Wind-struments

Puffed Up reveals the inventive ways humans have turned compressed air into progress transforming our music, our tools, our transport and even our reach into space.

In the first episode, Professor Mark Miodownik takes a deep breath and blows open the hidden history of music, revealing how humans have been making melodies with nothing more than air, lungs and a bit of ingenuity.

Joined by pre‑historic instrument expert Simon O’Dwyer, Mark explores the earliest wind instruments: conches, horns, bones and shells that turned compressed breath into culture long before orchestras took the stage. We hear how ancient instrument makers discovered the power of back‑pressure and how new materials from bronze to brass expanded the range of what music could become.

With musical acoustics specialist Professor Murray Campbell, Mark uncovers the revolutionary invention of the valve and the moment brass instruments evolved from fanfares to symphonies, whilst raising the controversial question of whether a plastic brass band might sound just as good.

Producer: Mel Brown
Assistant Producer: Alex Rodway
Presenter: Mark Miodownik
Executive Producer: Sasha Feachem