Editing Aerophone

{{short description|Musical instruments that are played by vibration of air}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2015}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2015}}
[[File:Shinobue and other flutes-3.jpg|right|thumb|320px|[[Flute]]s are aerophones.]]

An '''aerophone''' is a [[musical instrument]] that produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate,<ref name="Randel 1999 p. 12"/> without the use of strings or membranes (which are respectively [[chordophones]] and [[membranophone]]s), and without the vibration of the instrument itself adding considerably to the sound (or [[idiophone]]s).<ref>{{cite web |title=aerophone&nbsp;— OnMusic Dictionary |url=http://dictionary.onmusic.org/terms/94-aerophone |publisher=Connect for Education Inc. |date=December 4, 2014 |access-date=December 4, 2014}}</ref>

According to [[Curt Sachs]]:<ref>Sachs, Curt (1940). ''The History of Musical Instruments'', pp. 457, 459. W. W. Nortan & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|0-393-02068-1}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Aerophones or 'air instruments' include what are usually called '[[wind instrument]]s,' with the addition of a few instruments with a different acoustical principle called '[[free aerophone]]s.'<br/>
A wind instrument has two essential factors: a tube enclosing a column of air, and a device for setting that air into vibration by interrupting into pulsations the steady breath of the player (or the wind of a bellows).}}
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 (music)|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 [[Siren (noisemaker)|sirens]] and [[Whip (instrument)|whips]]. The second class ('''42''') includes instruments that contain the vibrating air when being played. This class includes almost all instruments generally called [[wind instrument]]s&nbsp;— including the [[didgeridoo]], ('''423''') [[brass instruments]] (e.g., [[trumpet]],<ref name="Nzewi Nzewi 2007 p. 98"/> [[french horn]], [[baritone horn]], [[tuba]], [[trombone]]), and ('''421''' & '''422''') [[woodwind instruments]] (e.g., [[oboe]],<ref name="Nzewi Nzewi 2007 p. 98"/> [[flute]],<ref name="Nzewi Nzewi 2007 p. 98"/> [[saxophone]], [[clarinet]]<ref name="Nzewi Nzewi 2007 p. 98"/>).<ref>{{cite book|last1=von Hornbostel|first1=Erich M.|author-link1=Erich M. von Hornbostel|last2=Sachs|first2=Curt|author-link2=Curt Sachs|title=Zeitschrift für Ethnologie|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftfre46berluoft#page/552/mode/2up|access-date=April 12, 2015|volume=46|pages=582–590|year=1914|publisher=Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte|language=de|chapter=Abhandlungen und Vorträge. Systematik der Musikinstrumente. Ein Versuch.}}</ref> The wind factor is not only provided by the players' lungs function. The [[Organ (music)|organ]] and the [[Harmonica|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 (music)|calliope]] (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 [[boomwhacker]]s and the so-called [[thongophone]]s, made up of cylindrical pipes that are struck on the sides (boomwhackers) or extremes (thongophones), thus generating percussive aerophonic tones.{{Citation needed|date=June 2015}}

==History==
[[File:Neolithic bone flute.jpg|thumb|Neolithic bone flute]]
According to [[Ardal Powell]], the flute is a simple instrument found in numerous [[Ancient history|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 [[History of India|ancient India]], 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 [[Middle Ages|medieval era]].

Identifying the origin of the aerophone is difficult, though it is believed that [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Americans and their descendants]] developed the largest diversity of aerophones, and they are understood to have been the major non-vocal, melodic instruments of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native America]].<ref name="Kuss">{{cite book|author=Malena Kuss|title=Music in Latin America and the Caribbean: an encyclopedic history|date=July 5, 2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SYuKB29_7qUC&pg=PA262|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-78840-4|page=262}}</ref> Archaeological studies have found examples of [[Globular Flute|globular flutes]] in [[Mexico#Ancient cultures|ancient Mexico]], [[Colombia#Pre-Columbian era|Colombia]] and [[Peru#Prehistory and Pre-Columbian Peru|Peru]], and multiple [[Vertical flute|tubular flutes]] were common among the [[Maya peoples|Maya]] and [[Aztec]]. The use of [[Conch#Musical instruments|shells of Conches]] as an aerophone has also been found to be prevalent in areas such as [[Central America]] and [[Peru#Prehistory and Pre-Columbian Peru|Peru]].<ref name="OlsenSheehy2007">{{cite book|author1=Dale Olsen|author2=Daniel Sheehy|title=The Garland Handbook of Latin American Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RK6TAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|date=17 December 2007|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-90008-3|pages=42–43}}</ref>

