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Double Bass Hey is that an OBOE?

Rebop

Rebop

Jul 9, 2008
1,190
433
La Honda, CA
#1
I don't know how many of you have experienced this, but on more than one occasion I've been asked, "what do you call it?", "is that an OBOE!?"

OR

"LOL, look at him, he plays the oboe"/"Hey nice oboe, haw haw haw"

Oboe?

I'm usually really polite about it even though I knew what a bass was from watching Tom and Jerry cartoons and Peanuts cartoons as a kid (5 years old give or take); probably Sesame Street too (there was that one time a young lady said oboe and I was having a low blood sugar moment and said, "oboe!?!?, what? Did your parents not let you watch Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers?!" Punchline: her parents were sitting next to her... They were not amused.)

Last time this happened I just repeated the word 'oboe' and mimed playing a clarinet/oboe type instrument. They didn't believe me at first and then said, "what do you mean it's just called a bass?!" I'm usually real unspecific about it's proper name as double bass and upright bass are too polysyllabic for most knuckle-draggers to understand. I say bass fiddle or bass violin to the rubes even though those terms irk me.

Anyone else heard oboe? I swear it's been 3, separate, isolated incidents each one being a year or two apart.
 
#4
I have heard violin and cello on several occsions. One time a kid walked up to me, I was carrying my bass and said "What is that like a big tuba or something?" Doesn't really bother me. I do however hate when people refer to the bass as a "fiddle". Specially from someone who should no better, I am a classical musician, I do not play "the fiddle", sot of a pet peeve of mine lol
I find oboe to be really random though...
 
#6
chris1125 said:
I have heard violin and cello on several occsions. One time a kid walked up to me, I was carrying my bass and said "What is that like a big tuba or something?" Doesn't really bother me. I do however hate when people refer to the bass as a "fiddle". Specially from someone who should no better, I am a classical musician, I do not play "the fiddle", sot of a pet peeve of mine lol
I find oboe to be really random though...
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A number of fine violinist of my acquaintance affectionately refer to their instruments as ' fiddles'. I've read interviews of various well known artists who used same term. I prefer to refer to mine as a 'big-arsed fiddle'.

If someone asked if it were an oboe, would be tempted to say is was a set of highland pipes or perhaps a musical saw. You do 'saw' on it after all.
 
#7
Ok, I can see it being appropriate in some circumstances but a few years ago I was in a small high school string ensemble. It was made up of the better musicians from the area high schools and we had a director that had a great history with groups in the area. I was the only bassist and even though he always refereed to the other interrests by there proper name, he referred to the bass as an "oversized fiddle" and sort of mocked it. Long story short I quit that group and moved into a more cultural area.
 
#9
Not sure of oboes, but one time at one of our middle school jazz band concerts (2 basses, gotta include everyone), and I had my upright while my friend hat the electric. One of the band kids had troule grasping the concept of upright and electric basses.

(Points at me) "What's that?"
(Me) "A bass."
(Points at the electric) "But isn't that a bass?"
(Me) "Yes."
(Points at me) "Then what's that?"
(Me) "A bass?"

And this goes on for a while, at some point my friend just looks at him with a face not far from the one in this video, and I think he got it eventually.
 
#10
As my wife, the oboist and elementary school music teacher would tell you, this is just one more example of the rapidly declining lack of musical literacy among the American public.

I play old-time music, and I can't tell you how many times people have asked the fiddler "What instrument are you playing." Pretty sad, no? Told it's a fiddle, they invariably want to know "How is it different than a violin?" :rollno:
 
#11
Sometimes the musical illiteracy can be a good thing. A friend of mine had her oboe stolen from her car, but it was recovered after the numb skull thieves took it to a music store asking the owner if he wanted to buy their clarinet. He told them he would "check in back" and called the cops.
 
#14
Just my two cents.

I don't really think it's that much of an inconvenience to answer a silly question like "Is that a violin/cello/fiddle/oboe/big tuba/(personal experience) drum set?"

When you get annoyed and answer with a clearly sarcastic tone or even get angry with someone then you're giving into the classical musician elitism that most people don't enjoy about classical music and classical musicians. In New York I'm usually stuck with someone on the subway who doesn't know much about music so I can either be rude about it or I can take 5 minutes from my day to educate someone about classical music. Yes there is a problem with music education in America so we might as well start fixing it by telling a person that there is a difference between a bass and an oboe.
 
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#15
bassat88 said:
Just my two cents.

I don't really think it's that much of an inconvenience to answer a silly question like "Is that a violin/cello/fiddle/oboe/big tuba/(personal experience) drum set?"

When you get annoyed and answer with a clearly sarcastic tone or even get angry with someone then you're giving into the classical musician elitism that most people don't enjoy about classical music and classical musicians.
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I've never understood bass players that get offended by those kinds of questions. My only problem while carrying one of my uprights is when people insist on trying to hold a door open for me, even though I say I'd prefer they don't. They assume I'm being polite, and then usually hold the door open with their bodies in the door frame, blocking the doorway.
 
#18
billyfalconer said:
I've never understood bass players that get offended by those kinds of questions. My only problem while carrying one of my uprights is when people insist on trying to hold a door open for me, even though I say I'd prefer they don't. They assume I'm being polite, and then usually hold the door open with their bodies in the door frame, blocking the doorway.
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Another thing I've noticed is that the kids get it. I've heard more than one set of parents get the message from the kid..."It's a bass". I feel like giving them a big hug when i hear them say that.
 
#19
Marcus Johnson said:
Another thing I've noticed is that the kids get it. I've heard more than one set of parents get the message from the kid..."It's a bass". I feel like giving them a big hug when i hear them say that.
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Also from October, 2000:
Don Higdon said:
The last 2 weekends I've played in a club in a wealthy part of the state, for people who presumably go out a lot. At least 6 times in 2 weekends, people have asked what instrument I'm playing, is it a cello, etc. I guess I'm astonished and admittedly disappointed that people with this much exposure to music as entertainment think that if it's not shaped like a Fender, it's not a bass. I guess this is what happens to cranky old purists. Then, to snap me out of my funk, a 10-year-old pointed out and named all the parts of my bass to his friend. You gotta love a kid who says "...and that's the scroll."
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