Flute vs. Reed — What's the Difference?
By Urooj Arif & Fiza Rafique — Updated on April 4, 2024
A flute produces sound from the flow of air across an opening, while a reed instrument uses a vibrating reed to create sound waves.
Difference Between Flute and Reed
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
The flute, a woodwind instrument, generates sound when air provided by the player flows across a hole in the instrument and creates a vibration in the air inside. This method relies on the precise shape of the mouthpiece and the speed of the air. On the other hand, reed instruments, which also fall under the woodwind category, produce sound through the vibration of a reed or reeds that are set into motion by the player's breath. The reed acts as an oscillating valve, causing the air column inside the instrument to vibrate.
Flutes can be made from various materials, including metal, wood, and even plastic, affecting their tonal quality and projection. Metal flutes, for example, have a bright, penetrating sound, whereas wooden flutes offer a warmer tone. Reed instruments, such as clarinets and saxophones, typically have bodies made of wood or plastic, but it's the material and shape of the reed that most influences their sound. Reeds made from cane are most common, offering a wide range of tonal colors and dynamic capabilities.
The playing technique for the flute involves directing a stream of air across the edge of the mouthpiece, requiring control over breath and embouchure (the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece). This technique allows for subtle nuances in tone and expression. Reed instruments, however, require the player to blow air through the reed, making the embouchure and breath support crucial for controlling pitch, volume, and tone.
Flutes are categorized by their method of tone production as edge-blown aerophones, and they do not use reeds. Their design has evolved from simple bamboo tubes to complex mechanisms with keys and pads that allow for a wider range of notes and dynamic expressions. Reed instruments are classified based on the number and type of reeds they use, such as single reeds in clarinets and saxophones or double reeds in oboes and bassoons, each offering distinct sound characteristics and playing techniques.
In terms of repertoire, both flutes and reed instruments have a rich history of solo and ensemble music spanning from classical to contemporary genres. Flutes, being one of the oldest musical instruments, have a repertoire that includes early music, classical concertos, and modern compositions. Reed instruments also boast a versatile repertoire, with prominent roles in orchestras, bands, jazz, and popular music, reflecting their adaptability and expressive range.
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Comparison Chart
Sound Production
Air blown across an opening
Vibrating reed(s)
Materials
Metal, wood, plastic
Wood, plastic (reed usually cane or synthetic)
Technique
Air direction and embouchure
Embouchure and breath control through reed
Type
Edge-blown aerophone
Woodwind with single or double reeds
Repertoire
Classical to contemporary, solo and ensemble
Classical, jazz, popular, solo and ensemble
Compare with Definitions
Flute
A woodwind instrument played by blowing air across a hole.
She performed a captivating solo on her silver flute.
Reed
Can be single (clarinet, saxophone) or double (oboe, bassoon).
Oboists spend a lot of time crafting their double reeds.
Flute
Known for its bright, clear tone.
The flute's clear tone soared above the orchestra.
Reed
The material and quality of the reed greatly affect the instrument's sound.
He prefers cane reeds for their rich sound quality.
Flute
Made without the use of reeds for sound production.
Unlike reed instruments, the flute produces sound from the flow of air.
Reed
A thin strip of material that vibrates to produce sound in certain woodwind instruments.
She carefully selected a reed for her clarinet before the concert.
Flute
Can be made from various materials affecting its sound.
His wooden flute added a warm timbre to the ensemble.
Reed
Requires maintenance and replacement over time.
Professional players often adjust their reeds to achieve the perfect sound.
Flute
Requires precise control of breath and embouchure.
Mastering the flute demands great embouchure flexibility.
Reed
Found in instruments like clarinets, oboes, and saxophones.
The saxophonist's reed cracked, necessitating a quick replacement.
Flute
The flute is a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening.
Reed
A tall, slender-leaved plant of the grass family, which grows in water or on marshy ground.
Flute
A wind instrument made from a tube with holes that are stopped by the fingers or keys, held vertically or horizontally (in which case it is also called a transverse flute) so that the player's breath strikes a narrow edge. The modern orchestral form is a transverse flute, typically made of metal, with an elaborate set of keys.
Reed
A weak or impressionable person
The jurors were mere reeds in the wind
Flute
An ornamental vertical groove in a column.