Examples of aerophone-type instruments in [[China]] can be dated back to the [[Neolithic|Neolithic period]]. Fragments of [[Gudi (instrument)|bone flutes]] can be found at the [[burial]] sites of the [[Jiahu|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.<ref>[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jiah/hd_jiah.htm Jiahu (ca. 7000–5700 B.C.)]</ref><ref>[http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/1999/bnlpr092299.html "Brookhaven Lab Expert Helps Date Flute Thought to be Oldest Playable Musical Instrument"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210214041/https://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/1999/bnlpr092299.html |date=February 10, 2021}}. [[Brookhaven National Laboratory]].</ref> Examples of [[bamboo flute|flutes made out of bamboo]] in [[China]] date back to 2nd Century BC. These flutes were known as [[Dizi (instrument)|Dizi's]] or simply ''Di'' ([[wiktionary:笛|笛]]) and typically had 6 holes for playing melodies that were framed by scale-modes.<ref name="Goodman2010">{{cite book|author=Howard L. Goodman|title=Xun Xu and the Politics of Precision in Third-Century Ad China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dLu4J6ffgWEC&pg=PA221|year=2010|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-18337-7|pages=225–226}}</ref>

Flutes including the famous [[Bansuri]], have been an integral part of [[Indian classical music]] since 1500 BC. A major deity of [[Hinduism]], [[Krishna]], has been associated with the flute.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brindavangurukul.org/bansuri.htm |title=Bansuri Bamboo Flute |publisher=Brindavan Gurukul |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728135148/http://www.brindavangurukul.org/bansuri.htm |archive-date=July 28, 2010}}</ref><ref name="ll_book">{{cite book |title=How to Play the Bansuri: A Manual for Self-Instruction Based on the Teaching of Devendra Murdeshwar |last=Leifer |first=Lyon |publisher=Rasa Music Co |year=2005 |isbn=0-9766219-0-8}}</ref> Some early flutes were made out of [[tibia]]s (shin bones). The flute has also always been an essential part of [[Indian culture]] and mythology,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Students' Britannica India |last1=Hoiberg|first1=Dale|last2=Ramchandani |first2=Indu| year=2000 |publisher= Popular Prakashan |location=[[Mumbai]] |isbn=0-85229-760-2 |page=125 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AE_LIg9G5CgC}}</ref> and the cross flute is believed, by several accounts, to originate in [[India]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=How to Play Flute & Shehnai|last=Chaturvedi|first=Mamta|year=2001 |publisher= Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd|location=[[New Delhi]] |isbn=81-288-1476-1|page=7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0rz8rvUOmSwC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Music and Music-makers |last=Morse |first=Constance |year=1968 |publisher=Ayer Publishing |location=[[New Hampshire]] |isbn=0-8369-0724-8 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XEXWVhtcuJ4C}}</ref> as Indian literature from 1500 [[BCE]] has made vague references to the cross flute.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Choreographic Music for the Dance |last=Arvey |first=Verna |year=2007 |publisher=Read Country Books |location=[[London]] |isbn=978-1-4067-5847-4 |page=36 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=GOwFSQkpfNsC}}</ref>

==Types==
{{expand section|date=April 2015}}

===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.<ref name="See Sharp Press 1996 p. 85"/> An example of a plosive aerophone is the scraper flute which has tubes with ridged or [[serration|serrated]] edges so that they can be scraped with a rod to produce sound.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://windworld.com/bart/invented-instruments/difficult-to-categorize-scraper-flutes/ |title= Scraper Flutes |author= Bart Hopkin |access-date= 29 April 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150407065050/http://windworld.com/bart/invented-instruments/difficult-to-categorize-scraper-flutes/ |archive-date= April 7, 2015 |url-status= dead |df= mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="Hopkin1996">{{cite book|author=Bart Hopkin|title=Musical Instrument Design: Practical Information for Instrument Making|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CuHi9edzELEC&pg=PA86|date=1 January 1996|publisher=See Sharp Press|isbn=978-1-884365-08-9|page=86}}</ref>

