An aerophone is any musical instrument that

produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to

vibrate without the use of strings or membranes,
and without the vibration of the instrument itself
adding considerably to the sound.

Overview:
Aerophones are one of the four main classes of
instruments in the original Hornbostel Sachs system
of musical instrument classification, which further
classifies aerophones by whether or not the
vibrating air is contained within the instrument. The
first class includes instruments which, when played,
do not contain the vibrating air. The bullroarer is
one example. These are called free aerophones. This
class includes free reed instruments, such as the
harmonica, but also many instruments unlikely to be
called wind instruments at all by most people, such
as sirens and whips. The second class includes
instruments which contain the vibrating air when
being played. This class includes almost all
instruments generally called wind instruments —
including the didgeridoo, brass instruments (
trumpet, french horn, baritone horn, tuba,
trombone), and woodwind instruments ( oboe
,flute,saxophone, clarinet.

Additionally, very loud sounds can be made by

explosions directed into, or being detonated inside
of resonant cavities. Detonations inside the calliope
(and steam whistle), as well as the pyrophone might
thus be considered as class 42 instruments, despite
the fact that the "wind" or "air" may be steam or an
air-fuel mixture.

History:
According to Ardal Powell, the flute is a simple
instrument found in numerous ancient cultures.
There are three legendary and archeologically
verifiable birthplace sites of flutes: Egypt, Greece
and India. Of these, the transverse flute (side
blown) appeared only in ancient India, while the
fipple flutes are found in all three. It is likely,
states Powell, that the modern Indian bansuri has
not changed much since the early medieval era.

Identifying the origin of the aerophone is difficult,

though it is believed that Americans and their
descendants developed the largest diversity of
aerophones, and they are understood to have been
the major non-vocal, melodic instruments of Native
America. Archaeological studies have found
examples of globular flutes in ancient Mexico,
Colombia and Peru, and multiple tubular flutes
were common among the Maya and Aztec. The use of
shells of Conches as an aerophone have also been
found to be prevalent in areas such as Central
America and Peru.

Examples of aerophone type instruments in China

can be dated back to the Neolithic period.
Fragments of bone flutes can be found at the burial
sites of the Jiahu settlements of ancient China, and
they represent some of the earliest known
examples of playable instruments. The instruments
were typically carved from the wing bone of the
red-crowned crane, and had five to eight holes. The
flutes were efficient enough to produce sound in a
nearly accurate octave, and are thought to have
been used ceremonially or for ritualistic purposes.
Examples of flutes made out of bamboo in China date
back to 2nd Century BC. These flutes were known as
Dizi's or simply Di (笛) and typically had 6 holes for
playing melodies that were framed by scale-modes.

Flutes including the famous Bansuri, have been an

integral part of Indian classical music since 1500 BC.
A major deity of Hinduism, Krishna, has been
associated with the flute. Some early flutes were
made out of tibias (shin bones). The flute has also
always been an essential part of Indian culture and
mythology,[12] and the cross flute is believed, by
several accounts, to originate in India as Indian
literature from 1500 BCE has made vague
references to the cross flute.
Free: Free aerophones are instruments where the
vibrating air is not enclosed by the instrument
itself.
Displacement: The air-stream meets a sharp
edge, or a sharp edge is moved through the air.
Interruptive: The air-stream is interrupted
periodically.
Plosive: Occasionally called "percussive
aerophones", plosive aerophones are sounded
by percussion caused by a single compression
and release of air. An example of a plosive
aerophone is the "scraper flute" which has
tubes with ridged or serrated edges so that
they can be scraped with a rod to produce
sound.
Non-free: Non-free aerophones are instruments
where the vibrating air is contained within the
instrument. Often called wind instruments,
they are typically divided into two
categories; Woodwind and Brass. It is widely
accepted that wind instruments are not
classified on the material from which they
are made, as a woodwind instrument does not
need to be made of wood, nor a brass
instrument made of brass. Woodwind
instruments are often made with wood, metal,
glass or ivory and include the flute, oboe,
bassoon, clarinet, recorder and the
saxophone. Brass instruments are often made
with silver, copper, ivory, horn, or even wood
and include the trumpet, cornet, horn,
trombone and the tuba.
Flute: A flute is a type of aerophone, as is the
Eunuch flute, also referred to as a mirliton. [3]

A flute is an aerophone or reedless wind

instrument that produces its sound from the
flow of air across an opening. According to
the instrument classification of Hornbostel–
Sachs, flutes are categorized as edge-blown
aerophones. Aside from the voice, flutes are
the earliest known musical instruments. A
number of flutes dating to about 43,000 to
35,000 years ago have been found in the
Swabian Alb region of Germany. These flutes
demonstrate that a developed musical
tradition existed from the earliest period of
modern human presence in Europe.
Flute aerophone examples
A Carnatic six-holed bamboo flute

An eight-holed classical
 An Example of a Eunuch flute

Reed: A reed aerophone is a musical instrument

that produces sound by the player's breath
being directed against a lamella or pair of
lamellae which periodically interrupt the
airflow and cause the air to be set in motion.
Reed aerophone examples
A bassoon

An A-flat clarinet
A duduk

A Several oboes

A Saxophone
Brass: A brass aerophone is a musical
instrument that produces sound by
sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular
resonator in sympathy with the vibration of
the player's lips. Brass instruments are also
called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-
vibrated instruments". There are several
[22]

factors involved in producing different

pitches on a brass instrument. Slides, valves,
crooks, or keys are used to change vibratory
length of tubing, thus changing the available
harmonic series, while the player's
embouchure, lip tension and air flow serve to
select the specific harmonic produced from the
available series.
Brass aerophone examples
An alto horn is a type of brass instrument
and aerophone.
A Rotary Valve Trumpet in C