What’s an oboe? How does a flute work? What’s a viola?

Summary

Podcast Summary:

But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids
Episode: What's an oboe? How does a flute work? What’s a viola?
Date: November 28, 2025
Host: Jane Lindholm (Vermont Public)
Guests:

• Melissa Mealins, Flutist (Vermont Symphony Orchestra)
• Katie Oprea, Oboist (Vermont Symphony Orchestra)
• Stephanie Taylor, Violist (Vermont Symphony Orchestra)
• Live Kid Audience

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Episode Overview

This special live episode, recorded at Vermont Public studios for Curious Kids Day, dives into the fascinating world of orchestral instruments: flute, oboe, and viola. Joined by professional musicians from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and an inquisitive live audience of children, host Jane Lindholm guides listeners through how these instruments work, how musicians learn and practice, and why music is so meaningful to people of all ages.

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Flute: Sounds, Techniques, and Inspiration

Guest: Melissa Mealins

Key Points & Insights

• How a Flute Works:

  • You blow across the hole at the top; it’s like “slurping a spaghetti noodle—if you think about taking the noodle back out, that’s kind of how I do it on the flute.” (Melissa Mealins, 02:45)
  • The shape of your mouth ("embouchure") is crucial for producing a clear sound. “If you say the word ‘pool,’ the shape of your mouth helps make the right sound.” (03:11, 03:32)

• Anatomy of the Flute:

  • Flute consists of three pieces: head joint (produces sound even by itself), body (contains most keys), and foot joint (makes it longer).

• Changing Notes:

  • Different keys and finger positions change the pitch, with lower notes requiring more fingers down.

• Practice & Musicianship:

  • Melissa started with violin at four and explored piano and clarinet before choosing flute in 6th grade.
  • Practices 2+ hours/day, more when teaching or performing: “It’s like a sport… you don’t just suddenly go and run 25 miles.” (07:44)

• Special Flute Techniques:

  • Extended techniques include “flutter tonguing” (growling into the instrument) and using the tongue to articulate notes.
  • She can play music from centuries ago to today, and sometimes music by pop stars for fun.

• Piccolo:

  • “A piccolo is a smaller version of the flute that sounds one octave higher…If I played it here right now, everyone would be shaken out of their boots!” (10:49)

• Flute Family:

  • Flute is a woodwind, not brass, despite appearances.

• Performance Highlight:

  • Melissa played “Dance of the Goat” by Arthur Honegger, narrating its story as she performed.
    “At first, the goat is sleeping… then his happy nature comes out and he starts to dance…” (11:53)

Notable Quotes

• “I like playing the flute because of all those instruments…somehow it was the easiest one. And there’s something about being able to hold it up like this that was different from other instruments.” —Melissa Mealins (05:12)
• “Honestly, maybe even a thousand [songs]. So many. Because I’ve been playing over 25 years.” (09:50)

Timestamps

• Demonstration of bad vs. good embouchure: 03:09
• Explanation of flute parts: 05:41
• Audience Q&A: 04:27–14:21
• Live Performance: 11:53–14:21

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Oboe: Double Reeds and Deep Sounds

Guest: Katie Oprea

Key Points & Insights

• What is an Oboe?

  • A woodwind made from very dense, dark wood (“If I dropped this in water, it would sink.”) (17:01)
  • Sound is created with a “double reed” (two pieces of cane tied together). Reed can make sound by itself: “This is the beautiful sound of the oboe reed.” (18:07)

• How an Oboe Works:

  • When the reed is in the instrument, the sound is much prettier.
  • The range goes from a low B flat up to very high (sometimes squeaky!) notes.

• Mechanics:

  • Both mouth and fingers are critical: “The more fingers I put down, the lower the note; the less, the higher.” (20:20)
  • The oboe is a conical instrument (tube widens as you go down), affecting its sound.

• Reeds & Air:

  • Reeds are handmade: “When I play it, you have to blow very, very hard and consistent air…” (23:48)
  • Oboists make their own reeds as they become more advanced.

• Instrument Varieties:

  • Relatives include the English horn (lower) and smaller, higher-pitched oboes.

• Learning & Favorites:

  • Katie began with the oboe because her father needed one in his band.
  • Loves playing in orchestras, especially music by Brahms and other symphonists.

Notable Quotes

• “Music is just sound—but it’s taking sound and painting a picture with it.” —Katie Oprea (21:14)
• “The first instrument is an instrument we all have: your voice.” (25:03)
• “I think my favorite sound in life is laughter. Hearing people laugh makes you feel good.” (27:49)

Timestamps

• Demonstrating reed alone: 18:07
• Oboe sound range: 18:51–18:59
• Explaining fingerings: 20:20
• How the oboe is made: 30:18
• Counting keys: 32:05

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Viola: Warmth, Resonance, and Musical Emotion

Guest: Stephanie Taylor

Key Points & Insights

• The Viola Explained:

  • Like a bigger violin (“Some might even say better!”) with a more mellow, human-voice sound. (36:23–36:54)
  • Four strings, all tuned lower than the violin.

• How the Viola Works:

  • Pitch changes when you shorten the string with your fingers.
  • Playing two or more strings together makes both notes resonate.
  • Main tool for sound is the bow (wooden stick with bleached horse hair). Rosin is used on the hair to make it sticky.

• Techniques:

  • Pizzicato (plucking with fingers) vs. bowing (smooth, long sound).
  • Vibrato is when fingers “tremble” on the string to make the sound richer and shimmery.

• Instrument Construction:

  • Body amplifies string vibrations via wood resonance. “Everything vibrates—and that is what makes the sound.” (40:51)
  • Modern strings are metal-wrapped, but were once made from sheep intestines (“gut strings”).
  • Stephanie’s viola is over 200 years old (built in 1810!), and bows must be frequently re-haired.

