"Blowing in the (wood)wind" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Fife

The word "fife" comes from words meaning "pipe", which is typical of the shape of this instrument. Simply, the fife is a long, thin pipe with holes in it. There is one hole to blow air over and several holes that are to be covered by the fingers to allow different notes to be played. Traditional fifes are made from wood, however more modern varieties are made from metal or plastics, which are cheaper to manufacture.

Of the incorrect answer options, only the Ney and Caval are wind instruments. Forfar is a county in Scotland.

Answer: Piccolo saxophone

The piccolo clarinet is one of several names for the A-flat clarinet. It is also known as an octave clarinet or sopranino clarinet. The piccolo oboe (piccoloboe, oboe musette, or musette) is the highest pitched oboe, as well as the smallest. The piccolo heckelphone was invented in 1904 and has a similar sound to an oboe.

The rarity of the piccolo heckelphone means that there are not many compositions available for this instrument, however some do exist. Some websites will argue that a piccolo saxophone (commonly known as a Soprillo) exists, and it does, however it is not considered as "true" saxophone.

Answer: Asia

The Burmese hne comes in two different sizes - with the hne galay being smaller than the hne gyi. The body of the hne is straight with the end growing larger into a cone-shape, similar to a shawm.

The pi, from Thailand, comes in several sizes with the pi nok being the smallest and the pi mon being the largest. The pi is used in traditional Thai music, and is similar to the Cambodian sralai.

Answer: Direct-blown

An end-blown flute is similar to a fipple flute in that the air enters into the instrument via one end. The difference being that the fipple flute has an internal duct directing the air across an opening, giving a different kind of sound to a standard end-blown flute.

A side-blown, edge-blown or transverse flute is one in which the player blows across an opening in the side of the instrument, rather than blowing in the end of it.

Flutes can be open at one or both ends, have multiple pipes (similar to a pan flute), or be mechanically operated (such as a pipe organ).

Answer: Didgeridoo

The didgeridoo is probably Australia's best known musical instrument. The player needs to master the art of circular breathing and uses vibration of the lips against one end of the instrument to make sound. Traditionally, didgeridoos are made of wood, however many children will know that a vacuum cleaner pipe can do just a good a job of making similar sounds.

The bullroarer is not native to Australia and is found across many continents. It is a thin, flat rectangular(ish) piece of wood attached to a long cord. In order to make a noise, the piece of wood is swung in a circular motion using the cord on either a horizontal or vertical plane.

Gum trees cover a large amount of Australia and therefore their leaves are quite common. Enterprising native peoples discovered that blowing across a gum leaf in particular ways can create sounds.

The Wobble board was invented in Australia and is basically a large, flat piece of board. In order to create sound, the board is held along the short edges by the palm of each hand and "flicked" or "bounced" to create sound.

Answer: Clarinet

A single reeded instrument is (not surprisingly!) one that uses one reed. The reed is generally attached to a mouthpiece against which it vibrates in order to make a sound. Double reeded instruments use the vibration of the reeds against each other to make sounds.

The bassoon and oboe are both double reeded, whereas the ocarina is a fipple flute.

Answer: Two

The Rackett, Zurna & Dulcian are all double reeded instruments.

The Dulcian is constructed using maple wood and is a predecessor of the bassoon. It was made in various different sizes and was widely in use during the middle of the sixteenth century.

The Rackett has a unique design and can sound similar to a bassoon. The inside of the in Rackett consists of several vertical tubes joined together at both top and bottom to create what looks like a handful of sausages. Which is possibly how the instrument got one of its alternative names - sausage bassoon. Holes bored into the vertical tubes are covered by the fingers to close them off and create different notes.

The Zurna is usually made from fruit tree hard wood, with some being made of bone. The Zurna require circular breathing by the player and has a high pitched, sharp sound. It is related to the oboe and used mainly for playing folk music.

Answer: Animal horn

The bell of a hornpipe is traditionally made of animal horn; however the rest of the instrument may be made from wood. The hornpipe uses a single reed and may or may not have a cap around it - the cap allows for playing the hornpipe using circular breathing and allowing the musician to create a continuous sound.

The melody pipe, which runs between the bell and the reed, has between five and eight finger holes to its player to create different notes.

Answer: Fishing hook

Although the pool noodle and yoga mat can be bent to match the shape of a crumhorn (the yoga mat in profile), a fishing hook has the most similar shape to this double reeded instrument. The name derives from a German word meaning "bent horn".

The crumhorn is a capped reed instrument meaning that the mouth doesn't touch the reed in order to create vibration and make sound. Finger holes can be found on the straight part of the horn allowing the pitch of the note to be changed by the musician.

Answer: A smaller flute will have a higher pitch than a larger one

In general, a smaller instrument will have a higher pitch than a larger instrument of the same variety, for instance a piccolo clarinet (the smallest clarinet) will have a higher pitch than an octocontrabass clarinet (the largest clarinet). The pitch of a woodwind instrument can be changed by blocking holes in its pipe, however changing the size of the pipe will also change the range of notes an instrument can play.

The pitch of an instrument all comes down to the frequency of the sound wave produced by it. But that's a sci/tech quiz for another day.