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{{short description|Woodwind instrument}}
{{About|the whole family of side-blown, end-blown, globe, and duct instruments|the flute commonly used in orchestras|Western concert flute}}
{{About|the whole family of instruments|the flute commonly used in orchestras and bands|Western concert flute|other uses}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
] and other flutes]]
{{Brass}}
The '''flute''' is a member of a family of musical instruments in the ] group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are ], producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In the ] classification system, flutes are ].<ref>{{cite journal |title= Classification of Musical Instruments: Translated from the Original German by Anthony Baines and Klaus P. Wachsmann |author1-first= Erich M. |author1-last= von Hornbostel |author2-first=Curt |author2-last= Sachs |journal= The Galpin Society Journal |volume= 14 |date= March 1961| pages= 24–25 |doi= 10.2307/842168 |jstor= 842168 |url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/842168 |quote= 4 Aerophones The air itself is the vibrator in the primary sense&nbsp;... 421 Edge instruments or flutes a narrow stream of air is directed against an edge}}</ref> A musician who plays the flute is called a '''flautist''' or '''flutist'''.


]s with hand-bored holes are the earliest known identifiable musical instruments. A number of flutes dating to about 53,000 to 45,000 years ago have been found in the ] region of present-day ], indicating a developed musical tradition from the earliest period of modern human presence in ].<ref name="NYTimes">{{Cite journal| last = Wilford| first = John N.| title = Flutes Offer Clues to Stone-Age Music | volume =459| issue = 7244| pages = 248–52| date = 24 June 2009 | pmid = 19444215| doi = 10.1038/nature07995 |bibcode = 2009Natur.459..248C | journal = Nature | s2cid = 205216692}}. Citation on p. 248.
]
*{{cite news |author=John Noble Wilford |date=June 24, 2009 |title=Flutes Offer Clues to Stone-Age Music |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/science/25flute.html |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="jhevol">{{Cite journal| title = Τesting models for the beginnings of the Aurignacian and the advent of figurative art and music: The radiocarbon chronology of Geißenklösterle | journal = Journal of Human Evolution|year=2012 | doi = 10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.03.003| last1 = Higham| first1 = Thomas| last2 = Basell| first2 = Laura| last3 = Jacobi| first3 = Roger| last4 = Wood| first4 = Rachel| last5 = Ramsey| first5 = Christopher Bronk| last6 = Conard| first6 = Nicholas J.| volume = 62| issue = 6| pages = 664–76| pmid = 22575323| bibcode = 2012JHumE..62..664H}}</ref> While the oldest flutes currently known were found in Europe, Asia also has a long history with the instrument. A playable bone flute discovered in China is dated to about 9,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Brookhaven Lab Expert Helps Date Flute Thought to be Oldest Playable Musical Instrument, Bone flute found in China at 9,000-year-old Neolithic site |date=September 22, 1999 |publisher=Brookhaven National Laboratory |url=https://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/1999/bnlpr092299.html |access-date=December 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030084138/http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/1999/bnlpr092299.html |archive-date=October 30, 2007}}</ref> The Americas also had an ancient flute culture, with instruments found in ], ], dating back 5,000 years <ref>{{cite web |title= Music in the Ancient Andes |publisher= Metropolitan Museum of Art |access-date= 10 December 2020 | url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/muan/hd_muan.htm |quote=Thirty-two tubular horizontal flutes were discovered in Caral&nbsp;... made with pelican and condor bones could produce seven different sounds&nbsp;... the discoveries at Caral proved that music was an integral part of the ritual life of the Andean people 5000 years ago.}}</ref> and in ] dating back about 7,500 years.<ref name="Goss_2019_dev_flutes_northamerica">{{cite web |last=Goss |first=Clint |title=The Development of Flutes in North America |url=http://www.Flutopedia.com/dev_flutes_northamerica.htm |date=22 November 2019 |website=Flutopedia |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref>
{{Woodwinds}}
The '''flute''' is a ] of the ] family. Unlike woodwind instruments with ], a flute is an ] or ] that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening. According to the instrument classification of ], flutes are categorized as ].


The ] has a long history, especially in China and India. Flutes have been discovered in historical records and artworks starting in the ] ({{Circa}}1046–256 BC). The oldest written sources reveal the Chinese were using the ] (a reed instrument) and ] (or xiao, an ], often of bamboo) in the 12th–11th centuries BC, followed by the chi (or ch'ih) in the 9th century BC and the yüeh in the 8th century BC.<ref name=sachs1>{{cite book |title= The History of Musical Instruments |last=Sachs |first= Kurt |publisher= W. W. Norton & Company |place= New York |date= 1940|pages= 178–179 }}</ref> Of these, the bamboo chi is the oldest documented ].<ref name=sachs1/><ref>{{cite web |title=Ancient Chinese Musical Instrument's Depicted On Some Of The Early Monuments In The Museum|publisher= ]|url=https://www.penn.museum/sites/journal/1401/ |quote=The ] (c. 400 B.C.) says the ch'ih was made of bamboo, its length was 16 inches, one hole opened upwards, and it was blown transversely. }}</ref>
A ] who plays the flute can be referred to as a ''flute player'', a '']'', a ''flutist'', or less commonly a ''fluter''.


