When tuning the Boatswain's pipe, through which material do you pass the broom straw?

• A. Willow
• B. Bamboo
• C. Reed
• D. Plastic straw

Answer: (C)

The key idea here is that the pitch of a boatswain’s pipe comes from a vibrating reed, the thin blade inside the mouthpiece. Tuning is done by adjusting that reed’s opening so it vibrates at the correct frequency. You use a broom straw by passing it through the reed to make small, controlled changes to how the reed vibrates, which shifts the pitch to the desired note. Materials like willow, bamboo, or plastic straw aren’t the vibrating element of the instrument, so they aren’t used in this tuning step. The reed is the proper medium through which the broom straw is passed because it’s the component that actually governs the tone.