Rackett

Other Names: N/A
Type: Reed
Origin: During the Renaissance, in Europe
In Redwall: N/A
Appearance: The rackett looks like a cylinder topped by a smaller cylinder, the latter of which has several long slits.  There are finger holes on the larger cylinder.  A reed is held in the top cylinder, but the cylinder is not a wind cap.  Within the large cylinder are nine channels, all interconnected.  This is a complex version of the double-bore principal seen in the bassoon.
Use: The player blows through the reed to make sound come from the rackett.  The many different channels within the instrument give it a deep sound, surprising in such a small instrument, and also make the fingering fairly convoluted.  It is difficult to clean out the rackett due to the convolutions within, and some racketts had brass tubes extending from the instrument to make this process simpler.  The tone is warm, rich, and versatile.  It was played in polyphonic (multi-instrumental) music, often with other woodwinds and with strings.
For More Information:
The Rackett