• The Music Itself:

  • Stephanie’s performance was a lively “gigue” by Bach, adapted for viola. (53:06)
  • “Music is a form of communication…a way of sharing feelings and emotions with others that are not words.” (49:11)
  • Songs are infinite—“there are songs being made whenever someone hums or plays.”

Notable Quotes

• “I think my favorite sound on the oboe would be a particular note... but my favorite sound in life is laughter.” —Katie Oprea (27:49)
• “Music is something that brings people together. We are all here, all from different places and ages, appreciating music.” —Stephanie Taylor (49:24)

Timestamps

• Bow explained (horse hair, rosin): 38:12
• Pizzicato demonstration: 39:01
• Vibrato demystified: 44:21
• Viola construction: 48:33
• Playing Bach’s gigue: 53:06

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Audience Curiosity: Kids’ Big Questions

Throughout the episode, children from the audience ask thoughtful, wide-ranging questions, including:

• Why do you like to play music?
• Is the flute the hardest instrument to play?
• Can oboes be different sizes?
• How many keys do oboes have?
• Why do songs get stuck in your head?
• Why does music make you dance?
• What’s the difference between playing and practicing?
• Why do some instruments look similar but sound different?
• How are instruments made?
• Why do people make music?

Musicians respond with enthusiasm, honesty, and relatable analogies—encouraging curiosity and a love of music.

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Memorable Moments

• Demonstrating Reed-Only Sounds:
  “This is the beautiful sound of the oboe reed.” (18:07, Katie Oprea)
  [Audience laughs at how odd the reed-only sound is.]

• Melissa’s Trumpet Attempt:
  “My mother told me I sounded like a lovesick moose…” (10:29, Melissa Mealins)

• The Infinite Number of Songs:
  “There are so many songs in the world…whenever someone hums or plays, another is made.” (52:39, Stephanie Taylor)

• Jet Plane Practice Metaphor:
  “Practicing is when you’re under the jet plane with your tools—performing is when you’re flying.” (46:04, Stephanie Taylor)

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Selected Timestamps for Major Segments

• Flute Interview/Demo: 02:08–14:21
• Oboe Interview/Demo: 16:54–36:05
• Viola Interview/Demo: 36:21–55:04
• Kids’ Musical Philosophy Questions: Sprinkled throughout, especially 41:25–53:02

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Episode Tone

Warm, enthusiastic, accessible, and playful—both the musicians and host speak directly to kids’ level, using hands-on demos, fun analogies, and heartfelt encouragement.

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Takeaways

• Musical instruments are full of history, science, and craft.
• Musicians love sharing—and answering any question, big or small.
• There are infinite ways to make and experience music; curiosity is always welcome.
• Whether you sing, tap a pencil, or pick up a centuries-old instrument, you’re part of the world of music.

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“Music is a form of sharing feelings, emotions with others that are not words.”
—Stephanie Taylor (49:11)

Transcript

[Jane Lindholm]

But why A podcast for curious Kids is known for serious answers to silly questions sent in by kids just like you. But did you know that but why is now a book series. Our first book, our Llamas Ticklish, answers questions from real kids about farm animals. This colorfully illustrated book is perfect for kids ages 8 to 10. And our second book, Do Fish Breathe? Underwater Explorer? The Underwater World of the Ocean. Learn [e-mail] books before we get started, here's a message for the adults who are listening. Support for but why comes from Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states. This is but why A podcast for curious kids.

[Katie Oprea]

Hey, guys.

[Jane Lindholm]

I'm Jane Lindholm, and today we're making the show a little bit differently from how we normally do it. We are joined by a live audience right here at our Vermont Public studios. Say hello, everybody. We are so pleased to welcome you here for our first ever Curious Kids Day at Vermont Public. And the theme today is exploring music. So for this episode, we're joined by musicians from the Vermont Speaker Symphony Orchestra. I have a few questions for them, and then we'll turn the microphone over to you guys. Okay? Is that okay? Okay, great. So joining me here on stage first today is Melissa Mealins. Who knows what instrument she has brought with her. You can shout it out if you know it. Did they get it right, Melissa?

[Melissa Mealins]

They did. I'm impressed you play the flute.

[Jane Lindholm]

Can you take us through some of the sounds that a flute can make?

[Melissa Mealins]

Sure thing.

[Jane Lindholm]

What happens if you just blow through that hole at the top of your flute? Like I'm blowing air out of my mouth like this. That doesn't sound as good.

[Melissa Mealins]

No, but there's a fun thing to think of if you want to get a nice sound on the flute. How many of you have slurped in a spaghetti noodle?

[Jane Lindholm]

Yes.

[Melissa Mealins]

It makes a nice big mess. Anyways, if you think about taking the spaghetti noodle back out of your mouth the same way it came in. That's kind of what I do to make a sound on the flute. I do it across the flute and thank goodness there's no noodle that's coming out.

[Stephanie Taylor]

Yeah, that would be gross.

[Jane Lindholm]

I'm picturing a lot of spaghetti sauce inside your flute. So what does it sound like if you make A bad note on the flute.

[Melissa Mealins]

That's just not really having an embouchure. An embouchure means the way you hold your mouth. So like I was saying before, it's the whole sucking the noodle or spitting out the noodle position. Another thing you could think about is if you say the word pool. Pool. Think about how the corner of your mouth goes and you say pool. That's what I do with the corner of my mouth. That helps me shape my mouth to get a better sound on the flute.

[Jane Lindholm]

What was that word you said again for how the shape of your mouth is?

