An aerophone is a

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...

that produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate, without the use of strings or membranes (which are respectively chordophones and membranophones), and without the vibration of the instrument itself adding considerably to the sound (or idiophones). According to Curt Sachs: These may be lips, a mechanical reed, or a sharp edge. Also, an aerophone may be excited by percussive acts, such as the slapping of the keys of a flute or of any other woodwind. A free aerophone lacks the enclosed column of air yet, "cause a series of condensations and rarefications by various means."

Overview

Aerophones are one of the four main classes of instruments in the original Hornbostel–Sachs system of musical instrument classification, which further classifies aerophones by whether or not the vibrating air is contained within the instrument. The first class (41) includes instruments which, when played, do ''not'' contain the vibrating air. The bullroarer is one example. These are called ''free aerophones''. This class includes (412.13) free reed instruments, such as the harmonica, but also many instruments unlikely to be called wind instruments at all by most people, such as sirens and whips. The second class (42) includes instruments that contain the vibrating air when being played. This class includes almost all instruments generally called wind instruments — including the

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...

, (423) brass instruments (e.g.,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

french horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

, baritone horn, tuba, trombone), and (421 & 422) woodwind instruments (e.g.,

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

, flute, saxophone,

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

). The wind factor is not only provided by the players' lungs function. The organ and the mouth harmonica are also aerophones, both supplied with free reeds, which are blown by a mechanical system. Additionally, very loud and impulsive sounds can be made by explosions directed into, or being detonated inside of resonant cavities. Detonations inside the

calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses". Mythology Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...

(and steam whistle), as well as the pyrophone, might thus be considered as class 42 instruments, despite the fact that the "wind" or "air" may be steam or an air-fuel mixture. Other cases of aerophones with impulsive sounds are the boomwhackers and the so-called thongophones, made up of cylindrical pipes that are struck on the sides (boomwhackers) or extremes (thongophones), thus generating percussive aerophonic tones.

History

According to Ardal Powell, the flute is a simple instrument found in numerous ancient cultures. There are three legendary and archeologically verifiable birthplace sites of flutes: Egypt, Greece and India. Of these, the transverse flute (side-blown) appeared only in

ancient India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...

, while the fipple flutes are found in all three. It is likely, states Powell, that the modern Indian '' bansuri'' has not changed much since the early medieval era. Identifying the origin of the aerophone is difficult, though it is believed that Americans and their descendants developed the largest diversity of aerophones, and they are understood to have been the major non-vocal, melodic instruments of Native America. Archaeological studies have found examples of globular flutes in ancient Mexico,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and multiple tubular flutes were common among the Maya and

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

. The use of shells of Conches as an aerophone has also been found to be prevalent in areas such as

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and

. Examples of aerophone-type instruments in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

can be dated back to the Neolithic period. Fragments of bone flutes can be found at the

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

sites of the Jiahu settlements of ancient China, and they represent some of the earliest known examples of playable instruments. The instruments were typically carved from the wing bone of the red-crowned crane, and had five to eight holes. The flutes were efficient enough to produce sound in a nearly accurate octave, and are thought to have been used ceremonially or for ritualistic purposes. Examples of flutes made out of bamboo in

date back to 2nd Century BC. These flutes were known as Dizi's or simply ''Di'' ( 笛) and typically had 6 holes for playing melodies that were framed by scale-modes. Flutes including the famous Bansuri, have been an integral part of

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

since 1500 BC. A major deity of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, Krishna, has been associated with the flute. Some early flutes were made out of tibias (shin bones). The flute has also always been an essential part of Indian culture and mythology, and the cross flute is believed, by several accounts, to originate in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

as Indian literature from 1500 BCE has made vague references to the cross flute.

Types

Free

Free aerophones are instruments where the vibrating air is not enclosed by the instrument itself.

Displacement

The air-stream meets a sharp edge, or a sharp edge is moved through the air.

Interruptive

The air-stream is interrupted periodically.

