tonewood

Tonewood refers to specific wood varieties used for woodwind or acoustic stringed instruments. The word implies that certain species exhibit qualities that enhance acoustic properties of the instruments, but other properties of the wood such as aesthetics and availability have always been considered in the selection of wood for musical instruments. According to ''Mottola's Cyclopedic Dictionary of Lutherie Terms, tonewood is:Wood that is used to make stringed musical instruments. The term is often used to indicate wood species that are suitable for stringed musical instruments and, by exclusion, those that are not. But the list of species generally considered to be tonewoods changes constantly and has changed constantly throughout history.

==Varieties of tonewood== As a rough generalization it can be said that stiff-but-light softwoods (i.e. from coniferous trees) are favored for the soundboards or soundboard-like surface that transmits the vibrations of the strings to the ambient air. Hardwoods (i.e. from deciduous trees) are favored for the body or framing element of an instrument. Woods used for woodwind instruments include African blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon) – also known as grenadilla – used in modern clarinets, oboes, and wooden concert flutes. Bassoons are usually made of hard maples, especially Norway maple (Acer platanoides), but sometimes palisander and rosewoods (Dalbergia spp.) is used in older or French-system bassoons. Wooden flutes, recorders, oboes, and early clarinet-like wind instruments of the Baroque and Classical periods may be made of various hardwoods, such as pear (Pyrus spp.), boxwood (Buxus spp.), or ebony (Diospyros spp.).