Free reed aerophone: Encyclopedia II - Free reed aerophone - History

Free reed aerophone - History

The most likely precursor to free reed aerophones is the Jew's harp, an instrument known to many cultures throughout the world, and by many names. In this instrument, the main sound producer is the vibrating reed tongue itself, rather than the air flow.

Various free reed instruments appear to have been invented since antiquity, and are depicted in literature from Greece and Egypt. Among the ancient instruments, the Khene of Laos and the Sheng of China have survived to modern times. It has been claimed that the Sheng was brought to Saint Petersburg, Russia near the end of the 18th century, inspiring a series of inventions in the early 19th century that were the foundation of the development of the modern free reeds; Cyrill Demian's (see below) patent of 1829 however states that the reeds in his instrument "were known for more than 200 years as Regale, Zungen, Schnarrwerk, in organs."

Some notable early modern free reed instruments:

• Querhammerflügel with Aoline, circa 1810, made by Johann Kasper Schlimbach at Königshofen Bayern, using steel reeds and frames made in one part.
• The hand-aeoline, by Christian Buschmann, 1822.
• The accordion, patented in 1829 by Cyrill Demian.
• The concertina, patented in two forms (perhaps independently):
  • Sir Charles Wheatstone, 1844.
  • Carl Friedrich Uhlig, 1834.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki