WOULD WIND IF IT COULD WIND? - WOODWINDS

WOULD WIND IF IT COULD WIND? - WOODWINDS

These are all about woodwind instruments!

Multiple Choice

What is a reed?

• a key on the instrument

• the stick used to conduct the orchestra

• a thin piece of wood used to create the sound

• a metal mouthpiece

Multiple Choice

TRUE or FALSE: All of the instruments in the woodwind family are made of wood.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

TRUE or FALSE: You must used wind (breath) to play all instruments in the woodwind family.

• True

• False

SO WHAT DO WOODWINDS DO?

• Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the more general category of wind instruments (flute, clarinet, oboe, saxophone, and bassoon.) All woodwinds produce sound by splitting the air blown into them on a sharp edge, such as a reed or a fipple. Despite the name, a woodwind may be made of any material, not just wood

• Common examples include brass, silver, cane, as well as other metals such as gold and platinum. The saxophone, for example, though made of brass, is considered a woodwind because it requires a reed to produce sound. Occasionally, woodwinds are made out of earthen, natural materials, especially ocarinas.

FLUTES!

• Flutes produce sound by directing a focused stream of air below the edge of a hole in a cylindrical tube. The flute family can be divided into two sub-families: open flutes and closed flutes.

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OPEN FLUTES

To produce a sound with an open flute, the player is required to blow a stream of air across a sharp edge that then splits the airstream. This split airstream then acts upon the air column contained within the flute's hollow causing it to vibrate and produce sound. Examples of open flutes are the transverse flute, panpipes and shakuhachi.

containing nickel, silver, copper, or gold.

CLOSED FLUTES

To produce a sound with a closed flute, the player is required to blow air into a duct. This duct acts as a channel bringing the air to a sharp edge. As with the open flutes, the air is then split; this causes the column of air within the closed flute to vibrate and produce sound. Examples of this type of flute include the recorder, ocarina, and organ pipes.

SINGLE-REED INSTRUMENTS

• Single-reed woodwinds produce sound by fixing a reed onto the opening of a mouthpiece (using a ligature). When air is forced between the reed and the mouthpiece, the reed causes the air column in the instrument to vibrate and produce its unique sound. Single reed instruments include the clarinet, saxophone,

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DOUBLE REED INSTRUMENTS

Double-reed instruments use two precisely cut, small pieces of cane bound together at the base. The finished, bound reed is inserted into the instrument and vibrates as air is forced between the two pieces (again, causing the air within the instrument to vibrate as well). This family of reed pipes is subdivided further into another two sub-families: exposed double reed, and capped double reed instruments.

Exposed double-reed instruments are played by having the double reed directly between the player's lips. (oboe, English horn and bassoon).