A tall, slender grass that grows in wetlands. Also refers to the thin piece of cane or metal that vibrates to produce sound in wind instruments.
From Old English hrēod, related to Proto-Germanic *kreuda. The musical instrument meaning developed because early reed instruments literally used marsh reeds as sound-producing elements.
Reed instruments beautifully demonstrate biomimicry in music - humans discovered that the same plant structures that whisper in marshland winds could be harnessed to create the voices of oboes, clarinets, and saxophones.
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