Before discussing playing the oboe I suggest you listen to three snatches of oboe playing by top class professionals.

Piece one is oboe playing by Leon Goossens in 1946 accompanied by Gerald Moore at the piano. They play a short piece entitled Aubade by the French composer Pierne. 

After clicking on the link you will need to click -'play the track' on the first two links.

http://www.classical.com/permalink/recording/2147503124/

The second piece for oboe solo and orchestra. It is called Little Concert which was composed by a 20th Century composer who is still alive- J.N.Maw. It was recorded in 1998. The oboist is a young English player called Nicholas Daniel. I hope you enjoy this recording from the last movement 'Vivace Assai'.

http://www.classical.com/permalink/recording/3221277944

The final selection is played by Heinz Holliger, probably the greatest oboist of our time. The link is to the Amazon site for one of his recordings. If you scroll down you can listen to excerpts of all the pieces he has included on the CD. I would suggest you listen to the Cimarosa Concerto Tracks 13-16 to hear the oboe at its brilliant best.

You will need to scroll down the page to find the list of tracks to which you can listen after you have clicked the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/concerto-per-Oboe-I-Music/dp/B0000040YT

Make sure your pop up blocker is turned off and you click on play this track buttons where needed.  If you enjoyed these taster samples of oboe playing you can listen to more at those sites.

Oboe playing is primarily about control. Playing the Oboe is a very physical exercise and you do need to achieve a good level of fitness to control the muscles that control your breathing from your diaphram. You need to control the muscles around your fingers to ensure careful placing of them to produce good clean playing. You need to control the action of your tongue. To make the reed speak you have to strike it making a 't' action to the reed tip to start its vibration. In the fast passages of the last piece many of the notes were individually struck, giving a staccato sound to the playing.  In the first piece to give a long line over the phrasing the first note would be struck and then the following ones continued in the same way without re-striking the reed.  This phrasing is an important issue in oboe playing and is dealt with in more detail in Oboe Tips & Techniques

Intonation (playing in tune) is a mega important factor when playing the Oboe. There is a standard joke- how do you persuade three oboists to play in tune?  The answer being shoot two of them!  The problem is that the Oboe is not difficult to produce a sound from, and the fingering is so mechanically assisted, that playing the notes, basically in the right order, is not difficult to achieve. The major problem is that, contrary to common myth, the oboe is not permanently in tune. The intonation is affected by different reeds and the quality of the reeds. It is also a function of the quality of the instrument itself. Most instruments have some weak notes that need careful adjustments from the players embouchure or the position of the reed in the mouth. How the player sits and holds the instrument will alter the intonation, as will the temperature and conditions in which it is being played.  All these issues are discussed in more detail in Tips and Techniques as they are very important when playing the oboe.  The Oboe does not give the 'A' for tuning an orchestra because it is always "in tune". Find out why this is one of the oboist's nightmares by reading Oboe Tips and Techniques.

Playing the Oboe is one of the most challenging experiences of your life. If approached in a structured way from day 1 it will bring enormous rewards and great satisfaction during a lifetime of playing. If the basics are not properly learned and the quality of the instrument and reeds are inadequate, it can be at best disappointing, or at worst totally humiliating when it is impossible to achieve the level of playing your peers expect. Consulting Oboe Tips and Techniques, by clicking that link, will help to clarify these issues for all interested in Oboe playing.