Any wind instrument other than the brass instruments; SYN. woodwind instrument, wood.
Musical instrument from which sound is produced by blowing into a tube, causing the air within to vibrate. Woodwind instruments include those, like the flute, originally made of wood but now more commonly of metal. The saxophone, made of metal, is an honorary woodwind because it is related to the clarinet. The oboe, bassoon, flute, and clarinet make up the normal woodwind section of an orchestra.
Woodwind instruments fall into two categories: reed instruments, in which air passes via an aperture controlled by a vibrating flexible reed or pair of reeds; and those without a reed where air is simply blown into or across a tube. In both cases, different notes are obtained by changing the length of the tube by covering holes along it. Reed instruments include clarinet, oboe, cor anglais, saxophone, and bassoon. In the recorder, flute, and piccolo, the function of a reed is achieved by design of the mouthpiece.
There is an enormous variety of woodwind instruments throughout the world.