A single-reed instrument is a

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 ...

instrument that uses only one

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...

to produce sound. The very earliest single-reed instruments were documented in

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

as well as the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. The earliest types of single-reed instruments used idioglottal reeds, where the vibrating reed is a tongue cut and shaped on the tube of cane. Much later, single-reed instruments started using heteroglottal reeds, where a reed is cut and separated from the tube of cane and attached to a

mouthpiece Mouthpiece may refer to: * The part of an object which comes near or in contact with one's mouth or nose during use ** Mouthpiece (smoking pipe) or cigarette holder ** Mouthpiece (telephone handset) ** Mouthpiece (woodwind), a component of a wood ...

of some sort. By contrast, in a

double reed A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. In contrast with a single reed instrument, where the instrument is played by channeling air against one piece of cane which vibrates against the mouthpiece and ...

instrument (such as the

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, ...

and

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

), there is no mouthpiece; the two parts of the reed vibrate against one another. Reeds are traditionally made of cane and produce sound when air is blown across or through them. The type of instruments that use a single reed are clarinets and saxophone. The timbre of a single and double reed instrument is related to the harmonic series caused by the shape of the corpus. E.g. the clarinet is only including the odd harmonics due to air column modes canceling out the even harmonics.Donald Murray Campbell, Arnold Myers; et al. (2004).
Musical Instruments: History, Technology, and Performance of Instruments of Western Music
', p.53-5. Oxford. . This may be compared to the timbre of a

square wave Square wave may refer to: *Square wave (waveform) A square wave is a non-sinusoidal waveform, non-sinusoidal periodic waveform in which the amplitude alternates at a steady frequency between fixed minimum and maximum values, with the same ...

.Foster, Caxton C. and Soloway, Elliott (1981).
Real Time Programming
', p.165. Addison-Wesley. . "One will play a square wave and sound rather like a bagpipe or other double-reed instrument." Reeds kataglott anaglott

Most single-reed instruments are descended from single-reed idioglot instruments called 'memet', found in Egypt as early as 2700 BCE. Due to their fragility, no instruments from antiquity were preserved but iconographic evidence is prevalent. During the Old Kingdom in Egypt (2778–2723 BCE), memets were depicted on the reliefs of seven tombs at Saqqarra, six tombs at Giza, and the pyramids of Queen Khentkaus. Most memets were double-clarinets, where two reed tubes were tied or glued together to form one instrument. Multiple pipes were used to reinforce sound or generate a strong beat-tone with slight variations in tuning among the pipes. One of the tubes usually functioned as a drone, but the design of these simple instruments varied endlessly. The entire reed entered the mouth, meaning that the player could not easily articulate so melodies were defined by quick movement of the fingers on the tone holes. These types of double-clarinets are still prevalent today, but also developed into simplified single-clarinets and hornpipes. Modern-day idioglots found in Egypt include the

arghul The ''arghul'' (), also spelled ''argul'', ''arghoul'', ''arghool'', ''argol'', or ''yarghul'', is a Instrument (music), musical instrument in the reed instrument, reed family. It has been used since ancient Egyptian times and is still used as a ...

and the zummara.

Classification

Selmer-clarinet-mouthpiece-reed-and-vandoren-ligature

Single reed instruments fall under three

Hornbostel–Sachs Hornbostel–Sachs or Sachs–Hornbostel is a system of musical instrument classification devised by Erich Moritz von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs, first published in the in 1914. An English translation was published in the '' Galpin Society Journ ...

classes: * 412.13 Free reeds. * 422.2 Single reed instruments: The pipe has a single 'reed' consisting of a percussion lamella. These are the percussion reeds including clarinets and saxophones. * 422.3 Reedpipes with free reeds: The reed vibrates through ta closely fitted frame, and there are fingerholes.

Comparing clarinets and saxophones

The following is a list of clarinets and saxophones, relative to their range and key of transposition from the opposite family: Note that if one was to compare clarinets to their saxophone counterparts while considering their approximate lowest (concert) pitch†, the order would shift: : †The lowest possible pitch of each clarinet and saxophone is dependent on its manufacturer and model (the pitches used are typical of professional instruments).

List of single-reed instruments

Modern

Aulochrome The aulochrome is a woodwind instrument invented by Belgian François Louis and first prototyped in 1999. It consists of two soprano saxophones that can be played either separately or together. The name comes from Greek ''aulos'' (name of the most ...

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 ...

Heckel-clarina The heckel-clarina, also known as ''clarina'' or ''patent clarina'', is a very rare woodwind instrument, invented and manufactured by Wilhelm Heckel in Wiesbaden-Biebrich, Germany. Heckel received a patent for the instrument on 8 December 1889. It ...

* Heckelphone-clarinet * Octavin *

Saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

* Tárogató *

Xaphoon The xaphoon ( ) is a chromatic keyless single-reed woodwind instrument invented in 1972, and a registered trademark of its inventor, Brian Lee Wittman. It has a closed cylindrical bore and a very slightly flared bell. The xaphoon has a full chro ...

