Mondo Knows Facts
An oboe makes sound with two cane reeds
The reeds vibrate against each other, and the player shapes them by hand Oboists make their own reeds from cane, scraping them to change response and tone. The instrument is famously difficult to tune because small reed changes shift pitch. Because of that, orchestras often tune to the oboe. It sits in Mondo's music collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.
Where this comes from
Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
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More facts like this
A flute has no reed at allThe player's air stream splits on the edge of the embouchure holeA recorder is a whistle with finger holesThe player blows into a mouthpiece channel rather than over an edgeA clarinet jumps a twelfth when it overblowsIts cylindrical tube is closed at one end, so only odd harmonics soundA trombone changes pitch by sliding a tubeSeven slide positions fill the gap between the harmonicsTrumpet valves add short lengths of tubingThree valves give seven combinations and a full chromatic rangeTimpani are tuned by tightening their headsFoot pedals or hand screws change the tension, and the kettle shapes the note
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Tags: woodwind, oboe, reeds
An oboe makes sound with two cane reeds: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- The reeds vibrate against each other, and the player shapes them by hand. The figure is taken from Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a music fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Music shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.