Woodwinds

• Flute• Clarinet (single reed)• Saxophone (single reed)• Oboe (double reed)• English Horn (double reed)• Bassoon (single reed)

•3 holed flute made from mammoth tusk was found in the Geibenklosterle Cave in Germany dated back to 30,000 to 37,000 years ago.

• The first transverse flute is called the Chi was discovered in a tomb in China and dates back to 433 BC. It was lacquered bamboo

The Pan flute was used in Greece in the 7th century

Syntagma Musicum is a book by the German musicologist Michael Praetorius, published in three parts between 1614-1620. It is one of the most commonly used research sources for the music theory of the seventeenth century.

The second part, De Organographia, illustrates and describes musical instruments and their use; becoming a valuable resource for the research and reconstruction of early instruments.

1670- first time a flute is used in a full orchestra setting in France by Jean Baptiste Lully

1722- head joint is invented by Quantz. Flutes can now be tuned like other types of instruments.

1780- flutes appear in the classical music of Mozart and Haydn

1800- Beethoven starts using flute in his symphonies

1830- Theobald Boehm-Inventor of the modern flute creates a fingering system used for flute and other woodwinds

ClarinetTypes most commonly used

•Eb Sopranino •Bb Soprano•Bb Bass •Bb Contrabass

The clarinet evolved from an earlier instrument called the chalumeau.

The chalumeau originated in France around 1630 and became popular in Renaissance music. It has a single reed and could play 12 notes.

Chalumeau

Johann Christoph Denner and his son Jacob improved the chalumeau over a twenty year period and eventually , created the baroque clarinet.

The first modern clarinet was manufactured in 1843 and used an adapted version of the Boehm fingering system

Some types of music that use clarinet

•Classical•Jazz•Eastern European (Hungarian, Czec, Polish)•Klezmer•Conjunto Norteño (Mexico)

Flight of the Bumble BeeNikolai Rimsky Korsakov

Julian Bliss, Clarinet

Donna Lee-Charlie Parker Damian Draghici, Pan Flute

Eddie Daniels, Clarinet

Klezmer Magic Budapest Klezmer Band

The name oboe is from the French word "hautbois", meaning "high-wood" or "loud-wood"

Made from same type of wood as clarinet. (Granadilla)

Invented in the Middle Ages and first played by hunters and shepherds

Oboe

It was first used in orchestras in France 1657.

It has a double reed and a conical bore.

Is the soprano voice of the Double Reed family.

Jacob Denner made improvements to the oboe during the 18th century

During the 19th century Guillaum Triebet and sons made further improvements using the Boehm flute as a model for key work.

Oboe Reed

Oboe Family

The English horn (also called cor anglais) is very similar to an oboe. The end of an oboe flares out, whereas an English horn has a small bulb It is the Alto member of the Double Reed Family

English Horn

English Horn was invented in Silesia around 1720

It was given the name “engellisches horn” which translates to “angelic horn”

It was so named because it resembled the instruments played by angels in religious pictures

Engellisches also meant English in the vernacular at the time so the instrument became known as the English Horn.

Beethoven Oboe Trio

Tristan & IsoldeComposer, Richard Wagner

English Horn solo

Bassoon

The bassoon is another double-reed instrument. It possesses a tone that is weighty in the low register and reedy and intense in the upper.

The contrabassoon produces the lowest tone of the woodwinds. Its function is to supply a harmonic foundation for the other woodwinds.

Evidence indicates that the baroque bassoon was a newly invented instrument, rather than a simple modification of an older instrument

The instrument emerged sometime around 1650. Around 1700 it was modified and composers such as Bach, Vivaldi and Telemann wrote demanding music for it.

The design of the modern bassoon owes a great deal to the performer, teacher, and composer Carl Almenräder assisted by the German acoustic researcher Gottfried Weber.

In the 1820’s they developed a 17-key bassoon with a range spanning four octaves.

Their work improved intonation, response, and technical ease of playing.

The modern bassoon continued being improved through the 19th century with two distinct varieties emerging, French and German.

The German system was promoted By the Heckle company which continues to make world class instruments. French style bassoons were based on a modified Boehm system and fell out of favor In the early 20th century. Today virtually all orchestral bassoonists play the German system.

Orchestral woodwind family