What makes a flute a woodwind instrument

Flutes do not use a reed, and you might intuitively think that this fact would exclude them from the woodwind family as well. However, flutes still use an acoustic principle which is similar to the concept of a reed.

Specifically, flutes produce sound by splitting the air blown by the musician across a sharp edge that is, the lip plate of the flute , and causing the air inside the flute to vibrate. Similarly, the vibration of the reed alternates between opening and closing the aperture of the mouthpiece, which ultimately also causes the air inside the instrument to vibrate. In both cases, the sound is produced by a part of the instrument, not the musician. The important difference here is that woodwind instruments use the air blown by the musician to produce sound in some way.

The musician might blow the air, but ultimately it is the instrument which produces the sound. Given that flutes produce sound by splitting the airstream of the musician that is, the instrument itself is actively producing the sound , it should be clear that flutes fall into the class of woodwind instruments, not brass. In general, woodwind instruments have keys.

Keys are buttons on the instrument which can be pressed to either open or close a hole on the body of the instrument. Pressing a key either allows or prevents air from escaping at some point on the instrument, which either raises or lowers the pitch. When the musician presses down additional keys, the flow of air can no longer escape in the same place and is forced to go through a longer portion of instrument, lowering the pitch. Brass instruments, on the other hand, usually change pitch through the use of valves.

A valve is a mechanism which, when pressed, re-routes the air to a longer length of tube. Note that in the case of brass instruments, the sound always escapes the instrument in the same place that is, the bell. Rather than creating an opening for the air to escape at a different point, brass instruments simply alter the length of tubing that the sound goes through before it reaches the bell.

Not all brass instruments use valves. Some, like the trombone, instead use a slide. Slides operate by a similar principle as valves. The musician simply adjusts the position of the slide to lengthen or shorten the amount of tubing that the air goes through before it reaches the bell. As is the case with all brass instruments, the air still reaches the bell before the sound is released, as opposed to woodwind instruments where the point that the air is released is altered through the use of keys.

The key takeaway is that a woodwind instrument will have multiple areas where the sound can escape the instrument, whereas a brass instrument will only have one. Yamaha says 'The term "woodwind instrument" refers to wind instruments whose sound production principle is not lip reed; lip reed is sound production system of brass instruments which make sound by vibrating your lips.

Flute and piccolo produce a sound by vibrating air when you blows air against an edge of embouchure hole on the headjoint. Saxophone and clarinet produce a sound by vibrating a single reed attached to the mouthpiece. Oboe and bassoon produce a sound by vibrating two reeds, so they are called double reed instrument. Here is a list of the woodwind instruments. This vibration of the reed makes the air inside the oboe move, and thus creates sound.

To play it, hold the oboe upright, blow through the double reed in your mouth, and use both hands to press down on the keys to open and close the holes and change the pitch. There are usually 2 to 4 oboes in an orchestra and they produce a wide range of pitches, from haunting sounds to warm, velvety smooth notes, which make the sound of the oboe very memorable. In addition to playing in the orchestra, the first oboist is also responsible for tuning the orchestra before each concert.

Listen for the special note "A" that the oboe plays before the music begins. Despite its name, it isn't English and it isn't a horn. The English horn is actually closely related to the oboe, also uses a double reed, and is played in the same manner.

It's longer than an oboe and its tube is a bit wider. At the bottom end of the English horn it opens out into a rounded bell shape, which gives it a warmer, fuller sound.

Because it's larger, the English horn also has a lower pitch range than an oboe. An oboe player will also play English horn if it is needed. The clarinet could easily be mistaken for an oboe, except for the mouthpiece, which uses a single reed. Clarinets come in a number of different sizes, and the standard B-flat clarinet is just over 2 feet long. Some musical works require the clarinetist to play several types of clarinet in the same piece.

The 2 to 4 clarinets in the orchestra play both melodies and harmonies, and they have a dark rich sound in their lower notes, while the upper part of the clarinet's range is bright and resonant. You play the clarinet as you do an oboe, by holding it upright, blowing through the reed, and using your hands to change the pitches by opening and closing the keys with your fingers. The smaller E-flat clarinet is just like a standard clarinet, but about half the length.

Its shorter size allows it to play higher notes. This is the grandfather of the clarinet family. The bass clarinet is so large that its top and bottom are bent to make it easier for musicians to hold and play.

Its greater length allows it to play some of the lowest notes in the orchestra. The bassoon is a long pipe, doubled in half, made of wood, with many keys.