Edge tones in jet/edge and jet/edge/resonator systems have fascinated researchers for more than 100 years, due, in part, to the complex behaviors associated with such a seemingly simple jet/edge geometry and the prevalence of flue instruments (organs, recorders, and flutes) classified as jet/edge/resonators. The present work examines tones produced in a soprano recorder at low blowing pressures—edge tones, whistle tones, and the combination tones generated when both are present at the same time—as a function of blowing pressure and fingered note. Tones at the lowest note fingerings and blowing pressures had frequencies that were independent of the fingered note, as expected for true edge tones. Higher note fingerings showed the same edge-tone-like features at low blowing pressures, and, at slightly higher pressures, the onset of a whistle tone region that included combination tones from a possible second edge tone mode. Hysteresis at the high pressure end of the whistle tone region allowed the whistle tones to be switched on and off with momentary perturbations of window region air flow. These observations will be compared to previous measurements by others on isolated jet/edge systems and various alto recorders. Work supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant PHY-2306035.
K. L. Saenger (2025) studied this question.