Jug (instrument) Jug (instrument) The jug used as a musical instrument is an empty jug (usually made of glass or stoneware) played with buzzed lips to produce a trombone-like tone. The characteristic sound of the jug is low and hoarse, below the higher pitch of the fiddle, harmonica, and the other instruments in the band. With an embouchure like that used for a brass instrument, the musician holds the mouth of the jug about an inch from their mouth and emits a blast of sound, made by a buzzing of the lips, directly into it. The jug does not touch the musician's
Reed (mouthpiece) "West Side Story" woodwind section would require twelve "classical" players instead of five "reed" players.) Reed (mouthpiece) A reed is a thin strip of material which vibrates to produce a sound on a musical instrument. The reeds of most woodwind instruments are made from "Arundo donax" ("Giant cane") or synthetic material; tuned reeds (as in harmonicas and accordions) are made of metal or synthetics. Musical instruments may be classified according to the type and number of reeds used. The earliest types of single-reed instruments used idioglottal reeds, where the vibrating reed is a tongue cut and shaped on the tube