Woodwind Energy

Woodwind instruments produce energy by vibrating a column of air inside them. The size of the vibration, and the pitch of the note depends on how long and how wide the "pipe" or the instrument is. Back when woodwinds were first made they were made from wood or cane. Today a lot of them are made from metal but it really doesn't matter because the way that they are played is what makes them a woodwind.

Take a bottle and blow across the open end of it till you start making a sound. What is happening is that the air inside the bottle is vibrating or pulsating. That is acoustic energy. That is part of the way that woodwinds make their sound. The other part depends on the size of the instrument. How long it is and how wide it is changes its sound. A piccolo is short and narrow so the sound is high. The double bassoon is long and much wider and it makes very deep sounds.

Do you wonder how the holes work on woodwinds? Well, the musician covers or uncovers the holes and this alters how much tubing the air is vibrating through. A different sound is made for every different  length it vibrates. A clarinet has 18 holes, six of them he covered by his fingers and the rest are covered by keys. By changing the holes that are covered or uncovered on a clarinet you change the pitch.

Making Sound Energy with Woodwinds

The mouthpiece and covering or uncovering or holes makes the different sound on woodwinds.