Plosive

Also known as percussive aerophones, plosive aerophones are percussion instruments sounded by a single compression and release of air. An example of a plosive aerophone is the scraper flute which has tubes with ridged or serrated edges so that they can be scraped with a rod to produce sound. Another example of a percussive aerophone is the so-called thongophone, consisting of a cylindrical pipe that is struck by a special mallet, somehow equivalent to a flip-flop (thong). A thongophone may sound like an open-open pipe if the mallet is quickly removed after striking the pipe's extreme. Also, it may sound as an open-closed pipe, if the mallet remains closing the pipe after the attack. In the first situation (open-open), the first resonance mode will have a wavelength that corresponds to two times the pipe length, approximately. It is called by acousticians as a "half-wavelength" air column. In the second situation (open-closed), the first resonance mode will have a wavelength that corresponds to four times the pipe length, approximately. Acousticians call it as "quarter-wavelength" air-column.

Non-free

Non-free aerophones are instruments where the vibrating air is contained within the instrument. Often called wind instruments, they are typically divided into two categories;

Woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Ree ...

and

Brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

. It is widely accepted that wind instruments are not classified on the material from which they are made, as a woodwind instrument does not necessarily need to be made of wood, nor a brass instrument made of brass. Woodwind instruments are often made with wood,

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

or ivory, with examples being flute,

, bassoon,

, recorder and the saxophone. Brass instruments are often made with

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

, copper, ivory, horn, or even wood. Examples include the

, cornet, horn, trombone and the tuba.

Flute

A flute is a type of aerophone, as is the

Eunuch flute The eunuch flute, onion flute, or mirliton (; , ''flûte à l'oignon'' or ''mirliton''; ) is a membranophone that was in use during the 16th and 17th centuries. It produces a sound akin to a comb and paper and is still manufactured as a toy. Th ...

, also referred to as a mirliton. A flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening, usually a sharp edge. According to the instrument classification of Hornbostel–Sachs, flutes are categorized as edge-blown aerophones. Aside from the voice, flutes are the earliest known musical instruments. A number of flutes dating to about 43,000 to 35,000 years ago have been found in the Swabian Alb region of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. These flutes demonstrate that a developed musical tradition existed from the earliest period of modern human presence in Europe.. Citation on p. 248. * File:Indian bamboo flute.jpg, A Carnatic eight-holed bamboo flute File:Eight Flute1.JPG, An eight-holed classical Indian bamboo flute. File:Flûte_a_l'_agnon1.jpg, Example of a

Reed

A reed aerophone is a

that produces sound by the player's breath being directed against a lamella or pair of lamellae which periodically interrupt the airflow and cause the air to be set in motion. Reed aerophones can be further subdivided into two distinct categories: single-reed and double-reed instruments. The former includes

s and saxophones, while examples of the latter are

s and bassoons. File:FoxBassoon.jpg, A bassoon File:Clarinet A-flat 1.jpg, An A-flat clarinet File:Duduk.jpg, A duduk File:CurvedSopranoAltoTenorSaxophone.jpg, Saxophones – from left to right, an E

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

, a curved B soprano saxophone, and a B

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

Brass

A brass aerophone is a

that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called ''labrosones'', literally meaning "lip-vibrated instruments". There are several factors involved in producing different pitches on a brass instrument. Slides, valves, crooks, or keys are used to change vibratory length of tubing, thus changing the available harmonic series, while the player's embouchure, lip tension and air flow serve to select the specific harmonic produced from the available series. Unlike all other aerophones, brass instruments can be " muted", in other words, their sounds can be somewhat suppressed as one would use a silencer on a firearm. A variety of mutes exist for these instruments, ranging from those made of plastic to others made of metal, and in various shapes. File:Deutsches Althorn in Tenorhornform.jpg, An alto horn is a type of brass instrument and aerophone. File:Trumpet in c german.jpg, Rotary Valve

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

in C

List of aerophones

* Accordina *

Accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

Bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, N ...

* Bandoneon *

Baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

* Bassoon *

Clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

* Concertina * Cornet *

Didgeridoo The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...

* English Horn * Euphonium *

French Horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

* Harmonica * Harmonium * Martinshorn * Melodeon * Melodica *

Oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

* Ocarina * Pan Flute * Piccolo * Pipe Organ * Recorder * Reed Organ * Sarrusophone * Siren disk * Saxophone * Sousaphone * Thongophone * Transverse Flute * Trombone *

* Tuba * Vuvuzela * Whistle