Instruments that produce sound through the vibration of the air column that is in its tube
Aerophones, also known and designated as wind instruments, belong to a family of musical instruments that are characterized by producing sound through the vibration of the air column that is inside it, that is, inside the tube, without the need for intervention of strings or membranes and without even the instrument vibrating by itselfthat is, they only require the use of the wind to be interpreted in a consistent manner and by the way, they are also called as wind instruments.
How do these wind instruments work?
Wind instruments can consist of one or more tubes. Inside the tube is where the column of air will be formed, which the musician will make vibrate by blowing through a mouthpiece or reed that is located at the end of the aforementioned tube.. Although there are exceptions, such as the accordion and the harmonium, in which the interpreter’s breath is replaced by different types of bellows.
The kinds of sound they are capable of producing based on their length, pressure, and diameter
In aerophones, the tone or height of the note will be determined by the length of the tube, which will ultimately determine the length of the column of vibrating air.
Thus, the greater the length of the tube, the more serious the sound that comes out of it will be, and the shorter the length, we will find a more acute sound. Also, the larger the diameter of the tube, the more serious the sound will be, and on the contrary, if the diameter is smaller, the sound emanating will be more acute.
And if the air pressure is important, the sound will be really sharp, while it will be more serious if there is not so much pressure.
The note scale can be obtained by shortening the sound length of the tube by means of open holes arranged along it. It is worth clarifying that in this situation what is cut is the effective length, not the actual length of the tube. The best example of this is the flute or other types of similar wooden instruments.
Another way is to shorten or lengthen the sound length by means of valves or pistons that connect additional segments or handles, for example, the horn.
This can also be achieved through the lengthening of the tube by means of a sliding mechanism, this would be the case of the rod trombone.
From there, very far back in time, it has been practiced to make a series of holes in the tubes to modify their length and in this way achieve a greater variety of sound and do it with greater simplicity. However, over time, systems such as those indicated were created to be able to lengthen or shorten the tubes and then they, combined with the pressure exerted by the fingers, achieve all the sounds of an instrument.
Classification of aerophones
There are two classifications of aerophones, one more informal and another much more formal, coined in 1914.
The first talks about metals (they are metal), woods (wooden) and organs (in this the organ, little organ and the like are registered).
But since this very simple and concise classification can be confusing, since there are some wooden instruments that are currently made of metal, it is appropriate to refer to the other classification…of bevel (includes all flutes, traversa, dulce, and peak) single reed (clarinets, saxophones and their variants), double reed (oboes and bassoons), of embouchure (this category includes brass, trombone, horn, trumpet, euphonium, tuba, among others), with air tanks (with pipes, the pipe organ or without pipes, accordion).
The trumpet and the saxophone, the most popular representatives of this group
Now, among this enormous variety that we mentioned, we must highlight the relevance and popularity of two of them, the trumpet and the saxophone, both instruments that have been able to distinguish themselves within the species due to the sound imprint they produce in their interpretation and we cannot ignore either to the great interpreters they have had throughout history.
The saxophone has been closely linked to jazz, which has given it great recognition and predilection. And for its part, the trumpet has a clear association with the interpretation of pieces at the military level.
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