{"id":32927,"date":"2023-09-25T20:04:31","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T18:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=188516"},"modified":"2023-09-25T20:39:58","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T18:39:58","slug":"what-are-woodwind-instruments-meet-the-members-of-the-woodwind-family","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/what-are-woodwind-instruments-meet-the-members-of-the-woodwind-family\/","title":{"rendered":"What are woodwind instruments? Meet the members of the woodwind family"},"content":{"rendered":"

Woodwind instruments produce sound by directing a stream of air through a hollow tube \u2013 but how are these instruments played and what are the different types? <\/p>

By Charlotte Smith\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 25 September 2023 at 18:04 PM<\/p>

\n\n

What are woodwind instruments?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Woodwind instruments form one of two categories within the wider wind instrument family \u2013 the other being brass<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0Despite their name, woodwind instruments are not always made from wood, and other common materials include plastic, brass, silver, gold and platinum.<\/p>\n
The most common types of woodwind instruments today are those found in the woodwind section of a Western symphony orchestra<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 flutes<\/a><\/strong>, clarinets, oboes<\/strong><\/a> and bassoons<\/a><\/strong>. The clarinet\u2019s cousin, the saxophone<\/a><\/strong>, is more often used in jazz and pop music.<\/p>\n
Woodwinds are one of the five main families of instruments, the others being strings<\/a><\/strong>, percussion<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0brass<\/a><\/strong> and keyboard.<\/p>\n
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10 hardest instruments to play<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How are woodwind instruments played?<\/h2>\n
All wind instruments use a resonating chamber, most commonly an open tube, through which air is blown by the player. The pitch of the vibrating column of air is determined by its length and can be controlled by valves and slides in the case of most brass instruments, or in the case of most woodwind instruments by holes and stops along the tube, controlled by the player\u2019s fingers and metal caps called keys.<\/p>\n
The shape and tension in the player\u2019s mouth and lips, known as the embouchure, is an important component for producing sounds and pitch in brass instruments, but in woodwind instruments sound is produced by directing air from the player\u2019s mouth against a sharp edge, such as a reed or duct.<\/p>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Flutes vs reeds: what are the types of woodwind instruments?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are two main categories of woodwind instruments: flutes and reeds.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Flutes:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Western <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/the-best-flute-solos-in-orchestral-works\/\">flute<\/a><\/strong> player \u2013 or flautist \u2013 holds the instrument horizontally and blows a stream of air across a sharp-edged hole at the top of the instrument. This splits the airstream, causing the air column in the flute\u2019s hollow tube to vibrate and produce sound. A similar technique is used in other so-called \u2018open flutes\u2019, such as panpipes and ancient bamboo flutes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">In \u2018closed flutes\u2019, such as recorders and ocarinas, the player blows air into a duct which channels the air to a sharp edge and again splits the airstream, producing sound.<\/p>\n<section class=\"highlight \"> <div class=\"highlightcontent editor-content\"> \n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/the-best-flute-solos-in-orchestral-works\/\"><strong>The best flute solos in orchestral works<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-pieces-flute-our-top-picks\/\">The best pieces for flute: our top picks<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/the-best-recordings-of-mozarts-flute-concerto-no-1\/\">The best recordings of Mozart\u2019s Flute Concerto No.1<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/best-recordings-poulencs-flute-sonata\/\">The best recordings of Poulenc\u2019s Flute Sonata<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Reed instruments:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">When playing a reed instrument, the player blows into a mouthpiece which causes the reed \u2013 a thin strip of material made from cane or synthetics \u2013 to vibrate. In some woodwind instruments there is a single reed \u2013 as in the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/oboe-vs-clarinet\/\">clarinet<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-classical-works-saxophone\/\">saxophone<\/a> \u2013 <\/strong>and in others there is a double reed \u2013 as in the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/oboe-vs-clarinet\/\">oboe<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/the-bassoon-a-guide-to-the-orchestras-largest-wind-instrument\/\">bassoon<\/a><\/strong>. In single reed instruments the air is directed between the reed and mouthpiece in a thin column; in double reed instruments, the air moves between the two pieces of reed.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/six-best-bagpipe-tunes\/\"><strong>Bagpipes<\/strong><\/a> use two or more sets of single or double reeds, but unlike the oboe and bassoon, the player\u2019s lips are never in direct contact with the reeds, but instead blow into a capped mouthpiece.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<section class=\"highlight \"> <div class=\"highlightcontent editor-content\"> \n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/oboe-vs-clarinet\/\">Oboe vs clarinet: what\u2019s the difference between these two woodwind instruments?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/the-bassoon-a-guide-to-the-orchestras-largest-wind-instrument\/\">The bassoon: a guide to the orchestra\u2019s largest woodwind instrument<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/saxophone-invention\/\">When was the saxophone invented?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-classical-works-saxophone\/\">Best classical works for saxophone<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <iframe title=\"William Welter performs Mozart's Oboe Concerto\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9eONG-gOYXw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Which woodwind instruments make up a modern orchestra or concert band?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Western <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-instruments-make-up-an-orchestra\/\">symphony orchestra<\/a><\/strong> typically includes <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-pieces-flute-our-top-picks\/\">flutes<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/oboe-vs-clarinet\/\">oboes, clarinets<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/the-bassoon-a-guide-to-the-orchestras-largest-wind-instrument\/\">bassoons<\/a><\/strong> as part of its woodwind section.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Supplementary instruments include the piccolo (half-size flute), cor anglais (alto oboe, one-and-a-half times its length) bass clarinet (pitched an octave below the common B flat clarinet), E-flat clarinet (smaller and a perfect fourth higher than the common B flat clarinet), and contrabassoon (a large bassoon, pitched an octave lower).<\/p>\n<section class=\"highlight \"> <div class=\"highlight__content editor-content\"> \n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-instruments-make-up-an-orchestra\/\"><strong>What instruments make up an orchestra?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/string-instruments\/\">What are stringed instruments?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/the-history-of-the-brass-band-how-brass-bands-began-and-why-they-remain-popular\/\">The history of the brass band<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-instruments-make-up-a-jazz-band\/\">What instruments make up a jazz band?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The concert band\u2019s woodwind section is usually larger and more diverse than the symphony orchestra\u2019s. It includes all the instruments listed above, plus <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/greatest-jazz-saxophonists-ever\/\">saxophones<\/a><\/strong> (alto, tenor and baritone) and other derivations of flute, clarinet, oboe and bassoon.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/easiest-instruments-play\/\">10 easiest instruments to play<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Photo: woodwind section of The US Army Orchestra<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Woodwind instruments produce sound by directing a stream of air through a hollow tube \u2013 but how are these instruments played and what are the different types? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":32928,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/what-are-woodwind-instruments-meet-the-members-of-the-woodwind-family.jpg",1280,852,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/what-are-woodwind-instruments-meet-the-members-of-the-woodwind-family-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/what-are-woodwind-instruments-meet-the-members-of-the-woodwind-family-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/what-are-woodwind-instruments-meet-the-members-of-the-woodwind-family-768x511.jpg",768,511,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/what-are-woodwind-instruments-meet-the-members-of-the-woodwind-family-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/what-are-woodwind-instruments-meet-the-members-of-the-woodwind-family.jpg",1280,852,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/09\/what-are-woodwind-instruments-meet-the-members-of-the-woodwind-family.jpg",1280,852,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Woodwind instruments produce sound by directing a stream of air through a hollow tube \u2013 but how are these instruments played and what are the different types?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/32927"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}