Baroque oboes evolved from the Medieval and Renaissance ‘shawm.’ Originally called ‘hautbois’ in the late 1800s, it was the primary military band instrument prior to the emergence of the clarinet. Baroque oboes were traditionally made of boxwood. Its three keys were made up of a pair of side keys and a great key. Higher pitches are made by overblowing, a technique made by heightening the air stream to make the harmonic series jump. The key range of baroque oboes is between C1 to D3.
A Classical oboe has a narrow bore that makes playing high notes easier. It has additional keys for the G#, C#, and F notes, and a slur key that works like an octave key. Its key range is between C1 to F3. A few Austrian and German Classical oboes can produce half-step lower notes.
Viennese oboes were originally made in Vienna in the early 1900s, and remain popular in Viennese orchestral performances. Its original tonal and bore characteristics have been preserved until now.
The modern oboe was made by a French family called the Trieberts in the 1800s. It can be made of African blackwood called grenadilla, violetwood, rosewood, and cocobolo. Modern oboes for beginners are usually made of plastic resin.
Full conservatory modern oboes have 45 keys with optional alternate F and third octave keys.