Reed
A piece of thin cane or metal, sometimes doubled, which vibrates in a current of air to produce the sound of various musical instruments, as in the mouthpiece of a clarinet or oboe or at the base of some organ pipes
A reed instrument
Flute
A tall, narrow wine glass
A flute of champagne
Reed
An electrical contact used in a magnetically operated switch or relay
A reed relay
The permanent magnet closes the reeds and contacts together
Flute
Play a flute or pipe.
Reed
A comblike implement (originally made from reed or cane) used by a weaver to separate the threads of the warp and correctly position the weft.
Flute
Make flutes or grooves in.
Reed
A set of semi-cylindrical adjacent mouldings like reeds laid together.
Flute
A high-pitched woodwind instrument consisting of a slender tube closed at one end with keys and finger holes on the side and an opening near the closed end across which the breath is blown. Also called transverse flute.
Reed
Any of various tall perennial grasses, especially of the genera Phragmites and Arundo, having hollow stems and large plumelike panicles and growing in wetlands.
Flute
Any of various similar reedless woodwind instruments, such as the recorder.
Reed
Any of several similar plants, such as the papyrus.
Flute
An organ stop whose flue pipe produces a flutelike tone.
Reed
The stalk of any of these plants.
Flute
(Architecture) A long, usually rounded groove incised as a decorative motif on the shaft of a column, for example.
Reed
A collection of these stalks
Reed for making baskets.
Flute
A similar groove or furrow, as in a pleated ruffle of cloth or on a piece of furniture.
Reed
(Music) A primitive wind instrument made of a hollow reed stalk.
Flute
A tall narrow wineglass, often used for champagne.
Reed
A flexible strip of cane or metal set into the mouthpiece or air opening of certain instruments to produce tone by vibrating in response to a stream of air.
Flute
(Music) To play (a tune) on a flute.
Reed
An instrument, such as an oboe or clarinet, that is fitted with a reed.
Flute
To produce in a flutelike tone.
Reed
A narrow movable frame fitted with reed or metal strips that separate the warp threads in weaving.
Flute
To make flutes in (a column, for example).
Reed
(Architecture) A reeding.
Flute
(Music) To play a flute.
Reed
(countable) Any of various types of tall stiff perennial grass-like plants growing together in groups near water.
Flute
To sing, whistle, or speak with a flutelike tone.
Reed
(countable) The hollow stem of these plants.
Flute
A woodwind instrument consisting of a tube with a row of holes that produce sound through vibrations caused by air blown across the edge of the holes, often tuned by plugging one or more holes with a finger; the Western concert flute, a transverse side-blown flute of European origin.
Reed
Part of the mouthpiece of certain woodwind instruments, comprising a thin piece of wood or metal which shakes very quickly to produce sound when a musician blows over it.
Flute
(colloquial) A recorder, also a woodwind instrument.
Reed
A musical instrument such as the clarinet or oboe, which produces sound when a musician blows on the reed.
Flute
A glass with a long, narrow bowl and a long stem, used for drinking wine, especially champagne.
Reed
A comb-like part of a beater for beating the weft when weaving.
Flute
A lengthwise groove, such as one of the lengthwise grooves on a classical column, or a groove on a cutting tool (such as a drill bit, endmill, or reamer), which helps to form both a cutting edge and a channel through which chips can escape
Reed
A piece of whalebone or similar for stiffening the skirt or waist of a woman's dress.
Flute
A semicylindrical vertical groove, as in a pillar, in plaited cloth, or in a rifle barrel to cut down the weight.
Reed
Reeding.
Flute
A long French bread roll, baguette.
Reed
(mining) A tube containing the train of powder for igniting the charge in blasting.
Flute
An organ stop with a flute-like sound.
Reed
Straw prepared for thatching a roof.
Flute
A shuttle in weaving tapestry etc.
Reed
A missile weapon.
Flute
A kind of flyboat; a storeship.
Reed
A measuring rod.
Flute
(intransitive) To play on a flute.
Reed
A Babylonian unit of measure the length of a reed, equal to half a nindan, or six cubits.
Flute
(intransitive) To make a flutelike sound.
Reed
The fourth stomach of a ruminant; rennet.
Flute
(transitive) To utter with a flutelike sound.
Reed
(transitive) To thatch.