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-flops|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===
{{further|Wind instrument}}
Non-free aerophones are instruments where the vibrating air is contained within the instrument. Often called [[wind instrument]]s, they are typically divided into two categories; [[Woodwind instrument|Woodwind]] and [[Brass instrument|Brass]]. 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]], [[glass]] or [[ivory]], with examples being [[flute]], [[oboe]], [[bassoon]], [[clarinet]],  [[Recorder (musical instrument)|recorder]] and the [[saxophone]]. Brass instruments are often made with [[silver]], [[copper]], [[ivory]], [[Horn (anatomy)|horn]], or even [[wood]]. Examples include the [[trumpet]], [[cornet]], [[Natural horn|horn]], [[trombone]] and the [[tuba]].<ref name="Carse2002">{{cite book|author=Adam Carse|title=Musical Wind Instruments|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K6gjXe4NOi4C|year=2002|publisher=Courier Corporation|isbn=978-0-486-42422-4|pages=1–2}}</ref>

====Flute====
{{main|Flute}}
A flute is a type of aerophone, as is the [[Eunuch flute]], also referred to as a mirliton.<ref name="Nzewi Nzewi 2007 p. 98"/>  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 [[paleolithic flutes|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]]. These flutes demonstrate that a developed musical tradition existed from the earliest period of modern human presence in Europe.<ref name="NYTimes">{{Cite journal| last = Wilford  | first = John N.| title = Flutes Offer Clues to Stone-Age Music | volume =459| issue =   7244| pages =  248–52| date = June 24, 2009  | pmid = 19444215| doi = 10.1038/nature07995 |bibcode = 2009Natur.459..248C | journal = Nature | s2cid = 205216692}}. Citation on p. 248.
*{{lay source |template=cite news |author=John Noble Wilford |date=June 24, 2009 |title=Flutes Offer Clues to Stone-Age Music |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/science/25flute.html |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="jhevol">{{Cite journal| title = Τesting models for the beginnings of the Aurignacian and the advent of figurative art and music: The radiocarbon chronology of Geißenklösterle | journal = Journal of Human Evolution|year=2012 | doi = 10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.03.003| last1 = Higham| first1 = Thomas| author-link1=Thomas Higham (archaeologist)| last2 = Basell| first2 = Laura| last3 = Jacobi| first3 = Roger| last4 = Wood| first4 = Rachel| last5 = Ramsey| first5 = Christopher Bronk| last6 = Conard| first6 = Nicholas J.| volume = 62| issue = 6| pages = 664–76| pmid = 22575323}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" caption="Flute aerophone examples"  heights="150">
File:Indian bamboo flute.jpg|A [[Carnatic music|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 [[Eunuch flute]]
</gallery>

====Reed====
{{main|Reed aerophones}}
{{further|Free reed aerophone}}

A reed aerophone is a [[musical instrument]] that produces sound by the player's breath being directed against a [[reed (instrument)|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 instrument|single-reed]] and [[Double reed|double-reed]] instruments. The former includes [[clarinet]]s and [[saxophone]]s, while examples of the latter are [[oboe]]s and [[bassoon]]s.

<gallery mode="packed" caption="Reed aerophone examples"  heights="400px">
File:FoxBassoon.jpg|A [[bassoon]]
File:Clarinet A-flat 1.jpg|An [[Piccolo clarinet|A-flat clarinet]]
File:Duduk.jpg|A [[duduk]]
File:CurvedSopranoAltoTenorSaxophone.jpg|[[Saxophone]]s – from left to right, an E{{music|b}} [[alto saxophone]], a curved B{{music|b}} [[soprano saxophone]], and a B{{music|b}} [[tenor saxophone]]
</gallery>

====Brass====
{{main|Brass instrument}}
A brass aerophone is a [[musical instrument]] that produces sound by [[Sympathetic resonance|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".<ref>{{cite book|last = Baines|first = Anthony|title = Brass instruments: their history and development|publisher = Dover Publications|year = 1993|page = 300|isbn = 0-486-27574-4}}</ref> There are several factors involved in producing different [[Pitch of brass instruments|pitches on a brass instrument]]. Slides, [[valve]]s, crooks, or keys are used to change vibratory length of tubing, thus changing the available [[harmonic series (music)|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 "[[Mute (music)|muted]]", in other words, their sounds can be somewhat suppressed as one would use a [[Silencer (firearms)|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.

