• A clarinet is a typical single-reed wind instrument.Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
  
  A wind instrument is any kind of musical instrument played by having air blown through it, whether woodwind or brass. While each wind instrument has specific requirements for its playing, some techniques are common within the instrument families. Mouth muscle, blowing and fingering techniques produce the sounds of wind instruments within musical ensembles.
  
  

Brass Buzzing

• Production of tone on a brass instrument requires blowing air through tightly pursed lips to create a buzzing sound. This is essentially a form of singing with the lips, making them vibrate in the same way vocal chords do to produce pitches. Brass players must master a basic buzz, then master control of moving their lip vibrations along with the natural acoustic vibrations of the instrument.
  
  

Flute

• Making a sound on a flute requires using your mouth muscles in techniques similar to those used for a brass instrument. Instead of being tightly pursed, however, lips are held slightly apart and air is blown through at a higher volume. The air stream contacts the edge of the mouthpiece of the flute, a round metal hole that's held perpendicular to the mouth. When the air hits the corner of the mouthpiece hole, it vibrates and produces a sound. The flute player must learn to control airstream and develop the lung capacity and control to put out a large quantity of air.
  
  

Reed

• Reed woodwind instruments are played when the player's air stream causes thin strips of wood to vibrate. Techniques for making this happen depend on whether the instrument has a mouthpiece with a single reed, or two reeds attached back to back. Single reeds are played by pressing the reed against the mouthpiece with the bottom lip while blowing to vibrate it. Double reeds are pressed by the lips on both sides while blowing, a process which requires a good deal of strength and air pressure.
  
  

Fingering

• While each wind instrument has its own set of fingerings, the techniques are largely consistent within the instrument families. Woodwind instruments are played by covering and uncovering holes on the body of the instrument. Some of these holes are covered by the player's fingertips, while others are covered by key mechanisms the player operates, making it possible to cover and uncover multiple holes with a single finger. Brass instruments, on the other hand, are played by compressing and releasing keys which operate internal valves. The valves control the flow of air into different parts of the instrument, effectively changing the horn's tubing length. The only exception to this is the trombone, which is played by changing the position of a slide made of interlocking tubes.