woodwinds
instrumentsWOOD-windz
The family of instruments that produce sound by blowing air through a mouthpiece or reed.
The woodwind family includes instruments that generate sound when the player blows air across an embouchure hole (flute, piccolo), through a single reed (clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone), or through a double reed (oboe, cor anglais, bassoon, contrabassoon). Despite the name, not all woodwinds are made of wood — the modern flute is metal, and saxophones are brass, but their sound production method classifies them as woodwinds. In the orchestra, woodwinds sit behind the strings and provide colour, solo melodies, and harmonic reinforcement. A standard orchestral woodwind section includes pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, often augmented by piccolo, cor anglais, bass clarinet, and contrabassoon. Woodwinds are also central to concert band, jazz, and chamber music.