[Melissa Mealins]

Ambouchure.

[Jane Lindholm]

How do you spell that?

[Melissa Mealins]

E, M, B, O, U, C, H, U, R, E. It's actually a French word. There's a lot of French history with the flute.

[Jane Lindholm]

And how does it work? We know you blow air through it. That's what you just told us about. But what. What is actually happening?

[Melissa Mealins]

I'm actually blowing across, and part of the air is going into the flute, the side of the flute, which then is rocketed down, and vibrations start to go through the body of the flute, and then a sound is produced. And if I move my fingers on these keys right here, that will change the pitch as I blow.

[Jane Lindholm]

It's beautiful. Let's see if we have any questions from the audience. Melody and Sarah are here, so you can raise your hand if you have a question for Melissa, and they will come around and have you ask them.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Isabella and I live in Vermont, in Royalton, and I'm seven years old. And I wonder who taught you to play the flute?

[Melissa Mealins]

I had several teachers, and flute was actually not my first instrument. I started violin when I was four. Then I played piano, then I played clarinet, and then I had to figure out what instrument because I just loved music and I loved instruments. And by the time I was in sixth grade, I decided that Florida flute is really what I want to specialize in.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Blake, and I'm five. And why do you like to play music? Why do you like to play flute?

[Melissa Mealins]

I like playing the flute because of all those instruments that I mentioned before. For me, somehow it was the easiest one. And there's something. When I opened up the case, I really liked that I could put it together in this long horizontal stick, and I just thought that was cool. And I like the sound of it, too. But I don't know, there's just something about being able to hold it up like this that was different from other instruments.

[Jane Lindholm]

I don't know if you can take it Apart right now, or if that. Then you would need to tune it again. But your flute doesn't. It's not always this long. In a case, it comes apart into different pieces, right?

[Melissa Mealins]

I can. I could take it apart. There's three separate pieces. There's the head joint, which I can make a sound on by its own. If I stick my finger in the end, I can change pitches too. So this then is called the body of the instrument, where you see most of the keys. And then there's the foot joint, which makes it a little bit longer as well.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Oliver. I'm five years old. And what kind of music can you play?

[Jane Lindholm]

What kind of music can you play, Melissa?

[Melissa Mealins]

I can play music from all different kinds of history. I can play it from 200, 300 years ago. I can play music that was written now. I can do some. What's called extended techniques. So that means, like I can. It's called flutter tonguing. But what it really is is I'm growling into my instrument so I get a different sound like this. Then there's something that means you also, like, articulate or use your tongue a little bit. You get that kind of thing.

[Jane Lindholm]

Do you ever listen to music on the radio and think, I could play that and play like Taylor Swift for yourself?

[Stephanie Taylor]

No.

[Children/Audience Members]

I'm six and I live in Ferrisburg. How many. How much music do you. Do you play?

[Melissa Mealins]

When I practice, I'll practice two hours a day. And then if I have orchestra work, that could be two and a half to five hours a day or if there's a concert. So each day is a little bit different. I also teach flute, and I'm playing my flute while I teach. And some days are crazy and I'll be teaching all day long. So it's hours and hours of playing. And that's okay because it's what I love to do.

[Jane Lindholm]

When you are playing for three or four or five hours, you're practicing and then you're teaching and then you're doing something else. Are your lips really tired at the end of the day or your fingers?

[Melissa Mealins]

They're not. Unless if I haven't been. It's like a sport. Like, you don't just suddenly go and run 25 miles. You work yourself up to that. So as long as I'm running several miles a day or practicing my flute several hours a day, then it's okay. But if I take some time off, say I go on vacation, this doesn't really happen. But if I went on vacation for two weeks and I didn't touch the flute. When I came back, I would not sound so good, and I would get tired sooner, and it would take some time to get back to where I want to be.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name's Antonio. I'm four years old and I live in Jericho, Vermont. And how do you play the flute?

[Jane Lindholm]

So how do you. You've told us a little bit about how you play, so your blowings through your mouth. And you told us about your mouth position. How about your fingers? What are you doing with your fingers?

[Melissa Mealins]

For each different tone, I have a different finger position. And what's interesting is the lower I go with the pitches. I keep adding fingers. So I'll start a little bit higher and then I add a finger and go lower. And I have to stop and take a breath because I'm blowing the whole time. So if I didn't take a breath, I'd be passed out on the floor. And that's not a good scene.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Adelaide. I'm nine. I live in Hartland. And is the flute one of the hardest instruments because it takes the most air?

[Melissa Mealins]

I think that a lot of people might argue that their instrument is harder or something like that. I actually don't know if flute is the hardest instrument, at least for me. Maybe that's why I chose it, because it was kind of easy for me. But if I was choosing something like oboe, I think that would be a lot harder because oboe has a reed that they have to play through, and the reeds have to be just right. And they spend a lot of time just working on the reeds. I'm lucky because I just put my metal flute together and I blow and I'm good to go.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Lulu. I'm seven years old. I live in Vermont. My question is, how many songs do you know?

[Melissa Mealins]

Honestly, maybe even a thousand. So many. So many. Because I've been playing a long time. Over 25 years. I've played a lot of music, and I can also have a lot of experience. So I can just look at something and play something new and depending upon how hard it is, like how many notes you see here, Right. Sometimes I can play it perfectly the first time. Sometimes I need to practice it on those two, three hours of practice.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Harper, I'm six years old. And how many instruments have you played?

[Melissa Mealins]

Violin, piano, A little bit of trumpet, which was terrible. My mother told me I sounded like a lovesick moose when I played it, whatever that is. Clarinet, piccolo, saxophone and flute. So I guess it ends up being seven.

[Children/Audience Members]

When you said that you played the piccolo. What is a piccolo?

[Melissa Mealins]

Ah, a piccolo is a relative of the flute. It is a smaller version of the flute, is maybe the size of the head joint. So it's very small. And so this is an interesting thing to remember. The smaller the instrument, the smaller the distance the air has to travel, the higher the pitch. So a piccolo sounds one octave higher than the flute. So if I'm playing on the flute, find playing this, it. Actually, that's one of the medium notes on the piccolo, so it's a lot higher. And I think that everyone would be shaken out of their boots if I played piccolo here right now.

[Children/Audience Members]

Isn't the flute in the brass family?

[Melissa Mealins]

It's in the woodwind family. So originally, woodwinds come from wood instruments. I'm not so familiar about the brass family history, but they're all made out of brass. But you know what? We're a little bit similar in that we all blow through an instrument to create sounds.

[Jane Lindholm]

Well, since we're all now friends here, will you play a song for us before we end to show us what the flute can actually do?

[Melissa Mealins]

I would love to.

[Jane Lindholm]

Thanks.

[Melissa Mealins]

I want to tell you a little bit about my song or piece that I'm going to play. It's called Dance of the Goat. It's by Arthur Oniguer, a French composer. And it's a short piece, but there's like, a little story behind it that I think works. So at first, the goat is sleeping. Then he wakes up a little bit, and he's a really playful goat, and he likes to dance. So you'll hear like a little bit of a dance moment. But he's still waking up, has a little bit of breakfast, Nourishing breakfast. The breakfast starts to kick in. And then his light, happy nature comes out and he starts to dance. Breakfast kicks in some more. He dances some more. A little bit faster, a little bit harder. And he's having a really good time. And then he looks over on the horizon. Love, interest, friend? I don't know. So you'll notice that the music changes and becomes just a little bit more relaxed and mellow. And he meets his new friend. And the friend likes to dance too. And so they dance together crazily, wildly. They exhaust themselves. And then before you know it, the day is over. They say goodbye. There's one last little romantic melody. And then he goes back to bed and goes to sleep. I hope you enjoy.

[Children/Audience Members]

Sam.

[Jane Lindholm]

Sa. That was beautiful.

[Children/Audience Members]

Thank you.

[Jane Lindholm]

That was Melissa Mealins, who plays who with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. Coming up. What's an oboe. I'm Jane Lindholm, and this is but why? A podcast for curious kids. Let's get back to our live episode with musicians from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. Joining us here today is Katie Oprea, who plays the oboe. Katie, what a pleasure to have you with us.

[Katie Oprea]

Thank you. It's really a pleasure to be here.

[Jane Lindholm]

I already said it's the oboe, so I gave it away. But what is an oboe?

[Katie Oprea]

Well, an oboe is a member of what we call the woodwind family. So the oboe is a wind instrument that you play by blowing into it, and the instrument itself is made out of wood. Now, my oboe does not look like wood because it's black. But the wood that's used for this instrument is special. It's very, very dense. And it has this dark, dark color as part of the fact that it's so dense. It's so dense that if I dropped this in the water, it would sink. So I try not to do that. The other thing that's special about the oboe is that the sound is produced by a reed, which is not that special. I mean, clarinets and saxophones have a reed, but the oboe has what's called a double reed. So we say it's double, the treble. But what's cool about the double reed is that it's two pieces of cane that are tied together, and I can play the reed all by itself. So this is the beautiful sound of the oboe reed.

[Jane Lindholm]

Oh, that is just so gorgeous. Couldn't you listen to that all day? Yeah, Katie, that's beautiful.

[Katie Oprea]

Well, you can actually play songs on it, too. So if you just kind of move it, like, further into your mouth and further out of your mouth, that changes the pitch. So I can play a little song like this?

[Jane Lindholm]

I mean, I'm still not sure that's beautiful.

[Katie Oprea]

No. Okay. All right.

[Jane Lindholm]

So what does it sound like when you put the reed in the instrument? Can you play some of the sounds that an oboe can make.

[Katie Oprea]

That's a bit different from just the reed?

[Jane Lindholm]

That sounds much prettier. Take us through the range of sounds an oboe can make from high to low or low to high.

[Katie Oprea]

So the lowest sound an oboe can make is a B flat. Well, a low B flat. For us, the highest sound kind of depends, because once you get it really high, it just sounds like a bunch of squeak. So that kind of that end of the instrument is a little bit more, you know, picky and choosy. Like, do you really want to sound like that? Sometimes you do. But most of the Time you don't.

[Jane Lindholm]

How do you use your mouth to make that noise? Because if you just put your mouth on the oboe and hum or blow, what's that going to sound like?

[Katie Oprea]

It doesn't sound like much. So if I just blow through the reed, it doesn't sound like anything. What my mouth really does is just makes enough of. There's enough pressure on the reed between my mouth and my air that it vibrates really, really fast. And that's what makes the sound. I don't make the sound. It's not like an instrument where, you know, I make a funny. Like a buzzing with my lips like you would do with a brass instrument. It all depends on the reed.

[Jane Lindholm]

And you're not making the different sounds with your mouth. Then once you're blowing through it, you're not going, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. You're doing that with your fingers. What are you doing?

[Katie Oprea]

Well, the fingers, actually, all of the woodwind instruments are kind of engineered the same way. So a woodwind instrument is just a big, long tube with a bunch of holes in it. If anyone's ever played the recorder before, you kind of know how this works. So to make a lower sound, I'm going to have more holes on the instrument closed, so more of my fingers are down. When I have just one finger down, that actually makes the tube, the air is traveling through shorter. The more fingers I put down, the lower the note, the less fingers, the higher the note.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name's Fern. I'm seven years old. I live in Richmond, Vermont. And my question is, why can't you see music notes?