Flute
(transitive) To form flutes or channels in (as in a column, a ruffle, etc.); to cut a semicylindrical vertical groove in (as in a pillar, etc.).
Reed
To mill or mint with reeding.
Flute
A musical wind instrument, consisting of a hollow cylinder or pipe, with holes along its length, stopped by the fingers or by keys which are opened by the fingers. The modern flute is closed at the upper end, and blown with the mouth at a lateral hole.
The breathing flute's soft notes are heard around.
Reed
Simple past tense and past participle of ree
Flute
A similar channel or groove made in wood or other material, esp. in plaited cloth, as in a lady's ruffle.
Reed
Red.
Flute
A long French breakfast roll.
Reed
Same as Rede.
Flute
A stop in an organ, having a flutelike sound.
Reed
The fourth stomach of a ruminant; rennet.
Flute
A kind of flyboat; a storeship.
Reed
A name given to many tall and coarse grasses or grasslike plants, and their slender, often jointed, stems, such as the various kinds of bamboo, and especially the common reed of Europe and North America (Phragmites communis).
Flute
To play on, or as on, a flute; to make a flutelike sound.
Reed
A musical instrument made of the hollow joint of some plant; a rustic or pastoral pipe.
Arcadian pipe, the pastoral reedOf Hermes.
Flute
To play, whistle, or sing with a clear, soft note, like that of a flute.
Knaves are men,That lute and flute fantastic tenderness.
The redwing flutes his o-ka-lee.
Reed
An arrow, as made of a reed.
Flute
To form flutes or channels in, as in a column, a ruffle, etc.
Reed
Straw prepared for thatching a roof.
Flute
A high-pitched woodwind instrument; a slender tube closed at one end with finger holes on one end and an opening near the closed end across which the breath is blown
Reed
A small piece of cane or wood attached to the mouthpiece of certain instruments, and set in vibration by the breath. In the clarinet it is a single fiat reed; in the oboe and bassoon it is double, forming a compressed tube.
Flute
A tall narrow wineglass
Reed
A frame having parallel flat stripe of metal or reed, between which the warp threads pass, set in the swinging lathe or batten of a loom for beating up the weft; a sley. See Batten.
Flute
A groove or furrow in cloth etc especially the shallow concave groove on the shaft of a column
Reed
A tube containing the train of powder for igniting the charge in blasting.
Flute
Form flutes in
Reed
Same as Reeding.
Reed
Tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera Arundo and Phragmites
Reed
United States journalist who reported on the October Revolution from Petrograd in 1917; founded the Communist Labor Party in America in 1919; is buried in the Kremlin in Moscow (1887-1920)
Reed
United States physician who proved that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes (1851-1902)
Reed
A vibrator consisting of a thin strip of stiff material that vibrates to produce a tone when air streams over it;
The clarinetist fitted a new reed onto his mouthpiece
Reed
A musical instrument that sounds by means of a reed
Common Curiosities
Are flutes considered easier to play than reed instruments?
Ease of play varies by individual; flutes require control over airstream, while reeds need reed management and embouchure control.
How do players produce different notes on a flute compared to reed instruments?
On flutes, players change notes by covering holes or pressing keys; in reed instruments, keys are used to lengthen or shorten the air column.
What distinguishes a flute from reed instruments in sound production?
The flute uses the player's airstream across a hole, while reed instruments use a vibrating reed.
Can the material of a flute affect its sound?
Yes, the material (metal, wood, plastic) influences a flute's tone, with metal being brighter and wood warmer.
How is sound intensity controlled on a flute and reed instruments?
Sound intensity is controlled by airstream strength on a flute and by both airstream and reed manipulation on reed instruments.
Are there synthetic reeds, and how do they compare to cane reeds?
Yes, synthetic reeds exist and offer durability and consistency, though some players prefer cane for its natural sound quality.
Why do reed instruments use cane reeds?
Cane reeds are preferred for their flexibility and ability to produce a wide range of tonal colors.
What role do reeds play in the sound of a reed instrument?
Reeds are crucial; their vibration sets the air column inside the instrument in motion, producing sound.
What maintenance does a flute require compared to reed instruments?
Flutes need regular cleaning and occasional adjustment; reed instruments require reed care and also need cleaning and maintenance.
Can both flutes and reed instruments be used in all music genres?
Yes, both are versatile and used across genres, from classical and jazz to contemporary music.
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
