Woodwind Acoustics and Design

All of the instruments in the woodwind family used to be made of wood, hence the name, but today many are made of metal, plastic, composite materials, as well as wood. Woodwinds, in one form or another, have been used by mankind for centuries. Although their essential design principles are similar their tone colors and timbre are quite variable. The most common members of the woodwind family are (from the highest to the lowest pitch) the flute, the oboe, the saxophone, the clarinet, and the bassoon. Within each group there are variations, covering different ranges and keys.

How Woodwind Instruments Work

Woodwinds are basically long hollow tubes with tone holes along their length. There is a long and thin column of air inside, which is set into vibration when the player blows either into a hole (recorder), across a hole (flute), or into a reed (oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone). The pitch is determined by the length of the vibrating air column and the instrument's lowest pitch (fundamental) is played with all of the tone holes closed. Tone holes are opened and closed by keys. Opening a tone hole allows the air to escape, which changes the length of the vibrating air column and thus the pitch.

Differences in Sound

The particular sound of woodwind instruments is determined not only by the materials it is made of, but also by the shape of its bore and the way that the air vibrations are created. Flutes and clarinets both have bore shapes that are cylindrical while oboes, saxophones, and bassoons have conically shaped bores. However, with flutes the air vibrations are created by blowing across an open hole near one end of the pipe. With all other woodwind instruments reeds are used to start the air vibrations. Reeds are either single (clarinet and saxophone) or double (oboe and bassoon). Furthermore, whether the instrument is reeded or reedless, the player's mouth has a great deal of control over tone production.

For a more thorough description of woodwind acoustics visit this site.