MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS > WINDS > STRAW OBOE
YOU WILL NEED
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Plastic straw
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Scissors
1.
Flatten one end of the straw between your fingers. Using the scissors, cut the corners of the flattened end of the straw.
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2.
Put your lips on the straw with the open parts to the sides of your mouth.
Bite down with your lips a little bit and blow. You should hear a buzzing sound. If not, try: moving your lips a bit up or down the straw; tightening or loosening your lips; or recutting the straw at a slightly different angle.
3.
When you have gotten a good steady sound, cut some tone holes (4 holes is about right). Using the scissors, make a cut in the middle of the straw at an angle, and then from the other side until a diamond-shaped hole appears.
You can also use a hole punch. Pinch the straw where you want the hole, and put just a bit into the very edge of the punch. The idea is keep the holes small enough to have the straw keep its stiffness as a tube, yet big enough to enable easy pitch change.