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Woodwind section

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Woodwind section

The woodwind section, which consists of woodwind instruments, is one of the main sections of an orchestra or concert band. Woodwind sections contain instruments given Hornbostel-Sachs classifications of 421 (edge-blown aerophones, commonly known as flutes) and 422 (reed aerophones), but exclude 423 (brass instruments, which have their own section.)

The woodwind section of a symphony orchestra typically includes flutes (sometimes with one doubling piccolo), oboes (sometimes with one doubling cor anglais), clarinets (sometimes with one doubling bass clarinet and/or another doubling E-flat clarinet), and bassoons (sometimes with one doubling contrabassoon). In the early part of the 20th century the woodwinds (as well as other sections) were often considerably expanded. For example, Mahler in his Symphony No. 8 (1910) employs 2 piccolos, 4 flutes, 4 oboes, cor anglais, 2 E-flat clarinets, 3 B-flat clarinets, bass clarinet, 4 bassoons, and contrabassoon. After World War I, the number of instruments was often reduced, approaching the size of a chamber orchestra, with individual instrument combinations differing for each composition. The change can be illustrated by comparing two works by Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (1911–1913) with a large woodwinds section similar to the above and his Histoire du soldat (1918), which only utilizes one clarinet and one bassoon.

The woodwind section of the orchestra today usually consists of:

For early classical music, the clarinets may be omitted. The principal flutist is traditionally the section leader. The evolution of this section can be seen over Mozart's Symphonies. When emulating the classical style, Sergei Prokofiev used the above combination in his First Symphony.

The woodwind section of the orchestra frequently also includes one or more of the following, in typical score order:

Less commonly used, in typical score order, are:

The woodwind section of the concert band is generally much larger than the woodwind section of the orchestra. Also, the concert band generally has a larger variety of woodwind instruments than the orchestra.

The woodwind section of the concert band commonly contains, in normal score order[citation needed]:

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