Topmusicanswers
- How does a free reed instrument work?
- What is an example of a free reed aerophone?
- What instruments use a free reed?
- Is a bagpipe a free reed instrument?
How does a free reed instrument work?
Reed instrument, in music, any of several wind instruments (aerophones) that sound when the player's breath or air from a wind chamber causes a reed (a thin blade of cane or metal) to vibrate, thereby setting up a sound wave in an enclosed air column (in reed pipes) or in the open air (usually free reeds).
What is an example of a free reed aerophone?
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.
What instruments use a free reed?
Examples of free-reed instruments include harmonicas, accordions, and concertinas, among others. Free reeds have been used in instrument making in the Far East and Southeast Asia since antiquity.
Is a bagpipe a free reed instrument?
NOT Free Reed Instruments
For some reason, bagpipes are often described as free reed instruments. Whilst it would be by no means impossible to make a set of pipes that use free reeds, bagpipes invariably use beating reeds, either single or double.
