Which instrument family includes the piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon?

The piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon belong to the woodwind family.

Woodwind instruments create sound by directing air through a tube, but they do not all use the same sound-producing method. Flutes and piccolos produce sound when air is blown across an opening, while oboes and bassoons use double reeds. Clarinets use a single reed attached to a mouthpiece.

The family name comes from the historical use of wood in many of these instruments, not from a rule that every modern woodwind must be wooden. Flutes may be made from silver, gold, or other metals, and many clarinets use plastic or composite materials. What unites the family is its air-column principle and the fingering or key systems used to change pitch.

In a standard symphony orchestra, woodwinds provide color, melody, blending, and solo lines. Saxophones are also woodwinds despite their metal bodies because they use a reed and follow the family’s acoustic classification.