Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for February 01, 2013

Yes, clap away, young Dill. Give Petey some reward for his effort.

It takes a while for each note to develop and ripen.

What do you call perfect pitch in an oboe? Into the dumpster without hitting the side.

“Meet the new note… same as the old note… "

Yes, Dill; always applaud for the artist, even if it’s just a light, polite applause. Petey needs encouragement here!

With the possible exception of bagpipes, there may be no instrument more painful to learn – for both player and listener.

This strip fully expresses my long-held view of the challenge of the oboe.At the opposite end of the woodwind difficulty spectrum lies the oh-so-forgiving tenor saxophone.

What a beautiful comic strip. Thank you Mr. Thompson.

Yes, a well-played oboe can be beautiful, though it’s often not-so-well-played. Of course the oboe also doesn’t have the ear-piercing shriek that a beginning clarinet payer can accomplish.

@unnormal

Ah, fellow woodwinds…I played tenor sax clarinet and bass clarinet; I am sorry to say I did not keep up with it.

Poor Petey! That really took a lot out of him!

I thought that was a balloon…

Making him dizzy Gillespie

Our older daughter played the oboe. Often, oboe stories abound.1. On Feb. 2 or so one year, it was the coldest day of the year. Daughter had a high-school concert that night. Both her reeds broke. (Players are always going around with reeds in their mouths, to keep them warm and moist or whatever.) I had to take her on about a 28-mile round trip to her teacher’s apt., so he could give her replacements.2. Later, she got so she could make her own reeds. (You jam two little pieces of bamboo into a tiny cork tube, then wrap them round and round with thread. at the bottom.) She would make reeds for another student; one day the student’s mom asked about the cost. Since the oboe is a double-reed instrument, the mom asked whether the price was per reed, or whether it covered both reeds. (Chortle, chortle – oboe inside joke!)3. Daughter hadn’t played the oboe for years, and finally gave a nice Lorel oboe to a Hurricane Katrina victim. She now plays with a volunteer recorder outfit in Portland. To see, go to (she’s on front row, glasses, to left of director):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aL3134VpqQ

I dont know whether to clap, call a priest to give the note a last rite, a cop for Petey killing the note or an exorcist

I played the bagpipes. I know how difficult reeds can be.

I think the pressure causes brain-damage. I never met a “normal” oboist. (my wife’s a very fine oboist, by the way) And Petey is the most accurate portrait of the artist as a young oboist that I’ve ever seen! Heenk!! ROTFL!

Alice is so in awe of her big brother in the last panel.