[Jane Lindholm]

Why can't you see music notes?

[Katie Oprea]

Wow, that's a really good question. In a way. I can see music notes because I can read them off the page. But music is. It's just sound. I say just sound, but it's taking sound and making something like a picture, painting a picture with sound. So, like, if you look at a piece of art, if you look at a painting, can you hear a painting? You can't. Can you read a painting? All you're doing is looking at it and seeing it. With music, when you're listening, that's all you're really doing is hearing the sounds and listening to the sounds. But those sounds, your brain takes all that in and turns it into a story or a painting or an emotion or something more than just a sound. So I think that's what's magical about music. That's why we love to play music and listen to music.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Harvey, and I am 6 years old, and I live in Bristol, Vermont. And my question is, can oboes be different sizes?

[Jane Lindholm]

Can oboes be different sizes?

[Katie Oprea]

I love that question. Yes, they can. This is a standard oboe, but the oboe.

[Jane Lindholm]

And if you held that out, Katie, that's about the length of your arm, right?

[Katie Oprea]

Yeah, it is. It's about the length of my arm. But you have a bunch of different sizes of oboe, and the bigger the oboe, the lower the sound. And I. There is one size smaller than this that plays a higher sound, but you don't hear them very much. You don't. It's not very common. There is one kind of relative of the oboe you hear a lot, and that's called the English horn, and that is longer. And it. It does look different because the. The bottom of the oboe on the English horn has a different shape, but it just plays everything lower. So it's kind of like a. Like a tenor oboe. This is like a soprano oboe, which is high notes, and then the Chenarobo is kind of a little, little bit lower down.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Ait.

[Katie Oprea]

And.

[Children/Audience Members]

How old am I? I'm five. Even. Even. I live in Montpelier. And my question is, how can you really play it? By using my mouth.

[Jane Lindholm]

Yeah. How do you play it using your mouth? Tell us more about the reed.

[Katie Oprea]

Okay, so the reed is actually, I think, the coolest part of this instrument. And it's made by taking two pieces of material that are called cane and tying them together onto a tube. And actually, when you get to be a good oboist, you make your own reeds. So these are reeds that I made at home. And when I play it, all I have to do is put the reed in my mouth and hold it. You do have to kind of be careful how you hold it. If you bite the reed, it's not going to work. And if your lips are too floppy, it's also not going to work. So you have to kind of practice and get. So that you're holding it just right. And it's just the air that I'm blowing. You have to blow very, very, very hard and very consistent air to make the oboe work. But if you blow hard enough, then you get a sound with just the reed.

[Children/Audience Members]

Hi, my name is Kieran, and I live in South Thornton, Vermont. I'm six years old. And my question is, how are instruments invented?

[Jane Lindholm]

Oh, how are instruments invented? We might have to do some research on that. But do you know, Katie, anything about the history of the oboe in particular?

[Melissa Mealins]

You.

[Katie Oprea]

Lots. I mean, the first instrument Is an instrument we all have, right? It's your voice. That's the first instrument that any person ever, ever learned in the entire history of humankind. So voices were the first. We learned how to talk, but we also learned how to sing. So you're carrying around instruments with you every day, all day, every day. And you can use those instruments anytime you want, just to sing. Then they kind of started hitting things with sticks and probably invented percussion instruments, right? But the first wind instruments were flutes, and the oboe has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years when somebody thought, well, I can make a sound with a flute. What if I stuck this reed on there and tried to make a sound? Ooh, I like that sound. Let's keep doing that.

[Children/Audience Members]

How did you learn to play the oboe? My name is Vera.

[Katie Oprea]

My father actually was a music teacher, and when I was 10 years old, I said, what instrument do you need in your band? And he said, I need an oboe or a French horn. And I said, I don't want to play a brass instrument. I'll try the oboe. And he taught me how to play, and I started out just playing the reed. So the first thing that I did and that I have my students do Is just play a long tone on the reed without the instruction. And then as I got stronger and better at that, I put the reed in the oboe, and I learned one note at a time, how to play every note that I can play today.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Lily, and I'm seven years old, and I live in south Burlington. What's your favorite song to play?

[Katie Oprea]

Oh, wow. There's so many songs. It's hard to choose one that's my favorite to play. I think sometimes it depends on how I'm feeling. So some days I like to play things that are very big and beautiful and peaceful sounding. And sometimes I want to play things that are really fast and happy sounding. I think my favorite kind of music to play. I really love playing in an orchestra, and I love playing music by composers that wrote things like Johannes Brahms, who wrote great big symphonies that are just. Just so gorgeous. And you get to sit in an orchestra. You're in the middle of this group of people, and you're all working together and making these beautiful sounds. That's my favorite thing to do.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Zane, and I'm 4 years old. What is your favorite sound?

[Katie Oprea]

I guess my favorite sound on the oboe Would be a particular note that I think sounds prettiest. It's got a very pure sound. It's a very stable note. So that's probably my favorite note. My favorite sound in life, I think, is laughter. I think hearing people laugh because it makes you feel like laughing yourself. It makes you feel good.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name's Harvey. I'm seven years old. And if you want to play the oboe, what instrument would you start with first?

