Woodwind Family
What instruments What instruments make noise using are (or were) wind? made of wood?
Woodwind Family Flute Oboe Clarinet Bassoon
The Flute Listen to the flute here: What animal could the flute represent here? How would you describe the sound of the flute? What mood do you think it could represent?
The Flute The flute is the second highest woodwind instrument. After the Piccolo, which is very similar, but smaller It is made from metal It plays different notes using keys It makes sound when air is blown across it The flute can play a lot of notes quickly Timbre: Bright, mellow
The Oboe This is a very famous piece called Gabriel’s Oboe It was written especially for the oboe How do you think the oboe makes its’ sound? What mood does the oboe remind you of?
The Oboe The oboe uses a double reed to make sound The two pieces of cane vibrate off each other Has quite a few pieces written for it to play solo Timbre: nasal, raspy, piercing
The Clarinet Listen to the same piece on the clarinet as you hear on the flute: How do you think the clarinet makes its’ sound? What’s different between the clarinet and the flute?
The Clarient The clarinet uses a single reed It has a very wide range of notes The clarinet can be used in many different types of music It is very popular in jazz Timbre: Warm, velvet, smooth
The Bassoon Listen to this example of the Bassoon: How do you think it makes sound? How would you describe the sound of the bassoon? What mood does it remind you of? What animal does it remind you of?
The Bassoon The bassoon is the second lowest wind instrument The contrabassoon is larger and lower It is played using a double reed It can often be used for humorous sections Timbre: Warm, velvet
Woodwind Revision There are 4 main instruments: Flute Oboe Clarinet Bassoon In the orchestra, they sit here: Watch this video going through the whole woodwind cestion: