Renaissance Shawm

Unlike the medieval shawm, the late Middle Ages and Renaissance shawm uses a broad cane reed controlled by the player's lips. With the smaller size shawms, the reed could be placed inside a pirouette, a funnel shaped protector against which the player places his lips. This pirouette not only protects the reed, but also helps avoid lip fatique.

The shawm band enlivened the palace courtyard and market square of the sixteenth century and added to the general din and confusion associated with them.