  General considerations   Dankworth, Sir John; saxophone
[Credit: Andrew Parsons/AP]Dankworth, Sir John; saxophoneAndrew
Parsons/APWind instruments exhibit great diversity in structure
and sonority and have been prominent in the music of all
cultures since prehistoric times. A system of classification of
these instruments must reflect and categorize the relationships
and the differences between the many varieties. The conventional
division of the symphony orchestra into sections has simplified
the grouping of wind instruments into woodwinds and brasses, but
this is an inaccurate classification that generally does not
apply outside Western culture. The fact that some modern
woodwinds, such as flutes and saxophones, are made of metal
whereas several ancestors of present-day brasses, such as the
cornett and the serpent, were typically made of wood illustrates
the unsuitability of a classification according to material.
The Sachs-Hornbostel system further classifies aerophones as
free aerophones or as wind ins