The prototype of the first wind instrument in the history of music was a bone that primitive man tried to blow into. Much later, the flute, trumpet, bassoon and clarinet would appear, but all these instruments used the same principle that made the bone produce sounds. A little later, primitive musicians came up with the idea of drilling holes in the bone to produce a sound that ranged from low-pitched to high-pitched. And then a reed made of reeds would appear in the hole in the tube. Its vibrations would make the tube produce a melodious sound. This is how the clarinet appeared. And after that came the oboe of the same design with two reeds.
In principle, all wind instruments are extremely simple. Let us take the flute as an example to examine their construction. Modern flute can be wooden or metal. Anyway it is a hollow tube with many valves. On the side there is a hole into which the flutist blows to extract the sound from the instrument.Obviously, there is air inside the tube, which the musician forces by the pressure of his breath to move. Hence the sound. And the shorter the tube, the higher the sound. This is the purpose of the holes: by closing or opening them, you can adjust the length of the tube.
For convenience, these holes are closed with special valves. This is especially comfortable for wind instruments with a long windpipe: it is difficult for the musician to reach all the holes with his fingers.
Varieties of Wind Instruments
The oboe has a very rich history and several ancestors among ancient musical instruments (its construction includes features of the Caucasian zurna and the ancient flute).
Oboe
The bassoon has the lowest voice in the family of wind instruments. It has a surprising ability to sound in different ways: now softly and melodiously, now mockingly.
Bassoon
The clarinet, whose name comes from the Latin word for ‘clear’, takes pride of place in symphony orchestras and stands out for its warm, rich sound.One of the most widely known wind instruments is rightly considered a trumpet. But few people know that in Europe it came from distant Asian countries. The first trumpets were characterized by straight or slightly curved shape, much later appeared the trumpets of the modern form, coiled. Trumpets are characterized by a loud, militant sound, and therefore used them most often in military campaigns. In the orchestra the trumpet appeared with the light hand of Italian composer Monteverdi. Moreover, in Europe the trumpet was equipped with valves to adjust the length and obtain different pitches of sound. But the original form of this instrument has survived, only now under the name of trombone.
One more wind instrument – an accordion, created by Peter Sterlyagov to the individual order of the accordionist Yakov Orlandsky. It was a completely new instrument with a rich sound, providing the musician with much more possibilities than the harmonica. The buttons in the bayan are placed on the sides: 100 on the left and 53 on the right.