1. Woodwind
Family

2. Woodwind Family Characteristics
Originally made from wood
Mouthpiece: fixed hole,
single reed, double reed
Single column
Keys to cover holes in the
body
Bell

3. More About the Woodwind Family
Woodwinds are any instrument that is played by forcing air past a vibrating reed or across an opening
Woodwinds are made of all kinds of materials, but mainly wood and metal.
A reed is a small piece of cane wood that is used on the mouthpiece
Single reed
Double reed is different in that both sides are cane, rather than part of a mouthpiece

4. Clarinet Popular woodwind instrument
Can play a range of notes from high to low
Single reed
Held vertically
Bell
mellow
expressive

5. Saxophone
J A Z Z
The saxophone looks like it ought to be a brass instrument, it’s in the woodwind family because the player uses a reed.
Single reed instrument
Used in jazz music
Easier to play than the other
woodwinds
Bright sound
Held vertically

6. Oboe high piercing Looks a lot like the English horn
Snake charmers used this instrument
Double reed
Held vertically
high
piercing

7. English Horn melancholy Dreamy Double reed Held vertically
Funny shaped bell
“Egg Head”
Look a lot like the oboe
melancholy
Dreamy

8. Bassoon lowest L A R G E S T Largest in the Woodwind family
(Almost 8 feet long)
Plays the lowest sound in the
family and orchestra
Held vertically
Double reed
lowest
L A R G E S T

9. Flute Airy Clear Silvery
High Pitches
Flute
Originally made from wood but is now made out of silver-nickel
Played by blowing the breath across the opening
Plays high pitches (but not as high as the piccolo)
Held horizontal (to the side)
Silvery
Airy
Clear

10. Piccolo piercing smallest Piccolo mean “little flute” in Italian
High Pitches
Piccolo mean “little flute” in Italian
Smallest in the Woodwind family
Plays the highest pitches in the Woodwind family and the entire orchestra
Played horizontally (to the side)
No reed just a fixed hole
piercing
Shrill
smallest

11. Single Reed
Clarinet
Saxophone

12. Double Reed
Oboe
English horn
Bassoon

13. No Reed
Piccolo
Flute

14. Woodwind Family Sound
Woodwinds are played by blowing into them through the reed or across the top of a hole cut into the instrument. The noise comes from the vibrating air resonating inside the tube.
To change the pitch, the player opens or closes holes cut into the instrument with his/her fingers or by pushing levers (keys) that cover the holes.