Wind Instruments
Swallow's Nest Organ
This swallow’s nest organ was originally built for an abbey in Savoy
and is now in the church of St. Valère, Sion, Switzerland. Swallow’s nest organs
were popular during the Renaissance. They are placed high on a wall, and the
organist must climb a ladder to get to the console. Organs are members of the
family of musical instruments known as aerophones.
Flutes
Concert Flute
This concert flute is a Western orchestral instrument. It is held horizontally
and played by blowing across the hole, rather then directly into it. The earliest flutes
were made of wood, but 19th-century German flute maker Theobald Boehm introduced a number
of changes in the design of the instrument, developing it into the all-metal flute still
used today.
Piccolo
The piccolo is one of the types of flutes known as transverse, or side-blown,
so called because they are held horizontally, and the musician makes sounds by blowing air
across the blow hole. The piccolo is much smaller than a traditional concert flute and is
pitched one octave higher. This example is an early wooden piccolo, made about 1800.
Panpipe
This panpipe, a member of the flute family of musical instruments, is made of bamboo.
The different lengths of bamboo in the arrangement produce different notes. The name of the instrument
comes from an ancient Greek myth in which the nymph Syrinx metamorphosed into a bed of reeds while
fleeing from the god Pan. To console himself for his loss, Pan cut different lengths of the reed and
began to play music.
Panpipe Music of Bolivia
Largely inhabited by Quechua- and Aymara-speaking peoples, the highland region of the Andes
is primarily centered in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. Home to some of the oldest musical forms in the
Americas, the region features ensembles that accompany dancers in religious and secular ceremonies
dating from the Inca period. Instrumentation in these ensembles includes panpipes made of cane or bone,
trumpets made of conch shell, flutes, and drums. This example, called “Sicuriada,” is a traditional melody
from Bolivia.
Single and Double Reeds
Tenor Saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a member of the aerophone family of musical instruments. It shares
characteristics with other woodwinds, including a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of a clarinet
and a conical tube and flared bell close to that of an oboe. The saxophone plays an important melodic
role in various types of music, especially in jazz and rock music. Different types of saxophone include
(from lowest to highest range of pitch) the baritone, tenor, alto, and soprano.
Bassoon
The bassoon is one of the deepest-sounding members of the family of musical instruments known
as double reeds. It is made of wood and metal. The bassoon consists of a tube that has four sections, with
a total length of about 2.4 m (about 8 ft). To play it, the musician must wear a neck sling that supports
the instrument’s weight.
Clarinets
Johann Christoph Denner developed the first clarinet at the turn of the 18th century, modifying
the chalumeau, a folk reedpipe, to reach lower registers. Modern versions of the clarinet greatly resemble
Denner’s originial design. Over the years, the single-reed instrument has become part of jazz, orchestral,
and folk music.
Oboe
This orchestral oboe is made of wood and has fifteen keys. It is descended from an ancient Middle
Eastern folk instrument called a shawm. The word oboe is a variation on hautbois, the French word for shawm.
The oboe is a member of the family of musical instruments known as double reeds.
Bellows-Blown Bagpipe
This decorative, bellows-blown bagpipe is from Hungary. Unlike the traditional Scottish bagpipe,
which is mouth-blown, this instrument is played by pumping the bellows to fill the kidskin bag with air. It
features a carved wooden goat head, a characteristic of central European bagpipes. The bagpipe is a member
of the family of musical instruments known as double reeds.
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