Tongue (sound generator)
A tongue is a component of many musical instruments that is involved in generating vibrations . It is a single-sided attached leaf made of flexible material that is made to vibrate by a stream of air.
Basic types
Reed
Many woodwind instruments have reeds and are therefore also called reed instruments. This type of tongue does not show a very pronounced natural frequency, but the vibration frequency (pitch) is determined by the column of air in the instrument. Since this column of air can be changed by the player, a single reed on the instrument is sufficient to produce all pitches within a large range (e.g. three octaves ).
Other reeds
The tongue in the narrower sense (namely in the form of a punch-through tongue, see below) is used, for example, in harmonica instruments such as the harmonica and the accordion . Under normal conditions it vibrates with its natural frequency given by its material and dimensions . To put it simply, each reed produces only a single pitch . A column of air (resonance chamber) connected to the tongue affects the timbre, but the volume and pitch are only slightly affected. In practice, the term tongue or reed tongue usually refers to this basic type. For a more detailed description, see the main article: Penetrating tongue .
Despite this essential difference in function, both types are often referred to indiscriminately in the general music theory literature as tongues or lamellae . In the instrument system of Hornbostel and Sachs, both reed and reed instruments are self-sounding interruption aerophones .
Designs
There are three possible designs for both basic types: as a penetrating tongue , an opening tongue and a counter-striking tongue.
The penetrating tongue, also known as the free-swinging tongue or reed tongue , can swing through an associated opening. The vibration is created by a stream of air pushing the tongue through the opening so that it can pass. The resilient tongue swings back through the opening, briefly closing the opening, which interrupts the flow of air. The resulting back pressure pushes the tongue back through the opening, etc.
The opening tongue - simply called reed as a reed - is attached to a support in front of an opening and closes it up to a gap. When blowing, the air flow flows through the opening, the gap is closed by the negative pressure generated by the flow, the air flow is thus interrupted, the tongue swings back to its original position, the air can again stroke through the opening, etc.
The counter - impact tongue - known as a reed double reed - consists of two identical tongues that are attached to the end of an air pipe, are mirror images of each other and leave a narrow gap between them when at rest. The air flows through this gap into the pipe. The negative pressure of the flow causes the tongues to strike against each other and thus close the gap. The spring action of the tongues opens the gap again, etc.
Reeds material
The single or double reeds of woodwind instruments are made from stilt cane that grows in southern France , Spain and Argentina . Hence the name reed. Musicians usually simply call the finished double reed mouthpiece a pipe.
Polystyrene is also used today for double reeds in bagpipes . The material is often cut from the side walls of yoghurt pots, since in this case the material already has the necessary curvature. There are also oboe and bassoon reeds made of fiberglass, for example for practice purposes.
Material for other tongues
Metal is mainly used for piercing tongues. Some opening tongues are also made of metal. The tongues for accordions used to be made of bronze or brass , today mostly steel . The reeds for harmonica are still made from special brass alloys today , because steel reeds would corrode (rust) from the humid air. But other materials for reeds are also conceivable, for example prototypes of reeds were made from titanium .
In bagpipes , polystyrene or fiberglass-reinforced plastic is now used for the flapping tongues of drone pipes . Children's plastic harmonicas usually have plastic reeds.
Instruments with reed
Single reed
Musicians refer to the single reed as the “reed” for short. Single reeds are used on the mouthpieces of clarinets and saxophones . The Launeddas from Sardinia and the Sipsi from the Near East are among the oldest instruments with a single reed .
Double reed
Musicians refer to the double reed as the “pipe” for short. Double reeds are used on shawm instruments such as the oboe , bassoon , suona , zurna , pi chanai , pi or and in the chanter of many bagpipe shapes . One of the oldest instruments with double reeds is the aulos from Greece. The sound of the ancient Greek auloi is similar to that of the duduk played in modern-day Armenia .
Other instruments with tongues
Penetrating tongue
Instruments with punch reeds include the harmonium , the accordion and its variants, the harmonica , the East and Southeast Asian mouth organs ( Sheng , Shō , Khaen , Qeej , Hulusi ) and some organ pipes . The Bawu , which looks like a flute, has a single punch, its pitch can be changed over an octave by means of finger holes; to that extent it stands between the tongue and reed instruments.
With the jew's harp , the tongue that breaks through is stimulated by a finger. The simultaneous flow of breathing air only amplifies and lengthens the sound; due to its construction, it is rarely used for the actual sound generation.
Opening tongue
Opening tongues are used in the drone pipes of many bagpipes and especially in most of the lingual pipes of organs.
Counter strike tongue
There are counter blows in the drone pipes of some bagpipes.
Influences on the pitch of tongues
The pitch is influenced by the dimensions, the material and the shape of the tongue as well as the impact surface of the tongues and, to a lesser extent, the air pressure . The height of the resulting sound depends on the mass distribution of the tongue. A swinging or whipping tongue can be tuned higher by taking some material off the free end, which makes it lose inertia , or lower by adding some material there. It also becomes deeper if you remove material in the middle. In general, piercing tongues respond less to changes in air pressure than striking tongues and counter-punching tongues.
