reed instrument
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reed instrument,
in music, an instrument whose sound-producing agent is a thin strip of cane, wood, plastic, or metal that vibrates as air is passed over it. The predecessor of these instruments is the Chinese sheng. Single-reed instruments have one reed that is either free or beating. Free reeds, such as those in the reed organreed organ,an organ in which air is forced over free reeds by means of bellows, usually worked by pedals. It is played by the use of one or more keyboards. Variations in tone are produced by stops that control different sets of reeds or vary the manner in which the air acts
..... Click the link for more information. , accordionaccordion,
musical instrument consisting of a rectangular bellows expanded and contracted between the hands. Buttons or keys operated by the player open valves, allowing air to enter or to escape. The air sets in motion free reeds, frequently made of metal.
..... Click the link for more information. , concertinaconcertina
, musical instrument whose tone is produced by free reeds. It was invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1829. It is a chromatic instrument similar to the accordion, but its bellows are attached to hexagonal blocks having handles and buttons (finger pistons), and it is
..... Click the link for more information. , and harmonicaharmonica.
1 The simplest of the musical instruments employing free reeds, known also as the mouth organ or French harp. It was probably invented in 1829 by Friedrich Buschmann of Berlin, who called his instrument the Mundäoline.
..... Click the link for more information. , do not overlap the air passage; they are generally of metal. Beating reeds, such as those used in organorgan,
a musical wind instrument in which sound is produced by one or more sets of pipes controlled by a keyboard, each pipe producing only one pitch by means of a mechanically produced or electrically controlled wind supply.
..... Click the link for more information. pipes and in the clarinetclarinet,
musical wind instrument of cylindrical bore employing a single reed. The clarinet family comprises all single-reed instruments, including the saxophone. The predecessor of the modern clarinet was the simpler chalumeau, which J. C. Denner of Nuremberg improved (c.
..... Click the link for more information. , strike the edges of the aperture while vibrating. Double-reed instruments, such as the shawmshawm
, double-reed woodwind instrument used in Europe from the 13th through the 17th cent. The term denotes a family of instruments of different sizes. The shape and tone of the soprano shawm are comparable to those of the oboe, of which it is a precursor.
..... Click the link for more information. , oboeoboe
[Ital., from Fr. hautbois] or hautboy
, woodwind instrument of conical bore, its mouthpiece having a double reed. The instruments possessing these general characteristics may be referred to as the oboe family, which includes the English horn, the bassoon,
..... Click the link for more information. , bassoonbassoon
, double-reed woodwind instrument that plays in the bass and tenor registers. Its 8-ft (2.4-m) conical tube is bent double, the instrument thus being about 4 ft (1.2 m) high. It evolved from earlier double-reed instruments in the 16th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. , and English hornEnglish horn,
musical instrument, the alto of the oboe family, pitched a fifth lower than the oboe and treated as a transposing instrument. It has a pear-shaped bell, giving it a soft, melancholy tone.
..... Click the link for more information. , have two reeds facing each other, between which air is forced into the instrument; thus the reeds are set vibrating.
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