Reedless wind instrument
Encyclopedia
Reedless wind instruments are wind instrument
s that do not have moving parts
in their mouthpieces.
Wind instruments are often characterized by their number of reeds
, which is typically zero, one, or two. Reedless wind instruments typically have no moving parts other than the wind (air) itself. Examples include the flute
, ocarina
, recorder
, tin whistle
, and calliope
(steam whistles).
classification system, reedless wind instruments are aerophones in the most pure sense that there are no moving parts other than the air itself, and thus the attribution of the sound source is wholly the air. Whereas a clarinet functions mostly as a wind instrument (aerophone), some percentage of the sound production may be attributed to the beating of the reed, which, although not considered an idiophone, does contribute, to a slight degree, non-aerophonic components to the initial sound production.
In reedless wind instruments the solid matter from which the instrument's body is made takes on the role only of containing the fluid (air) that makes the sound.
s, use less-compressible fluid (water). Hydraulophones in their most pure form, are reedless. These are called waterflutes. Other hydraulophones have one or more reeds, which vibrate in a stream of water.
Wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator , in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of...
s that do not have moving parts
Moving parts
The moving parts of a machine are those parts of it that move. Machines comprise both moving and fixed parts. The moving parts have controlled and constrained motions....
in their mouthpieces.
Wind instruments are often characterized by their number of reeds
Reed (instrument)
A reed is a thin strip of material which vibrates to produce a sound on a musical instrument. The reeds of most Woodwind instruments are made from Arundo donax or synthetic material; tuned reeds are made of metal or synthetics.-Single reeds:Single reeds are used on the mouthpieces of clarinets...
, which is typically zero, one, or two. Reedless wind instruments typically have no moving parts other than the wind (air) itself. Examples include the flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, ocarina
Ocarina
The ocarina is an ancient flute-like wind instrument. Variations do exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body...
, recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
, tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
, and calliope
Calliope (music)
A calliope is a musical instrument that produces sound by sending a gas, originally steam or more recently compressed air, through large whistles, originally locomotive whistles....
(steam whistles).
Categorization by number of reeds
- 0 reeds: Instruments such as the flute, or whistles, that have zero reeds typically have a fipple mechanism, or some similar sharp edge against which air is blown;
- 1 reeds: Instruments such as the saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
that have one reed; - 2 reeds: Instruments such as the oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
that have two reeds that beat against each other, rather than a single reed that beats against a mouthpiece.
Purest form of wind instrument
Under the Hornbostel-SachsHornbostel-Sachs
Hornbostel–Sachs is a system of musical instrument classification devised by Erich Moritz von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs, and first published in the Zeitschrift für Ethnologie in 1914. An English translation was published in the Galpin Society Journal in 1961...
classification system, reedless wind instruments are aerophones in the most pure sense that there are no moving parts other than the air itself, and thus the attribution of the sound source is wholly the air. Whereas a clarinet functions mostly as a wind instrument (aerophone), some percentage of the sound production may be attributed to the beating of the reed, which, although not considered an idiophone, does contribute, to a slight degree, non-aerophonic components to the initial sound production.
In reedless wind instruments the solid matter from which the instrument's body is made takes on the role only of containing the fluid (air) that makes the sound.
Reedless water instrument
Whereas wind instruments use compressible fluid (air), a new category of instruments, called hydraulophoneHydraulophone
A hydraulophone is a tonal acoustic musical instrument played by direct physical contact with water where sound is generated or affected hydraulically. Typically sound is produced by the same hydraulic fluid in contact with the player's fingers...
s, use less-compressible fluid (water). Hydraulophones in their most pure form, are reedless. These are called waterflutes. Other hydraulophones have one or more reeds, which vibrate in a stream of water.