chalumeau

noun

cha·lu·meau | \ ¦shalə¦mō\

plural chalumeaux\ -ōz \

Definition of chalumeau

1a : a medieval wind instrument consisting of an upright tube surmounted by a small tube in which was fixed a double reed : shawm

b : an obsolete single-reed wind instrument of varying size that after progressive modifications became the clarinet

2 : chanter sense 3

3 : the lowest register of the clarinet —often used as a direction to play a passage an octave lower

4 : a reed organ pipe usually of 8-foot pitch and of clarinetlike tone

— called also schalmei

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