severity. Of those injuries for which recovery information was provided, only 26.1% of injuries were "completely recovered." The perceived effectiveness of a few treatments (physical therapy, rest, stretching, occupational therapy, massage) tended to be ranked more highly than others. Conclusion: The oboists in this study experienced high rates of PRMD, particularly in the right upper extremities. Females and those playing 7-9 and 16-18 h per week reported a significantly higher severity of injuries than other groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the problem of training young musicians who are at the initial stage of training (students of music schools), in particular on the difficulties of mastering this tool due to its specificity and the need to reflect on existing pedagogical experience. It is emphasized that in Kazakhstan the professional activity of musicians is often combined with pedagogy. The authors present their own observations of many years of performing practice in a symphony orchestra and experience working with oboists of music schools in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The ways and forms of work with students are provided, covering the development of various components of musical hearing; mostly those that pose specific difficulties in mastering the oboe musical instrument. The aspects of understanding the design of the instrument, which determine the methods of sound production, are identified. The problems of purity of intonation and technical readiness of the young musician for it; the ability to listen to your performance “by ear”; the attention to inner melodic hearing; mastering the techniques of improvisation; training in performance analysis and accumulation of artistic baggage; auditory representations while playing notes, etc. The focus is on the development of timbre hearing, associated in particular with the development of various components of musical memory. The article is addressed primarily to oboe teachers. However, it will be interesting to other specialists – instrumentalists, in particular teachers of wind instruments. Moreover, some facts and specific advice to musicians will help even non-musicians to feel the beauty and uniqueness of the oboe, as well as the features of the profession of oboist. The article provides data on the history of playing the oboe, which creates a context for the presentation of methodological views for learning at the initial stage. The authors provide their opinions on the creation of a special national music repertoire and the development of educational and methodological support for teaching oboe to students of different ages in music schools, which is an important area of research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While absolute pitch (AP)—the ability to name musical pitches globally and without reference—is rare in expert musicians, anecdotal evidence suggests that some musicians may better identify pitches played on their primary instrument than pitches played on other instruments. We call this phenomenon “instrument-specific absolute pitch” (ISAP). In this paper we present a theory of ISAP. Specifically, we offer the hypothesis that some expert musicians without global AP may be able to more accurately identify pitches played on their primary instrument(s), and we propose timbral cues and articulatory motor imagery as two underlying mechanisms. Depending on whether informative timbral cues arise from performer- or instrument-specific idiosyncrasies or from timbre-facilitated tonotopic representations, we predict that performance may be enhanced for notes played by oneself, notes played on one’s own personal instrument, and/or notes played on any exemplar of one’s own instrument type. Sounds of one’s primary instrument may moreover activate kinesthetic memory and motor imagery, aiding pitch identification. In order to demonstrate how our theory can be tested, we report the methodology and analysis of two exemplary experiments conducted on two case-study participants who are professional oboists. The aim of the first experiment was to determine whether the oboists demonstrated ISAP ability, while the purpose of the second experiment was to provide a preliminary investigation of the underlying mechanisms. The results of the first experiment revealed that only one of the two oboists showed an advantage for identifying oboe tones over piano tones. For this oboist demonstrating ISAP, the second experiment demonstrated that pitch-naming accuracy decreased and variance around the correct pitch value increased as an effect of transposition and motor interference, but not of instrument or performer. These preliminary data suggest that some musicians possess ISAP while others do not. Timbral cues and motor imagery may both play roles in the acquisition of this ability. Based on our case study findings, we provide methodological considerations and recommendations for future empirical testing of our theory of ISAP.

