- [Jake] I'm Jake.

- [Esther] I'm Esther.

- [Jake] I play music in a polka band.

- [Esther] I'm a soul and R&B singer and songwriter.

- [Jake] We love music so much.

- [Esther] And we wanna share that with you.

- [Jake & Esther] This is "In Tune."

(upbeat music) (hammer bangs) - Vibration.

(upbeat music) (jazzy music) - You know, Esther, tens of thousands of years ago, humans had wood.

- [Esther] These people also had wind.

The combination of these two ingredients created the woodwind musical instrument family as early as 900 BC.

- And this musical instrument family is still around today.

And despite the name woodwind, they can be made out of plastic, brass, silver, all kinds of stuff.

- So we asked a few friends to come show us some woodwind musical instruments that you might recognize.

- My name's Anayla and I play the flute.

(gentle flute music) So when I was in fifth grade, we got to try many types of different instruments.

When I got the sound of the flute, I just really wanted to play it.

When it's sad music and I understand it, I start to cry.

And when it's like going music and I get hyped up about it, it just makes me feel good and like smile.

- My name is Zane and I play the clarinet.

The clarinet is part of the woodwind family.

My mom took me to play at a tryout place.

First time I picked up a clarinet, I made a really good sound.

I think it's just an extension of myself.

It just feels like it belonged.

- My name's Summer.

I play tenor saxophone.

I play the saxophone because I like the way it sounds and looks.

Playing music makes me feel relaxed and happy.

Like, whenever I go to band, it's like my happy place.

It may seem hard at first, but as you keep on practicing and practicing, it gets easier and it begins to get really fun when you have certain opportunities.

In order to learn saxophone, you might wanna have a lot of determination.

It'll help you learn your instrument better if you really wanna, you know, be able to learn how to play it.

(jazzy saxophone music) - On woodwinds, air can either be blown across a tone hole like we saw on the flute, (gentle flute music) or across a little piece of wood or plastic called a reed like we saw in the saxophone and the clarinet.

(gentle saxophone music) No matter what, that air is causing vibrations, which create the sound you hear.

Wow, we have got some truly talented young woodwind players out there.

But right now, I want to introduce y'all to the guy who plays woodwinds in my band, the Chardon Polka Band.

And I've never seen anyone have more fun with their musical instrument than my buddy, Mitch Lawrence.

- And he got his start when he was about your age.

(upbeat jaunty saxophone music) (upbeat jaunty saxophone music continues) (upbeat jaunty saxophone music continues) - All right.

So Mitch, which one of these awesome instruments did you start playing first?

- Well, my first instrument was saxophone, and I started back in grade school.

- [Jake] So how did it impact you as a kid when you started learning woodwinds?

- Well, I was just a normal kid at first, all the way up until, you know, like the time I started in band in grade school.

I would just run around like crazy.

But the saxophone gave me something where I could sit down and focus and concentrate.

- Can I ask you, how does playing an instrument make you feel?

- Well, you know, playing an instrument makes me feel just really focused and in the zone.

And it's kinda like I'm part of something much larger.

You know, it kind of gives you a chance to interact with people.

It's like we're all just learning together.

Playing an instrument is just therapeutic.

It makes me more relaxed and it's fun, obviously.

- I don't see anybody having more fun with their instrument than I see you having.

It is mesmerizing.

(upbeat music) Remember that Mitch's saxophone and clarinet both have reeds that air moves across to make the sound we hear.

Mitch creates the different notes we hear by pushing different keys on his instruments.

(upbeat clarinet music) A flute is also a woodwind instrument that Mitch plays, but remember, it doesn't have a reed.

Instead, you blow air across a tone hole, which vibrates to create sound.

(gentle flowing flute music) (gentle flowing flute music cont - Now, the way a flute works is you're blowing across a tone hole like a water bottle.

(bottle whistles) And as you change the water level, the pitch changes because the distance changes just like flutes and the key work on flutes.

Hang on a minute.

(bottle whistles) You see, as the length becomes longer, the pitch becomes lower and vice versa.

If I were to undrink this water, I would be able to achieve a higher note.

Or if it rains a lot.

(thunder crashes) - We loved hearing Mitch talk about his music and we hope you did, too.

Learning an instrument at a young age can be incredible.

- That's right.

And you guys can ask your music to try out the woodwinds.

And Mitch showed us a way that you can produce sound just like a woodwind instrument using a plastic bottle.

- And here's some inspiration.

(light music) ♪ In tune, in tune ♪ (light music) ♪ In tune, in tune ♪ - I like what you did there.

That was good 'cause if you can make sound, then you can make music.

(camera beeps) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues and fade