[Katie Oprea]

Well, I started with the oboe, and I have a lot of students that start with the oboe. But sometimes it's good to try a different instrument first because the oboe is pretty challenging. So I think the flute is very close to the same fingerings as an oboe, so that's a good one to start with. The saxophone has almost exactly the same fingerings as the oboe. So I actually have a lot of students that started on the saxophone. And the clarinet is pretty good, too. But the clarinet fingerings are different, so sometimes that's confusing. But I would say that if you start on an instrument, even if it doesn't have anything to do, even if you start, like on the tuba or the trombone, if you think, wait a second, I think I like the sound of the oboe better. Let me give it a try. I would say try it, because when you find that instrument that you like, you're going to figure out how to play it one way or another.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Grant, and I live in Essex, Vermont. I'm nine years old, and my question is, what was your favorite instrument?

[Katie Oprea]

Well, my favorite instrument is the oboe, but I think I'm prejudiced, actually. I think I love just about every instrument I've ever heard because they all kind of add something new.

[Children/Audience Members]

Hi, I'm Seamus. I live in Delco, Vermont. I'm five years old, and my question is, how will instruments made?

[Jane Lindholm]

There are lots of different ways that instruments are made and lots of different materials. You mentioned that your instrument is made out of wood. How is it actually made?

[Katie Oprea]

Well, they take blocks of the wood and they drill up through the bottom of the wood to make the inside. Because that's actually. It's funny because we think the outside is the most important part. The inside is one of the most important parts of any instrument because the shape changes the sound. So the oboe is a conical instrument. So the top is small and. And it gradually gets bigger all the way to the bottom. The clarinet is more of a cylindrical instrument. So the top is one size and the bottom gets a little bigger, but not much, and that makes a completely different sound. So for the oboe specifically, we take the wood and you bore a hole up through. Drill a hole up through the bottom of it. That is going to be conical so small at the top, big at the bottom. And then they drill the holes to make the keys. And they have molds that they use where they take silver and they make the keys that are going to go in there, but underneath the keys, they have pads that are made of things like cork or paper, because these can wear out. So these have to get changed sometimes. And it takes a lot of years to learn to make an instrument like this. It takes a lot of experience and time and practice. So our instruments, when we play an instrument, when you play it seriously and are really into it, you want to take extra good care of it. And as a matter of, like, etiquette, it's not polite to touch another person's instrument without telling them, and it's not polite to pick up another person's instrument or play it without asking permission first.

[Children/Audience Members]

I'm from Lyme, New Hampshire, and my question is, do oboes have a certain number of keys or d. Can they have any number?

[Katie Oprea]

They have a certain number. I have to count now. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. This one has 23. Some of them have an extra key here. That would make 24. And student instruments have fewer. So, like one, two. Oh, wait, no, I have 24. So minus 24. Sometimes they have 25. So a student instrument would have around 21 keys. Okay, so if you're starting out, you don't get as many, because my pinkies are what get busy. I have extra keys for my pinkies, but a student instrument wouldn't have all those. So 25, 24. That's pretty standard.

[Jane Lindholm]

Katie, will you play us a piece to really show off what the oboe can do and tell us what you're going to play?

[Katie Oprea]

Sure. So this is a piece from for oboe by a composer from Serbia. Her name was Isadora Zebeljan. And I really like this piece. I like the way it sounds, but I also like it was written in 2005. So the oboe is really old. It's been around for a long time. And a lot of the music I play was written hundreds of years ago. This was written in my lifetime, and it actually uses a lot of kind of folk music from the area where she lived. And it's called the Miracle in Chargan.

[Jane Lindholm]

That was K. Katie, Oprah on oboe. Joining me here is Stephanie Taylor, who plays what instrument. If you know what it is, shout it out. I heard a lot of violin. Is that what you play, Stephanie?

[Katie Oprea]

Not today.

[Jane Lindholm]

Not Today.

[Stephanie Taylor]

But I did hear it. It is a viola. It's a little. So it's a bigger version of the violin. Some might even say better version of the violin.

[Jane Lindholm]

Ooh, I don't know. Now Stephanie's starting a fight. Why do you think it's better than the violin?

[Stephanie Taylor]

Well, the viola. The viola is. It is a lower sound. It's a little bit more mellow sound than the violin. And I think it really imitates a human voice, so I really love it. But I do play the violin.

[Jane Lindholm]

Will you show us some of the sound? The viola can make sure it's made.

[Stephanie Taylor]

Out of wood, and it has four strings. And I'll play each of the four strings for you.

[Jane Lindholm]

It's tough for Stephanie to play and be in front of the microphone at the same time. What happens when you move your top fingers up and down on the strings while you play?

[Stephanie Taylor]

Well, when I want to change the pitch of the string, I shorten the string by putting my finger down on it. So if I play this as a D string, if I put a finger down and another, I can play a scale. And really what I'm doing is I'm just. I'm shortening the length of the string as I do that, which raises the pitch.

[Jane Lindholm]

What happens when you play two or three strings at the same time?

[Stephanie Taylor]

We get to hear both pitches resonating at one time, which I think is really beautiful.

[Jane Lindholm]

What you're using to make the sound or make that sound smooth is something in your right hand called a bow. What is a bow?

[Stephanie Taylor]

So this. This is. It is a piece of wood with. Does anyone know what that white stuff is? Your hand went right up. What is that? That's right. It is from the tail of a horse, and it's bleached. It's not just from white tails. And the horse doesn't. Is not harmed. When we take the horse hair. It's just kind of like having a haircut. So the horsehair is stretched between these two ends, and it actually has quite a lot of tension. But the bow actually still needs to be flexible. And a long time ago, the bow looked actually more like a bow. Like what you think of, like, with a bow and arrow.

[Jane Lindholm]

You can play this instrument without a bow with just your fingers. Can you describe or show us the difference in sound?