While absolute pitch (AP)—the ability to name musical pitches globally and without reference—is rare in expert musicians, anecdotal evidence suggests that some musicians may better identify pitches played on their primary instrument than pitches played on other instruments. We call this phenomenon "instrument-specific absolute pitch" (ISAP). In this paper we present a theory of ISAP. Specifically, we offer the hypothesis that some expert musicians without global AP may be able to more accurately identify pitches played on their primary instrument(s), and we propose timbral cues and articulatory motor imagery as two underlying mechanisms. Depending on whether informative timbral cues arise from performer- or instrument-specific idiosyncrasies or from timbre-facilitated tonotopic representations, we predict that performance may be enhanced for notes played by oneself, notes played on one's own personal instrument, and/or notes played on any exemplar of one's own instrument type. Sounds of one's primary instrument may moreover activate kinesthetic memory and motor imagery, aiding pitch identification. In order to demonstrate how our theory can be tested, we report the methodology and analysis of two exemplary experiments conducted on two case-study participants who are professional oboists. The aim of the first experiment was to determine whether the oboists demonstrated ISAP ability, while the purpose of the second experiment was to provide a preliminary investigation of the underlying mechanisms. The results of the first experiment revealed that only one of the two oboists showed an advantage for identifying oboe tones over piano tones. For this oboist demonstrating ISAP, the second experiment demonstrated that pitch-naming accuracy decreased and variance around the correct pitch value increased as an effect of transposition and motor interference, but not of instrument or performer. These preliminary data suggest that some musicians possess ISAP while others do not. Timbral cues and motor imagery may both play roles in the acquisition of this ability. Based on our case study findings, we provide methodological considerations and recommendations for future empirical testing of our theory of ISAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oboe is a double reed woodwind instrument. The reed is what the blowing apparatus of the oboe is made of and there are many words for it in Turkish including "sazlık" or "kargı". It is widely known as "arundo donax" in Europe although Germans call it "rohre", British call it "reed" and French call it "anche". The sound of oboe made through a finely produced reed. On the other hand, raw material of reed is obtained from cane. The reed has a large variance in terms of color, diameter, hard and soft tissue features, smoothness brightness, durability due to the different climates in which it is produced. Kargı is a thin and tall plant that lives in lightly salted and fresh waters. Its habitat includes India, Asia, Southern Europe, Middle East and North Africa and it can grow up to 10 meters. It is grown along the Aegean and Mediterennian coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this study, the Baroque period and music in which classical music reaches its most advanced first appearance, the historical development of Baroque music style and the development and importance of the oboe in Baroque period music is explained. In the study, it is determined that the Baroque period started with the opera experiments between 1600 and 1750 in the history of music and that J.S.Bach ended with death and that the changes which were permanent in the whole musical genres were made permanent with the collection of data and analysis and the appearance. It is observed that instrumental music was enriched as much as the opera, enriched to present the exuberant tunes of the old musical age, voiced and changed over time. The oboe baroque period is examined from the wooden blowing, and it seems that it came to a level that can be played completely in the orchestra at the end of that period and it is even indispensable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo orientar o aluno iniciante nos estudos de oboé para a confecção das próprias palhetas e manuseio das ferramentas necessárias para esse fim. Será abordado um breve histórico do instrumento e seus antecessores, expondo a evolução dos primeiros oboés até os modelos atuais. Também serão abordados temas como a origem das canas, região onde são cultivadas, e procedimentos realizados, desde a cana in natura até o processo final da raspagem. Outros tópicos do trabalho incluirão: moldagem e amarração das canas, tipos de raspagens com abordagem detalhada na raspagem alemã e as ferramentas necessárias para todos os procedimentos pelos quais se chega ao final do processo em que a palheta esteja funcionando com equilíbrio, ressonância e flexibilidade.

A presente pesquisa visa observar e identificar os ajustes propostos por oboístas brasileiros em palhetas de oboé preparadas para a performance e que sofrem alterações devido a ação da umidade do ar, temperatura do ambiente e altitude relativa ao nível do mar. Também, investigou-se possíveis tendências nas preferências de sonoridade e flexibilidade dos oboístas entrevistados, procurando compreender se existe algum fator que ligue tais tendências com os tipos de ajustes propostos. Com a finalidade de direcionar a pesquisa a um foco de interesse comum aos entrevistados, resumiu-se as diferentes escolas de raspado em duas, Escola Alemã e Escola Americana, tendo em vista que estas escolas exercem grande influência nos mais diversos estilos de raspagem. Um fenômeno notório brasileiro também foi investigado, que é a convivência pacífica das diferentes escolas dentro das orquestras. Como parte dos procedimentos metodológicos, foi realizado um breve levantamento bibliográfico de autores discorrendo sobre raspagens de palhetas de oboé, com a finalidade de compreender o que se considera uma palheta pronta para performance e o que a caracteriza. Utilizou-se também a ferramenta de pesquisas on-line “survey mokey” para uma investigação com oboístas brasileiros, mediante a observação das tendências de sonoridade, flexibilidade e ajustes da palheta. Após a análise dos dados, houve uma listagem graduada de ajustes classificada pelos oboístas brasileiros dentro de suas escolas de raspagem. Concluiu-se haver características muito semelhantes nas preferências de sonoridade, flexibilidade e ajustes, apontando uma provável causa que aproxima as diferentes escolas de oboé em território nacional.

Many objective and subjective experiments on brass instruments, organs, flutes and clarinets have shown that the influence of material was weak. Yet, the influence of wood on the sound of oboes is still to be determined. In this study, short musical recordings of ten French 16″ bagpipes made of 5 different woods (African Ebony, Santos Rosewood, Boxwood, African Blackwood and Service Tree) were presented to subjects (specialist and naïve), who had to give their feedback on several criteria (global quality, warmth, aggressiveness, brightness, volume and attack precision). The choice of a bagpipe rather than a simple oboe enables to minimize the influence of the musician, as he is not directly in contact with the reed. An influence of the reed material was found, but no influence of the wood. In a second experiment, a discrimination task allowed to confirm that the differences between chanters were not principally due to the wood. Several physical parameters calculated from recorded signals could also not reveal any large differences between woods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]