A Blade Song

A reed is a wind instrument with a single or double reed like a saxophone or an oboe. But I bet you wouldn't guess the simplest kind of reed instrument I know--a blade of grass positioned between your thumbs.
Yep, you can make your very own mechanism of music by stepping outside, selecting a wide piece of grass (a reed, if you will), and placing it taut between your thumbs.

After you've handcrafted your apparatus, purse your lips and blow through the hole. The wind will cause your reed to vibrate and make a high-pitched sound, similar to a small animal in distress. Eventually.

In the meantime, you'll most likely produce more spray than song. And once you do get it, you run the risk of the vibrating blade cutting your lips. Oh and also, the small-animal-in-distress noise can attract predators like mountain lions and coyotes.

Remember, all musicians make sacrifices for their craft, so forget about the risk of death for a minute and consider this: with practice, your new instrument can have a range of up to three octaves, depending on the blade you select, the intensity of your breath, and the position of your hands.


Making music from nature--does it get more poetic? I submit that it does not. So come and blade whistle with me, my friend. I'll take melody, you take harmony.