Oboe Quiz: Can You Get 8 Out of 10?

Orchestras tune to an A played by the oboe because its clear, steady tone cuts through, and this oboe quiz explains why it is a famously tricky instrument. Learn about the double reed players carve themselves, the baroque hautbois, the cor anglais, the duck in Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Mozart's Oboe Concerto.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Tuning
Which note does the oboe play to tune the orchestra?
Reed
What kind of reed does an oboe use?
Making
Who often makes oboe reeds?
Hautbois
What does the French name hautbois mean?
Duck
Which character does the oboe play in Peter and the Wolf?
Cor anglais
What is the cor anglais?
Mozart
Which Mozart concerto is a staple for oboists?
Bassoon
Which other orchestral woodwind uses a double reed?
Baroque
In which era did the oboe develop from the shawm?
Gabriel
Which film features the oboe theme Gabriel's Oboe?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which note does the oboe play to tune the orchestra?
Answer: A
Its tone is clear and steady.
Q2: What kind of reed does an oboe use?
Answer: Double reed
Two blades vibrate together.
Q3: Who often makes oboe reeds?
Answer: The players themselves
They carve cane by hand.
Q4: What does the French name hautbois mean?
Answer: High wood
It became oboe in English.
Q5: Which character does the oboe play in Peter and the Wolf?
Answer: The duck
The flute is the bird.
Q6: What is the cor anglais?
Answer: A larger, lower oboe
It is also called the English horn.
Q7: Which Mozart concerto is a staple for oboists?
Answer: Oboe Concerto in C
It was later adapted for flute.
Q8: Which other orchestral woodwind uses a double reed?
Answer: Bassoon
It plays lower parts.
Q9: In which era did the oboe develop from the shawm?
Answer: Baroque
It appeared in 17th-century France.
Q10: Which film features the oboe theme Gabriel's Oboe?
Answer: The Mission
Ennio Morricone composed it.

Oboe Quiz – The Orchestra's Tuning Voice

The oboe is a woodwind instrument with a double reed, two thin blades of cane that vibrate together. Many oboists carve their own reeds by hand, a demanding skill that strongly affects tone.

The oboe developed in seventeenth-century France from the louder shawm. Its French name hautbois means high wood. Because its clear, steady tone carries well, the oboe plays the A that the orchestra tunes to. The cor anglais, or English horn, is a larger, lower relative, and the bassoon also uses a double reed.

Mozart's Oboe Concerto in C is a staple for players, Prokofiev cast the oboe as the duck in Peter and the Wolf and Ennio Morricone's Gabriel's Oboe from The Mission became a beloved film theme.

What This Quiz Teaches

Musicians and classical fans will enjoy these questions.

Which note tunes the orchestra
What kind of reed it uses
What hautbois means
Which character it plays
What the cor anglais is

Did You Know?

The oboe d'amore is pitched lower.
Bach wrote many oboe parts.
Oboists need strong breath control.
Reeds wear out quickly.
The oboe is often called hard to master.