Oboe of the family (it is usually pitched in E or F above the oboe), and the contrabass oboe (typically pitched in C, two octaves deeper than the standard oboe). Folk versions of the oboe, sometimes equipped with extensive keywork, are found throughout Europe. These include the musette (France) and the piston oboe and bombarde (Brittany), the piffero and ciaramella (Italy), and the xirimia (also spelled chirimia) (Spain). Many of these are played in tandem with local forms of bagpipe, particularly with the Italian zampogna or Breton biniou. Similar oboe-like instruments, most believed to derive from Middle Eastern models, are also
Oboe d'amore many oboists not to possess their own , but to rent one when their work dictates the need. For the same reason, however, second-hand oboes d'amore surface from time to time with very little wear (and yet with very little reduction in price over a new instrument). Oboe d'amore The ' (; Italian for "oboe of love"), less commonly ', is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the oboe family. Slightly larger than the oboe, it has a less assertive and a more tranquil and serene tone, and is considered the alto of the oboe family, between the oboe