The aulos consists of a single cylindrical tube (similar to a recorder) with holes in the top and a mouthpiece. Originally the aulos was constructed of reed or bone, but eventually it was made of wood or ivory. At the player's end of the mouthpiece is the Holmos, a bulb of lathered wood or ivory used to hold the reed (thin pieces of wood that vibrate between the lips when air is forced through). The aulos was used with one or two reeds, though one was more common. Throughout the ancient Greek period the aulos contained three to five holes. The number of holes increased later, during the Roman period.

The holes were used to manipulate the tone, caused by a flow of air pushed through the instrument. The holes were covered in various combinations, using the fingers, to change the pitch. The aulos was played in pairs, with one player projecting two auloi from his or her mouth at the same time. The pair are not connected, but held by the player one in each hand, at an acute angle. They were held with the thumb on the bottom for support, and the fingers on top. The male players often wore a Greek phorbeia. This was a piece of clothing that encircled the neck with a strap on top of the head, and it covered the cheeks and lips, with small openings for the mouthpieces. It was designed to help the cheeks keep a strong flow of air and to keep the lips shut. For unknown reasons, only grown male players were known to wear a phorbeia. Some scholars say that one aulos was used to hold a constant drone (a note sustaining a long period of time) while the other was used for the melody. However, it is not impossible that both instruments were used together to produce more complex melodies.

Homer suggested that the aulos was used by people of the countryside and the common people; while, the lyre (kithara) was used mainly by the aristocratic warrior society. However, the aulos gained comparable status to the lyre because it was used to accompany the poetry of the Ionian lyricists. The basic distinction between the aulos and the lyre is that the lyre was used to assist the solo singer and the aulos' role was in choral poetry. The aulos was regularly used in the cult of Dionysus. Outside of Athens it was used for Spartan military maneuvers, Theben folk music, and accompaniment to athletic events. In the 5th and 4th centuries BC, Plato and Aristotle banned the aulos from their utopian states, because the aulos was connected to the Dionysian cult. This cult was viewed as barbarian and evil. The lyre, on the other hand, was favored in Athens since it was connected to the Apollonian cult which was viewed as good and calm.

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