woodwind

Everyday

1. The family of musical instruments played by blowing, mostly with a reed or across a hole: flute, recorder, clarinet, oboe, bassoon and saxophone. tree →
2. The players of these instruments in an orchestra or band. tree →

In the lessons

In music lessons the orchestra is split into families: strings, woodwind, brass and percussion. Woodwind instruments were first made of wood, but some, like the flute and the saxophone, are now metal and are still woodwind because of how the sound is made. The recorder is many children's first woodwind instrument. Phrases: «the woodwind section», «woodwind instruments».

Examples

• The recorder is a woodwind instrument. tree →
• The clarinet and the oboe both belong to the woodwind family. tree →
• In the orchestra the woodwind sit behind the violins. tree →
• A flute is made of metal but it is still woodwind. tree →
• The woodwind played the bird song in «Peter and the Wolf». tree →
• My brother is learning the saxophone, which counts as woodwind. tree →

Note

Usually uncountable when it means the group (the woodwind is/are…). Trap: woodwind is not about material; brass instruments use buzzing lips, woodwind uses a reed or blowing across an edge. One word.