[Stephanie Taylor]

Yes. So this technique is called pizzicato, and it's an Italian word. It just means plucked. And what I'm doing with my finger is I'm pulling the string, and that makes it vibrate. And then I can do a really hard pizzicato like that that has a different sound. So there's a big variety of sounds that I can make with my finger, but not as many as I can make with my bow.

[Jane Lindholm]

When you're making your sound with the bow, though, the string is still vibrating because that's how your instrument is making the sound, right?

[Stephanie Taylor]

That is true. What I'm going to do with my bow is actually the same thing I did with my finger. So I'm going to pull the string, but this time I'm going to pull it with the horse hair that has some kind of little nubs on it that makes it a little sticky on the bow. Plus, one thing you didn't get to see is I put rosin on my bow. Now, has anyone ever seen gymnasts or dancers put rosin on their. Right, Powdered rosin is sticky. And string players use cake or rosin and spread. Excuse me. We spread it on the horsehair of our bow, which helps it to be a little stickier. And that helps me grab the string with the bow and makes the string vibrate. So I'm going to pull. I'm on the string and I pull the string. And that is essentially the same thing I'm doing with the pizzicato. But I can make the sound last much longer now. So instead of I can do. And I can make much more of a singing sound with the bow.

[Jane Lindholm]

So we know we need the strings, we know how the bow helps. Why do you need the rest of the instrument?

[Stephanie Taylor]

Has anyone ever made an instrument, even with an oatmeal box and strings, all of those instruments that you made, the body of the instrument is going to help amplify the vibration, make the vibration bigger. So the strings vibrate, which also makes the wood vibrate. And there's a little post in the instrument that holds the two pieces together. Everything vibrates, and that is what makes the sound.

[Children/Audience Members]

My question is, how frequently do you practice? And my name is Hana Leah, and I live in Burlington, Vermont, as an.

[Stephanie Taylor]

Adult with my own children and a lot of different things to do, I don't practice. I don't practice every single day. I wish I did. I would feel better and I would play better if I practiced every single day. I practice most days and I play most days. When I was a child and I started playing violin when I was seven, I didn't practice every day until, I think when I was about 12, I started practicing every day, and then I practiced a lot for a long time.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name's Raya and New Jersey. And my question is, how many instruments are there in the world? And I'm five years old.

[Jane Lindholm]

Oh, my gosh. How many instruments are there in the world? We might have to do some research to answer that one, but do you have any guesses, Stephanie?

[Stephanie Taylor]

Actually, my guess is maybe towards that infinity number, because there are instruments that are very traditional and that are part of a certain music tradition, and there are other instruments that are traditional to other music traditions. And then they're all the instruments that people just make up.

[Jane Lindholm]

That people.

[Stephanie Taylor]

When you take a pencil and tap out rhythms on your desk, you're making an instrument, you're making some rhythm, you're making some music.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Coco. I'm seven years old. I live in Essex, Vermont. And my question is, why do songs get stuck in your head?

[Jane Lindholm]

Do you know why songs get stuck in your head?

[Stephanie Taylor]

Such a good question. Such a good question. I don't know exactly, except I do think that's a question that a lot of us have been asking for a long time. So thank you for saying it out loud. I think part of it is because music to us is a lot like language. And when we hear something that sounds kind of like a. Like a. Like a phrase or like something. Something that sounds, something that we can kind of keep in our heads, just like you'd say, like, you know, how are you? I'm fine. You know, that kind of thing gets that music can kind of sound, like, talking like that. And I think that's one way that it can stay in our head.

[Children/Audience Members]

Hi, my name is alex and I'm 10 years old. I'm from Milton, Vermont. And why do your fingers tremble when you're holding the string on the violin?

[Stephanie Taylor]

Such a good question. Okay, so string instrument players, we basically wave or roll our fingers from the pitch and a little below our pitch to pretty much make the vibrato that is already there in the vibrato, make the vibration in the string even more vibrated. And that we use an Italian word called vibrato, and singers use vibrato. And a lot of other instrumentalists use vibrato. But in a string instrument, I'm going to play it really slowly so you can hear what I'm doing. So very, very slowly. And then when it's fast and a little narrower, it just sounds like a little bit more warm and can sound a little bit more shimmery and actually makes the sound louder, too.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Nell and I am 6 years old and I live in Williston, Vermont. Why does music make you dance?

[Jane Lindholm]

You're getting the tough question, Stephanie, I have to say.

[Stephanie Taylor]

But that's also just such a beautiful question. I'm not really sure. I think it's just one of the really amazing and wonderful things about being a human.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Astra, and I live in New York, and I'm 6 years old. What's the difference between playing and practicing?

[Jane Lindholm]

Oh, what's the difference between playing and practicing?

[Stephanie Taylor]

I'm gonna come here for all of my good questions. These are very good questions. So the. The best way that I have describing between playing and practicing is something I heard a famous pianist say once. And he said, practicing, just pretend you have a jet plane and practicing is when you're getting underneath the jet plane with all your tools and you're looking at the wires, and you're looking to see that all the systems work and maybe fixing some things that are not working. And when you're playing or you're performing, that's when you're flying the jet plane and you're moving and you're going. And you're not actually thinking anymore about, hmm, do I need to look at something? We hope you're not thinking about fixing the wires anymore then.

[Children/Audience Members]

So my name is Ollie. I live in Burlington. I'm 8 years old, and my question is, how many instruments do you play?

[Stephanie Taylor]

I play the violin. That's what I started with. And I started playing the viola when I was about 20 or 21. And I play the piano a very, very little bit, not very well. And I love to sing, but I'm not sure if that. I'm not sure if that counts in your. In your count of instruments. But those. Those are the instruments that I play.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Libby. I live in St. Albans, Vermont. I'm five years old. And my question is, why do some instruments look a little alike, but they make different sounds?

