HAUTBOIS, or OBOE, a wind instrument of the "reed" genus. On account of its piercing sound, it was much used in military bands, in the middle of the 17th e., for playing the melody, and from it the whole band used in Germany to be called Oboisten. The hautbois, at an early date, took its place as one of the essential instruments of the orchestra, It is made of wood, generally of box, ebony, cocoa, or iosewood, and is constructed in three pieceS, or joints, forming a continuous tapering tube, about 21 in. lung, the bore of which is narrow at the small end, and widens into a bell-shaped open ing, 13- in diameter at the mouth. In the upper and middle piece there are holes, by stopping or opening which with the fingers, the player forms the notes of the natural scale, the intermediate semitones being formed by the keys. The reed is fixed upon the end of a small brass tube which fits, socket-wise, into the small end of the upper piece. The sound of the hautbois is rich; and from its great power in swelling or diminishing the sound, it is capable of every variety of expression. Originally, the
hautbois had but two keys, but others have from time to time been added, till the num bc: is now usually fifteen, and sometimes more. Its ordinary scale is that of C natural, but by means of the keys it can be played in every key with facility. Its range of available notes is from B to Gin alt. Triebert of Paris is now the most celebrated maker.
Hautbois is also the name given by organ-builders to a reed stop of 8 ft. tone, which is made of metal, similar in shape to the real hautbois, and intended to imitate it in its sound. Its reed is made of thin brass. In all English organs it is an indispensable stop in the swell, where it is most effective. It is only a treble stop, of which the bass is the bassoon. In continental organs it is found of various scales, and when very fine is called the oboe (rumour.