All Topics  
Woodwind instrument

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Woodwind instrument
 
 
  Topics Woodwind instrument Topic Home



A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument
Musical instrument

A musical instrument is an object constructed or used for the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument....
 which produces sound when the player blows air against an edge of, or opening in, the instrument, causing the air to vibrate within a resonator
Resonator

A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior, that is, it naturally Oscillation at some frequency, called its Resonance frequency, with greater amplitude than at others....
. Most commonly, the player blows against a thin piece of wood called a reed
Reed (instrument)

A reed is a thin strip of material which vibrates to produce a sound on a musical instrument. The reeds of woodwind instruments are made from Arundo donax or synthetic material; tuned reeds are made of metal or synthetics....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Woodwind instrument'
Start a new discussion about 'Woodwind instrument'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Saxophone Reeds Alto, Tenor


A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument
Musical instrument

A musical instrument is an object constructed or used for the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument....
 which produces sound when the player blows air against an edge of, or opening in, the instrument, causing the air to vibrate within a resonator
Resonator

A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior, that is, it naturally Oscillation at some frequency, called its Resonance frequency, with greater amplitude than at others....
. Most commonly, the player blows against a thin piece of wood called a reed
Reed (instrument)

A reed is a thin strip of material which vibrates to produce a sound on a musical instrument. The reeds of woodwind instruments are made from Arundo donax or synthetic material; tuned reeds are made of metal or synthetics....
. Most of these instruments were originally made of wood, but some, such as the saxophone
Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-Bore transposing instrument musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a Single-reed instrument mouthpiece similar to the clarinet....
 and some flutes
Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
, are now commonly made of other materials such as metal
Metal

In chemistry, a metal is a chemical element whose atoms readily lose electrons to form positive ions , and form metallic bonds between other metal atoms and ionic bonds between nonmetal atoms....
s or plastic
Plastic

Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic chemistry solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products....
s.

Types of woodwind instruments


  • Single-reed instrument use a reed
    Reed (instrument)

    A reed is a thin strip of material which vibrates to produce a sound on a musical instrument. The reeds of woodwind instruments are made from Arundo donax or synthetic material; tuned reeds are made of metal or synthetics....
    , which is a thin cut piece of cane or plastic that is held against the aperture of a mouthpiece
    Mouthpiece (woodwind)

    The mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument is that part of the instrument which is placed partly in the player's mouth. List of woodwind instruments#Single-reed, List of woodwind instruments#Capped, and List of woodwind instruments#Closed have mouthpieces while List of woodwind instruments#Exposed and List of woodwind instruments#Open do not....
     with a ligature. When air is forced between the reed and the mouthpiece, the reed vibrates, creating the sound. Single reed instruments include the clarinet
    Clarinet

    The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet....
     and saxophone
    Saxophone

    The saxophone is a conical-Bore transposing instrument musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a Single-reed instrument mouthpiece similar to the clarinet....
     families of instruments.
  • Double-reed
    Double reed

    A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. The term double reed comes from the fact that there are two pieces of arundo donax vibrating against each other....
     instruments, use two precisely cut, small pieces of cane joined together at the base. The finished, bound reed is inserted into the top of the instrument and vibrates as air is forced between the two pieces of bound cane. There are two sub-families:
    • Exposed double-reed instruments, where the reed goes between the player's lips. The oboe
      Oboe

      The 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"....
      , cor anglais
      Cor anglais

      The cor anglais, or English horn, is a Double reed woodwind Musical instrument in the oboe family.The cor anglais is a transposing instrument pitched in F, a perfect fifth lower than the oboe , and is consequently approximately one-third longer....
       (also called English horn) and bassoon
      Bassoon

      The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the Bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher....
       make up the more popular instruments within this family.
    • Capped double-reed instruments, where there is a cap covering up the reed with a hole in that the player just blows through. This family includes most bagpipes
      Bagpipes

      Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones using enclosed reed fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes have historically been found throughout Europe, and into Northern Africa, the Persian...
      , the crumhorn
      Crumhorn

      The crumhorn is a musical instrument of the woodwind family, most commonly used during the Renaissance music period. In modern times, there has been a revival of interest in Early Music, and crumhorns are being played again....
      , and the cornamuse
      Cornamuse

      The cornamuse is a double reed instrument dating from the Renaissance period. It is similar in many ways to the crumhorn and rauschpfeife, although unlike those instruments, the bell of the cornamuse is closed, resulting in a much quieter sound....
      .
  • Flute
    Flute

    The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
    s produce sound when air is blown across an edge. There are two sub-families:
    • Open flute family, where the player's lips form a stream of air which goes directly from the players lips to the edge, such as transverse flute
      Transverse flute

      A transverse flute or side-blown flute is a flute which is held horizontally when played. The player blows "across" the embouchure hole, in a direction perpendicular to the flute's body length....
      s and end-blown flute
      End-blown flute

      The end-blown flute or rim-blown flute is a keyless woodwind instrument played by directing an airstream against the sharp edge of the upper end of a tube....
      s. Modern concert flutes are usually made of pure metal or a combination of metals including nickel
      Nickel

      Nickel is a chemical element, with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge....
      , silver
      Silver

      Silver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal....
      , and gold
      Gold

      Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
      .
    • Closed flute family, where the instrument forms and directs the air stream over the edge. This family includes fipple
      Fipple

      Fipple Flute or Tubular Ducted Flute mouthpiece are commonly found on end-blown woodwind instruments such as the tin whistle and the recorder....
       based flutes like whistle
      Whistle

      A whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an musical instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means....
      s and the recorder
      Recorder

      The recorder is a woodwind instrument musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes — whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle and ocarina....
       family.


See also

  • Brass instrument
    Brass instrument

    A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular resonator. They are also called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-vibrated instruments" ....
  • Musical instrument
    Musical instrument

    A musical instrument is an object constructed or used for the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument....
  • Wind instrument
    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....


External links