[Stephanie Taylor]

This makes me think it would maybe be a good idea to talk about the string family of instruments. So the string family of instruments are all shaped like this, but they're different sizes. So we have the violin, then we have the viola, then we have the cello, and then we have the double bass, which is so big that people often sit on a stool to play it. When the body of the instrument gets bigger, the sound, the pitch gets lower, but they have a lot of things in common, but it's the pitch that changes.

[Children/Audience Members]

How do you make the instrument? My name is Iggy, and I live in Burlington, Vermont.

[Jane Lindholm]

There are lots of different ways to make lots of different instruments but how is a viola made?

[Stephanie Taylor]

It's not easy at all. There are multiple pieces of wood which are shaped to a very specific measurement, and then they are glued together. And then this piece is added and the strings are added. And then, of course, we also need the bow.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name's Abdi. I live in Burlington, Vermont. I'm seven. Why. Why do people make music?

[Stephanie Taylor]

Music is a form of communication. It's a form of sharing feelings, emotions with others that are not words.

[Katie Oprea]

Right.

[Stephanie Taylor]

It's a.

[Children/Audience Members]

No.

[Stephanie Taylor]

Another way of communicating. And I think we've all experienced probably listening to music and feeling like dancing or feeling like singing or. Some music makes us feel kind of peaceful, and some music can make us feel very energetic, and some can make us feel kind of sad. And when those are all feelings that all of us have inside us, and the music helps us to find those emotions and experience them. But also, music is something that brings people together. Music is a very wonderful way for people to do something collaboratively as a group and also to share something, even as we're doing right now, that we are all together and all from different places and different ages. But we are all here appreciating music.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Otis and I live in Charlotte. What horse is. Which string is that horse made out of?

[Jane Lindholm]

Yes, you mentioned that the bow is made out of horse hair. Can you tell us a little bit more about how they get the horse hair onto a bow?

[Stephanie Taylor]

Well, honestly, I'm not exactly sure how this happens, but it is taken from the tail of a horse, not the mane. And to make it white, you. It's bleached and cleaned. And then the person who is the bow repair person puts the hair on the bow. I didn't tell you. This is one interesting thing is that every few months I need to get new hair on the bow. So they take all the hair out and stretch new hair over the bow. And because the little. The little. They're little kind of little nubs that are on the hair actually get worn off when I play a lot. And then I have to start over again and get. So I don't get a new bow, but I get new hair.

[Jane Lindholm]

And the strings on your viola are not made out of horsehair?

[Stephanie Taylor]

No. And the strings on my viola, I also have to change every few months. And they're made with metal and they're wrapped around a kind of synthetic material. But not too long ago, all strings used to be made out of sheep intestines and they were called gut strings, but not any. Mine are not anymore. But I should tell you, while I'm talking about my instrument, that my instrument is more than 200 years old.

[Katie Oprea]

Wow.

[Stephanie Taylor]

Can you believe it? It's seen so much history. It was built in London in 1810, and my bow was built a little bit after that in France.

[Children/Audience Members]

My name is Naomi, I'm eight years old and I live in Rochester, Vermont. And my question is, how many songs are there in the world?

[Stephanie Taylor]

I think it's infinite. There are so many different songs that are already in the world. But then there are songs being written. There are songs being when you're.

[Katie Oprea]

When.

[Stephanie Taylor]

You were sitting and playing Legos or something and humming to yourself and making a new song. There are songs everywhere.

[Jane Lindholm]

Will you play one for us to really show off what your instrument can do?

[Katie Oprea]

Yes.

[Stephanie Taylor]

So I'm going to play you a dancing song called a gigue written by a pretty famous composer named Bachelor. And this piece was written a long, long, long time ago. It was actually written for the cello, but I think it sounds pretty good on the viol.

[Jane Lindholm]

Big thanks to Melissa Mealins, Katie Oprea and Stephanie Taylor from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra for being part of Vermont Public's Curious Kids Day. And thanks to Elise Brunel, the orchestra's executive director, for making their visits possible. The VSO is always interested in helping kids understand music and learn to play. If you want to be in the know when we have events like that, sometimes in person and sometimes virtual, or when we're looking for questions for from you for future episodes, join our mailing list. You can find a link right on our webpage. But whykids.org as always, if you have a question about anything, send it to us. We get a lot of questions and we wish we could answer them all. But even if we don't get to answer your question, we really want to hear what's on your mind and what you're feeling curious about. You can have an adult help you record your question using a free app on a smartphone or tablet, then have your adult send the file to questionsouthwhykids.org if you like our show, please leave us a review or some stars on whatever platform you use to listen. It helps other kids and families and schools discover us. Our show is produced by Sarah Bake, Melody Beaudet and me, Jane Lindholm at Vermont Public and distributed by prx. Our theme music is by Luke Reynolds and our video producer is Joey Pollock. Special thanks this week to Frank Alwine, Phil Edforce, Peter Engish and Dave Rice for their help with our live event and we also want to recognize Amy Zelinski, the event organizer and producer. We'll be back in two weeks with an all new episode. Until then, stay curious.

[Katie Oprea]

Why is the sky blue?

[Stephanie Taylor]

Why do birds sing?

[Katie Oprea]

Why do we need your support? Because but why is powered in part.

[Stephanie Taylor]

By listeners like you. If but why sparks curiosity and learning.

[Katie Oprea]

In your home, help us keep the show going Strong. Head to butwaikids.org donate to become a.

[Stephanie Taylor]

But why Fan club member or to make a gift in any amount to support the show.

[Melissa Mealins]

Thanks and stay curious.

[Children/Audience Members]

From prx.