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--- reeds [2023/12/22 06:30] – mete
+++ reeds [2024/03/06 12:37] (current) – mete
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-=====Things that have been described as a reed =====
+=====What Exactly is a Reed?=====
+There is a lot of contention (that I created no doubt) on making a clear definition of a reed. Past definitions are far too ambiguous in my opinion and a rehashing of the definition and classification of reeds in is order. in [[classification|'hicks' Classification]] I completely redefine how wind instruments are classified where they only have a single common factor, the use of wind to generate their sound, with each type of generating force being unrelated. In these essay I will attempt to call out commonalities on how different solid materials generate a vibration that is typically carried into a column of air to make a pitched sound. In my definition something is a reed if it is capable of generating a regulated pitch in a tube and also if it is capable of generating pitch all on its own ( may later reclassify that later half of that).
+=====The Previous Definitions of what a Reed is=====
+Summarized from Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica- \\
+reed "A thin strip of material that vibrates to produce a sound on a musical instrument" "a thin blade of material typically a reed or thin metal that vibrates"\\
+This definition has a major issue in that is describes single reeds (lamell reeds like those of a clarinet or saxophone) as well as free reeds (like those of a harmonica) but inadequacy describes the behavior of double reeds (or any other class listed above) because the focus is on the shape of the material.
+=====My New Definition of what a Reed is=====
+A reed is any solid material that vibrates in a stable and consistent manner in response to wind as the generating force of the oscillation.  This is distinct from how flutes and how corrugation operates as the solid material these are made of is not required to vibrate for the instrument to operate, only the Air Column or Cavity Resonance is required. This definition includes anything that 'flaps' in response to an air pressure differential.
+=====Understanding the Distinction Between the Two=====
+For Reeds the following forces happen- \\
+Wind --> Material that vibrates in response --> Sound is reinforced (or regulated) and directed by a resonating tube (air column with standing waves) \\
+\\
+For flutes the process works as such-\\
+Wind --> An edge that causes an oscillation --> Sound is generated in the Air Column with Standing Waves or in a Helmholtz Resonator with Cavity Resonance ((http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Waves/cavity.html)) ((There may not be a chamber or air column required at all, its possible sound can be generated purely from an edge. )) \\
+\\
+With flutes and corrugation no material needs to vibrate in response to the agitation of the generation force, its the air itself that oscillates, not the solid material. \\
+=====Things that I describe as a Reed =====
 ====Lamells====
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 ==Ribbon Reeds==
-Grass Blade- This is a Air activated ribbon (a type of string) that is mounted on both sides, vibrates when air drags against the ribbon causing it to have torsional vibration. \\
+Grass Blade- This is a Air activated ribbon (a type of string) that is mounted on both sides, vibrates when air drags against the ribbon causing it to have torsional vibration. This type of reed is rather poorly understood for how common the use of grass blades are. Without a tube this reed can be tuned to play many pitches depending on the string tension, just like typical string instruments. I am unsure if this type of reed can be made without a ribbon shape (a round string instead) it seems unlikely that it would work as well (strongly suggesting torsional motion). I am also unsure if a reinforcement system using tubes is possible.   \\
 == Membrane Reeds==
-Membranophone- A double chamber where air passes from the outer chamber into the inner chamber which is a tube by forcing open a membrane that is under tension, membrane beats against the tube. \\
+Membranophone- A double chamber where air passes from the outer chamber into the inner chamber which is typically a tube by forcing open a membrane that is under tension, membrane beats against the tube, requires some kind of pitch reinforcement to work at all. Works with both cylinders as well as cones (though not well with wide cones). I consider this definitely a reed, it is similar to how a double reed uses a surface with 3 sides mounted, but this version has all sides mounted. Perhaps it is comparable to a single reed version of a double reed in that sense. These are also capable of being made with rigid materials, though the pressure required is quite high. I am using the term membrane the same as how i use it on resonator chambers on string instruments.   \\
-=====Previous Definitions=====
-Summarized from Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica- \\
-reed "A thin strip of material that vibrates to produce a sound on a musical instrument" "a thin blade of material typically a reed or thin metal that vibrates"\\
-This definition has a major issue in that is describes single reeds (lamell reeds like those of a clarinet or saxophone) as well as free reeds (like those of a harmonica) but inadequacy describes the behavior of double reeds (or any other class listed above) because the focus is on the shape of the material.
-=====My New Definition =====
-A reed is any solid material that vibrates in a stable and consistent manner in response to wind as the generating force of the oscillation.  This is distinct from how flutes and how corrugation operates as the solid material these are made of is not required to vibrate for the instrument to operate, only the Air Column or Cavity Resonance is required.
-====Understanding the distinction ====
-For Reeds the following forces happen- \\
-Wind --> Material that vibrates in response --> Sound is reinforced (or regulated) and directed by a resonating tube (air column with standing waves) \\
-\\
-For flutes the process works as such-\\
-Wind --> An edge that causes an oscillation --> Sound is generated in the Air Column with Standing Waves or in a Helmholtz Resonator with Cavity Resonance ((http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Waves/cavity.html)) ((There may not be a chamber or air column required at all, its possible sound can be generated purely from an edge. )) \\
-\\
-With flutes and corrugation no material needs to vibrate in response to the agitation of the generation force, its the air itself that oscillates, not the solid material. \\
 =====NOTES=====
+This page is still messy, the restructuring of wind families has led to a lot of things needing new terms (like labrophone vs invert reed, vs ribbon reed/regulation vs reinforcement and all that) and the terms are unresolved. I would like to just come up with one and call it a day, but i am still finding examples of prior works that have better terminology (for instance ribbon reed is coined by [[Jeremy Montagu]]).
 I find it to be a source of some frustration that it seems there is no one (that I can find) critically asking what a reed is. It seems like an excellent question in terms of how we discuss instruments, It also seems that not even Hornbostel and Sachs (and updated versions of Systematik) have a definitive answer of any sort. It seems I am the first person to ask this question critically, generate a somewhat exhaustive list of options and to suggest any new definitions. I imagine the overall response to this expansion of the definition of a reed will be met poorly, as it suggests a much more broad classification and really reveals the tenuous ways wind instruments, woodwinds and brass are conflated categories and that the real distinction seems that all winds are divided into reed instruments (anything with a solid material that vibrates in response to wind) and all other wind instruments (edges and corrugation) which have no solid required to vibrate to make sound.
@@ Line 95: / Line 102: @@
 Another distinction is that reeds need to be rigid, and that warpable and stretchable materials dont count. This is similar to the ideas of membranes vs soundboards on string instruments. I take the same solution considering both the same thing (in the case of strings, both are membranes, one rigid and the other warpable). these distinctions are just describing materials that are or near opposite sides of a spectrum. I think the only distinction is to define them by the opposites, or by the difference of the material behavior (with options in the middle being allowed to be intermediate and there being no hard cutoff). with that said there is no way to form a clear delineation between materials that easily bend and warp and ones that resist the action other than that they tend to have different timbre, and the more bendable they are the less upper harmonics they allow (a kind of self damping harmonic filter?) (then again that also happens when lips dampen the rigid material anyways)
+{{tag>[woodwind hicks all]}} \\