(Ger. Rackett, Rankett; Fr. cervelas, cervelat; It. mochetta, cortalo). Obsolete wind instrument of the 16th and 17th centuries. Its DOUBLE REED is partly covered by its MOUTHPIECE, called a pirouette. The body, made of ivory or wood, is shaped like a small tree stump, while the tube consists of a connected series of narrow channels bored up and down the body. FINGERHOLES are bored obliquely into the channels, thus requiring a player to use the tip and middle joints of a finger to cover a hole. The racket also has ventholes and a water escape.

As a closed pipe, it sounds an octave lower than its length, but it cannot be overblown, so that the RANGES on the three types of racket are only an octave and a PERFECT FIFTH. The lowest racket (great bass) has a range C1-GO; the highest (soprano), G 0 -d 1 . The racket has had an occasional role in the EARLY MUSIC REVIVAL of the 20th century.