Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

The Thin Piece of Cane Inside a Clarinet

7th grade nonfiction passage about how a clarinet reed works: 261 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade nonfiction how a clarinet reed works 261 words

The Thin Piece of Cane Inside a Clarinet

A clarinet is a long black tube covered with silver keys, but its sound begins in a tiny part that most listeners never see. At the top, held against the mouthpiece by a metal clamp, sits a flat sliver of cane called a reed. Without it, the instrument would make no music at all.

The reed is cut from a tall grass that grows in warm regions. It is shaved thin at one end, so that the tip bends easily while the thicker back stays firm. When a player puts the mouthpiece between the lips and blows, air has to squeeze through a narrow gap between the reed and the mouthpiece. The moving air makes the reed vibrate, opening and closing the gap many times each second, and these quick puffs of air travel into the tube as a steady musical note.

The tube then shapes that note. Holes along the body are covered by pads, which are worked by the keys. Opening a hole shortens the length of air that is vibrating inside, and a shorter column of air produces a higher pitch. Closing the holes lengthens the column and lowers the sound.

Reeds are surprisingly delicate. They are used wet, because a damp reed vibrates more smoothly, and they wear out after weeks of playing. A chip at the tip can make a squeak, so musicians often keep several in a case. Many players say that choosing a good reed matters as much as practicing, since a tiny difference in thickness can change the tone from rough to warm.

Questions

  1. What is a reed made from? in the text

  2. What happens when air squeezes through the gap between the reed and the mouthpiece? in the text

  3. What do the keys and pads control? in the text

  4. Why do players use their reeds wet? in the text

  5. What happens to the pitch when more holes are closed? think about it

  6. Why would a musician keep several reeds in a case? think about it

Words to know

reed
a thin strip of cane that vibrates to make sound
mouthpiece
the part of an instrument that goes in the mouth
vibrate
to move back and forth very quickly
pitch
how high or low a musical sound is
delicate
easily damaged or broken
Share

One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 209 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

A clarinet is a long black tube with silver keys. But its sound starts in a tiny part most people never see. At the top, held on the mouthpiece by a metal clamp, is a flat sliver of cane called a reed. Without it, the clarinet would make no music.

The reed is cut from a tall grass. It is shaved thin at one end. The tip bends easily, and the back stays firm. A player blows into the mouthpiece. The air must squeeze through a narrow gap between the reed and the mouthpiece. The moving air makes the reed vibrate. It opens and closes the gap many times each second. The quick puffs of air go into the tube as a steady note.

The tube then shapes the note. Holes in the body are covered by pads, and keys work the pads. Opening a hole shortens the air that is vibrating. Less air makes a higher pitch. Closing the holes makes the air longer and the sound lower.

Reeds are delicate. They are used wet, because a damp reed vibrates more smoothly. They wear out after weeks. A chip can make a squeak. So players keep spares in a case. A good reed matters as much as practice.

▲ This passage · 261 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8

A clarinet is a long black tube covered with silver keys, but its sound begins in a tiny part that most listeners never see. At the top, held against the mouthpiece by a metal clamp, sits a flat sliver of cane called a reed. Without it, the instrument would make no music at all.

The reed is cut from a tall grass that grows in warm regions. It is shaved thin at one end, so that the tip bends easily while the thicker back stays firm. When a player puts the mouthpiece between the lips and blows, air has to squeeze through a narrow gap between the reed and the mouthpiece. The moving air makes the reed vibrate, opening and closing the gap many times each second, and these quick puffs of air travel into the tube as a steady musical note.

The tube then shapes that note. Holes along the body are covered by pads, which are worked by the keys. Opening a hole shortens the length of air that is vibrating inside, and a shorter column of air produces a higher pitch. Closing the holes lengthens the column and lowers the sound.

Reeds are surprisingly delicate. They are used wet, because a damp reed vibrates more smoothly, and they wear out after weeks of playing. A chip at the tip can make a squeak, so musicians often keep several in a case. Many players say that choosing a good reed matters as much as practicing, since a tiny difference in thickness can change the tone from rough to warm.

■ Harder · 262 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.8

A clarinet is a long black tube dressed in silver keys, yet its sound originates in a tiny component that most listeners never notice. At the top, held against the mouthpiece by a metal clamp, rests a flat sliver of cane known as a reed. Without it, the instrument would produce no music whatsoever.

The reed is cut from a tall grass that flourishes in warm regions. It is shaved thin at one end, so that the tip bends readily while the thicker back stays firm. When a player places the mouthpiece between the lips and blows, the air must squeeze through a narrow gap between the reed and the mouthpiece. The rushing air sets the reed vibrating, opening and closing the gap many times each second, and these rapid puffs of air travel into the tube as a steady musical note.

The tube then shapes that note. Holes along the body are covered by pads, which are operated by the keys. Opening a hole shortens the length of air that is vibrating inside, and a shorter column of air produces a higher pitch. Closing the holes lengthens the column and lowers the sound.

Reeds are surprisingly delicate. They are played wet, because a damp reed vibrates more smoothly, and they wear out after several weeks of use. A chip at the tip can provoke a squeak, so musicians commonly keep several in a case. Many players insist that choosing a good reed matters as much as practicing, since a tiny difference in thickness can transform the tone from rough to warm.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put reed, mouthpiece, vibrate, pitch and delicate on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 3 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "The Thin Piece of Cane Inside a Clarinet"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 261 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.8. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 3 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.