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3.3.6
Aerophones: Definition, How They Work, and List of Instruments

Here’s how aerophones work:

  • You blow into the instrument, setting a reed (or reeds) vibrating (woodwinds, saxes, harmonicas).

    OR

    You blow into the instrument while buzzing your lips (brass instruments).
  • A column of air (the intermediary) inside the instrument transmits the vibrations of the reed(s) or your lips to the resonator, such as the body of a saxophone or trumpet.
  • The resonator, being much more massive than the reed(s) or your lips, amplifies the vibration of the reed(s) or your lips.

Aerophones include:

  • Brass instruments
  • Woodwinds
  • Flutes, recorders, penny whistles
  • Harmonicas (a harmonica is easily the best instrument to play at night around the campfire, to drown out the sound of the musical saw)
  • Reed pipes
  • Accordions, concertinas, etc.
  • The voice

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