Klarinet Archive - Posting 000877.txt from 1995/05

From: John Baetens <JSBtens@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Terminology: brass or woo...
Date: Wed, 31 May 1995 18:25:59 -0400

Ed Pearlstein wrote:

> There has been some discussion here over just what is to be called
> a "brass" instrument, and what is to be called "woodwind". Among
> acousticians, the distinction is made by what the primary vibrator
> is: If it's the lips of the player, the instrument is called brass.
> If it's a reed, or an air jet (as in the flutes), then the instrument is
> called a woodwind. (Note that under these definitions, the pipe >organ
would be called a woodwind.)

I thought the distinction between brass and woodwinds had to
do more with the fact that a brass instrument is a "closed"
system where all the air input into the instrument comes out
the bell, whereas a woodwind instrument has holes in the
tube where air escapes when they are open, thereby changing
the tone. This would exclude the pipe organ and include
reedless instruments such as the recorder, which makes
more sense to me.