<gallery mode="packed" caption="Brass aerophone examples"  heights="400">
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]] in C
</gallery>

==List of aerophones==
{{main|List of aerophones by Hornbostel–Sachs number}}
{{div col|colwidth=10em}}
*[[Accordina]]
*[[Accordion]]
*[[Bagpipes]]
*[[Bandoneon]]
*[[Baritone horn|Baritone]]
*[[Bassoon]]
*[[Clarinet]]
*[[Concertina]]
*[[Cornet]]
*[[Didgeridoo]]
*[[English Horn]]
*[[Euphonium]]
*[[French Horn]]
*[[Harmonica]]
*[[Harmonium]]
*[[Martinshorn]]
*[[Melodeon (organ)|Melodeon]]
*[[Melodica]]
*[[Oboe]]
*[[Ocarina]]
*[[Pan Flute]]
*[[Piccolo]]
*[[Pipe Organ]]
*[[Recorder (musical instrument)|Recorder]]
*[[Reed Organ]]
*[[Sarrusophone]]
*[[Siren disk]]
*[[Saxophone]]
*[[Sousaphone]]
*[[Thongophone]]
*[[Transverse flute|Transverse Flute]]
*[[Trombone]]
*[[Trumpet]]
*[[Tuba]]
*[[Vuvuzela]]
*[[Tin whistle|Whistle]]
{{div col end}}

==See also==
{{portal|Music}}
* [[List of aerophones by Hornbostel–Sachs number]]
* [[Wind instrument]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="See Sharp Press 1996 p. 85">{{cite book | title=Musical Instrument Design: Practical Information for Instrument Making | author=Hopkin, Bart|publisher=See Sharp Press | year=1996 | isbn=978-1-884365-08-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CuHi9edzELEC&pg=PA85 | page=85}}</ref>

<ref name="Randel 1999 p. 12">{{cite book | last=Randel | first=D.M. | title=The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians | publisher=Belknap Press | series=Harvard University Press reference library | year=1999 | isbn=978-0-674-00084-1 | url=https://archive.org/details/harvardconcisedi00donm_0 | url-access=registration | page=[https://archive.org/details/harvardconcisedi00donm_0/page/12 12]}}</ref>

<ref name="Nzewi Nzewi 2007 p. 98">{{cite book | last1=Nzewi | first1=M. | last2=Nzewi | first2=O. | title=A Contemporary Study of Musical Arts: Informed by African Indigenous Knowledge Systems | publisher=Centre for Indigenous Instrumental African Music and Dance (Ciimda) | series=A Contemporary Study of Musical Arts: Informed by African Indigenous Knowledge Systems | issue=v. 1 | year=2007 | isbn=978-1-920051-62-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hnuWTrOwp9kC&pg=PA98 | pages=98–106}}</ref>

<!--unused<ref name="Nettl Miller Stone Williams 1998 p. 29">{{cite book | last=Nettl | first=B. | last2=Miller | first2=T.E. | last3=Stone | first3=R.M. | last4=Williams | first4=S. | last5=Porter | first5=J. | last6=Rice | first6=T. | title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: Southeast Asia | publisher=Garland Pub. | series=Garland reference library of the humanities; v. 1169 (v. 8), 1191 (v. 5), 1193 (v. 2) | year=1998 | isbn=978-0-8240-6040-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xb2ibVAXO9sC&pg=PA28 | pages=28–30}}</ref>-->
}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Burgh |first=T.W. |title=Listening to the Artifacts: Music Culture in Ancient Palestine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=adn4F8x4wAgC&pg=PA28 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=2006 |pages=28–29 |isbn=978-0-567-02552-4}}
* Perono Cacciafoco, Francesco. (2019). A Prehistoric 'Little Goose': A New Etymology for the Word 'Ocarina'. ''Annals of the University of Craiova: Series Philology, Linguistics'', XLI, 1-2: 356–369, [https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=825358 Paper].

{{Commons}}
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Wikisource}}

{{Aerophones}}
{{Hornbostel-Sachs}}
{{Elemental organology}}

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[[Category:Aerophones| ]]

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