Title: Woodwind Instruments In The Orchestra | Dawkes Music
Headings: Woodwind Instruments in the Orchestra
Woodwind Instruments in the Orchestra
Which is the highest woodwind instrument?
How many flutes are in an orchestra?
What instrument does the orchestra tune to?

Content: Woodwind Instruments In The Orchestra | Dawkes Music
Woodwind Instruments in the Orchestra
15th November 2018
The name ‘woodwind’ for this family of instruments refers to the wood from which these instruments were once exclusively made, as well as the need to blow air – or ‘wind’ – into them to produce a sound. Woodwind instruments in the orchestra are no longer solely made of wood, with metal and plastic also now being used. An orchestra’s wind section can consist of various combinations of such instruments as the piccolo, oboe, flute, clarinet, cor anglais (literally French for ‘English horn’), bass clarinet, E-flat clarinet, bassoon, contrabassoon and saxophone. Below, we have sought to answer some of the most common woodwind orchestra queries that our customers here at Dawkes Music have. Which is the highest woodwind instrument? The highest woodwind instrument in the orchestra is the piccolo, which is a half-sized flute capable of playing an octave higher. The name of the piccolo is Italian for ‘small’, and the fingering is the same as that of the flute; this leads many piccolo players to alternate with the flute. It enjoys a reputation today as an orchestral sparkler, having made its major-work debut in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Piccolo Flutes
How many flutes are in an orchestra?