Historical

* Mock Trumpet *

Chalumeau The chalumeau (; ; plural chalumeaux) is a single-reed woodwind instrument of the late baroque and early classical eras. The chalumeau is a folk instrument that is the predecessor to the modern-day clarinet. It has a cylindrical bore with ei ...

Traditional

; European *

Alboka The Basque () is a single-reed woodwind instrument consisting of a single reed, two small diameter melody pipes with finger holes and a bell traditionally made from animal horn. Additionally, a reed cap of animal horn is placed around the reed ...

* Birbynė *

* Diplica * Ganurags *

Hornpipe The hornpipe is any of several dance forms and their associated tunes, played and danced in Great Britain and Ireland and elsewhere from the 16th century until the present day. The earliest references to hornpipes are from England, with Hugh As ...

* Launeddas * Pilili * Mock trumpet *

Pibgorn Pibgorn may refer to: * Pibgorn (instrument), a Welsh musical instrument of the hornpipe family * Pibgorn (webcomic), ''Pibgorn'' (webcomic) {{Disambig ...

Pku Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism that results in decreased metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine. Untreated PKU can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems, and mental disorders. It may also res ...

Sipsi The sipsi () is a clarinet-like, single-reed instrument used mainly in Turkish folk music, folk music and native to the Aegean region of Turkey. The word ''sipsi'' is possibly Onomatopoeia, onomatopoeic. The sipsi can be made of bone, wood, or Ree ...

Stock-and-horn The stock-and-horn was a traditional instrument of the Scottish peasantry, very similar to the Welsh pibgorn, consisting of a single-reed reed pipe amplified by a bell made of horn. The original instrument of the Middle Ages had a double chanter ...

Zhaleika The ''zhaleika'' (), also known as bryolka (''брёлка''), is a Slavic wind instrument, most used in Belarusian, Russian and sometimes Ukrainian ethnic music. Also known as a "folk clarinet" or hornpipe. The zhaleika was eventually incor ...

; Middle Eastern *

Arghul The ''arghul'' (), also spelled ''argul'', ''arghoul'', ''arghool'', ''argol'', or ''yarghul'', is a Instrument (music), musical instrument in the reed instrument, reed family. It has been used since ancient Egyptian times and is still used as a ...

Double clarinet The term double clarinet refers to any of several woodwind instruments consisting of two parallel pipes made of cane, bird bone, or metal, played simultaneously, with a single reed for each. Commonly, there are five or six tone holes in each pipe, ...

* Mijwiz *

; Central Asian * Bülban ; Southeast Asian *

Pey pok The ''pei pok'' (Khmer: ប៉ីពក) is a Cambodian bamboo free-reed pipe. This instrument and the '' pey au'' (or ''pei ar'') are both used in the ''Krom phleng arak.'' External linksSound clip of pei pok.Sarune Etek *

Sneng The sneng or snaeng (, "horn") is an aerophone made from an ox horn or water buffalo horn. It is loud enough to call across a distance and has been used in rural environments to signal mealtimes, give warning, call for help or indicate a need ...

* Toleat

Playing a single reed instrument

Although the clarinet and saxophone both have a single reed attached to their mouthpiece, the playing technique or embouchure is distinct from each other. The standard embouchures for single reed woodwinds like the

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 ...

and

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

are variants of the ''single lip embouchure'', formed by resting the reed upon the bottom lip, which rests on the

teeth A tooth (: teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

and is supported by the chin muscles and the

buccinator The bucinator () is a thin quadrilateral muscle occupying the interval between the maxilla and the mandible at the side of the face. It forms the anterior part of the cheek or the lateral wall of the oral cavity.Illustrated Anatomy of the Head an ...

muscles on the sides of the mouth. The top teeth rest on top of the mouthpiece. The manner in which the lower lip rests against the teeth differs between clarinet and saxophone embouchures. In clarinet playing, the lower lip is rolled over the teeth and corners of the mouth are drawn back, which has the effect of drawing the upper lip around the mouthpiece to create a seal due to the angle at which the mouthpiece rests in the mouth. With the

saxophone embouchure Saxophone technique refers to the physical means of playing the saxophone. It includes how to hold the instrument, how the embouchure is formed and the airstream produced, tone production, hands and fingering positions, and a number of other aspe ...

, the lower lip rests against, but not over, the teeth as in pronouncing the letter "V" and the corners of the lip are drawn in (similar to a drawstring bag). With the less common double-lip embouchure, the top lip is placed under (around) the top teeth. In both instances, the position of the tongue in the mouth plays a vital role in focusing and accelerating the air stream blown by the player. This results in a more mature and full sound, rich in

overtone An overtone is any resonant frequency above the fundamental frequency of a sound. (An overtone may or may not be a harmonic) In other words, overtones are all pitches higher than the lowest pitch within an individual sound; the fundamental i ...

References

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