Dictionary of Music - Birding America

eed pipe 339music for soprano recorder is usually written anoctave lower than it sounds (and that for bass anoctave higher).fig. 195 p/u from p. 352fig. 196 p/u from p. 352The recorder’s soft, slightly nasal tone andrelative simplicity made it a popular instrumentfrom very early times. It was particularly importantduring the Renaissance, when consorts ofrecorders were used for ensemble music (seeCONSORT). It remained popular during the baroque(1600–1750), when a great many chamber worksincluded a part for recorder. On the Continent therecorder was then known as a flute (in Italian,flauto), the orchestral flute being called flautotraverso (transverse flute; see under FLUTE) inorder to distinguish the two instruments. Afterabout 1750 the recorder was largely replaced bythe flute, which has a greater dynamic range (fromvery soft to quite loud) and a slightly larger range(of pitches), and allows more variety of expression,all factors important in the music of theclassical and romantic periods (1785–1900). Earlyin the twentieth century Arnold Dolmetsch, anEnglishman interested in early music and earlyinstruments, revived the recorder, and today it isagain very popular. Relatively easy to play andquite inexpensive (it is available in plastic aswell as wood), it is often recommended as a firstinstrument for young children (especially thesoprano, whose closely spaced finger holes are ineasy reach for small hands), as well as for amateurperformances at home. Moreover, it is used forboth solo and ensemble music of the MiddleAges, Renaissance, and baroque periods, and forthe music of some twentieth-century composers(Bartók and others).Two systems of fingering are in general use.Some German instruments have the so-called Germanfingering, with a lowered fifth hole. Morecommon is the English or baroque fingering. Themain difference between the two is in fingering the Fand F-sharp in the soparano and tenor instruments(B-flat and B in the alto and bass). Although theGerman fingering is easier to learn, the instrumentsdesigned for it are generally less useful in theirhigher registers.reed A thin strip of metal, cane, plastic, or someother flexible material, whose vibrations are used toproduce sound in various musical instruments. Inwoodwind instruments such as the clarinet, saxophone,and oboe, the player’s breath makes the reedvibrate, and these vibrations in turn cause the columnof air inside the body of the instrument to vibrate,producing sound. The pitch of the sound is controlledby the length of the pipe, which is varied by means offinger holes and keys. —single reed The type ofreed used in the clarinet, saxophone, bagpipes, andorgan (in the so-called reed pipes; see ORGAN). Thisreed is made to vibrate against a part of the pipe. Theaccompanying illustration shows the type of singlereed used in the bagpipe drone. —double reedThe type of reed used in the oboe, English horn, andbassoon. It consists of a strip of cane so folded thatthe two ends vibrate against each other (see alsoDOUBLE REED). —free reed Also, beating reed. Atongue-shaped reed, nearly always made of metal,which is fastened at one end and free at the other. It ismade to vibrate by means of air pressure, providedeither by the player’s breath or by bellows. A freereed itself produces a sound. Each such reed canproduce only a single note, whose precise pitchdepends on the reed’s thickness and length. Amongthe instruments sounded by means of free reeds arethe accordion, harmonica, and harmonium.reed organreed pipeAnother name for HARMONIUM.See under ORGAN.fig. 197 p/ufrom p. 353