Musicologist ] called the cross flute (Sanskrit: vāṃśī) "the outstanding wind instrument of ancient India", and said that religious artwork depicting "celestial music" instruments was linked to music with an "aristocratic character".<ref name=sachs2>{{cite book |title= The History of Musical Instruments |last=Sachs |first= Kurt |publisher= W. W. Norton & Company |place= New York |date= 1940|pages= 158–159, 180 }}</ref> The Indian bamboo cross flute, ], was sacred to ], who is depicted with the instrument in ] art.<ref name=sachs2/> In India, the ] appeared in reliefs from the 1st century AD at ] and ] from the 2nd–4th centuries AD.<ref name=sachs2/><ref name=MusINstrNepal>{{cite book |title=Musical Instruments of Nepal |last=Kadel |first=Ram Prasad |publisher=Nepali Folk Instrument Museum |place=Katmandu, Nepal| date=2007 |pages= 45|isbn= 978-99946-883-0-2|quote=Banshi&nbsp;... \transverse flute&nbsp;... made from bamboo with six finger holes&nbsp;... known as Lord Krishna's instrument.}}</ref>
Aside from the voice, flutes are the ]. A number of flutes dating to about 40,000 to 35,000 years ago have been found in the ] region of ]. These flutes demonstrate that a developed musical tradition existed from the earliest period of modern human presence in Europe.<ref name="NYTimes">{{Cite journal| last = Wilford | first = John N. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Flutes Offer Clues to Stone-Age Music | journal = The New York Times | volume = 459| issue = 7244| pages = 248–52| publisher = | location = | date = June 24, 2009 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/science/25flute.html |accessdate=June 29, 2009 | issn = | pmid = 19444215| doi = 10.1038/nature07995 | id = |bibcode = 2009Natur.459..248C }}. Citation on p. 248.</ref>

According to historian Alexander Buchner, there were flutes in Europe in prehistoric times, but they disappeared from the continent until flutes arrived from Asia by way of "North Africa, Hungary, and Bohemia".<ref name=pichistory>{{cite book |last= Buchner |first= Alexander |title= Colour Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments |publisher= Hamlyn |place= New York | date= 1980 | isbn= 0-600-36421-6|pages=64–65}}</ref> The end-blown flute began to be seen in illustration in the 11th century.<ref name=pichistory/> Transverse flutes entered Europe through ] and were depicted in Greek art about 800 AD.<ref name=sachs3>{{cite book |title= The History of Musical Instruments |last=Sachs |first= Kurt |publisher= W. W. Norton & Company |place= New York |date= 1940|pages= 287–288 }}</ref> The transverse flute had spread into Europe by way of Germany, and was known as the German flute.<ref name=sachs3/>

==Etymology and terminology==
The word ''flute'' first appeared in the English language during the ] period, as ''floute'',<ref name="Flute">{{cite web| url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/flute|title=Flute|publisher=The Free Dictionary By Farlex|access-date=25 May 2012}}</ref> ''flowte'', or ''flo(y)te'',<ref name="C Weiner 1989">Simpson, J. A. and Weiner, E. S. C. (eds.), "flute, ''n.1''", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', second edition. 20 vols. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. {{ISBN|0-19-861186-2}}.</ref> possibly from ] ''flaute'' and ] ''flaüt'',<ref name="Flute"/> or possibly from Old French ''fleüte'', ''flaüte'', ''flahute'' via ] ''floite'' or ] ''fluit''. The English verb ''flout'' has the same linguistic root, and the modern Dutch verb ''fluiten'' still shares the two meanings.<ref name=Fenwick/> Attempts to trace the word back to the Latin ''flare'' (to blow, inflate) have been called "phonologically impossible" or "inadmissable".<ref name="C Weiner 1989"/> The first known use of the word ''flute'' was in the 14th century.<ref>{{cite dictionary| url= http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flute|title=Flute|dictionary=Merriam-Webster|access-date=25 May 2012}}</ref> According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', this was in ]'s '']'', {{Circa|1380}}.<ref name="C Weiner 1989"/>

A musician who plays any instrument in the flute family can be called a flutist,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/flutist |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111070642/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/flutist |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 January 2015 |title=Flutist |work=Oxford English Dictionary (American English) |access-date=5 January 2015}}</ref> flautist,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/flautist |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111061750/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/flautist |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 January 2015 |title=Flautist |work=Oxford English Dictionary (British & World English) |access-date=5 January 2015}}</ref> or flute player. ''Flutist'' dates back to at least 1603, the earliest quotation cited by the ''Oxford English Dictionary''. ''Flautist'' was used in 1860 by ] in '']'', after being adopted during the 18th century from Italy (''flautista'', itself from ''flauto''), like many musical terms in England since the ]. Other English terms, now virtually obsolete, are ''fluter'' (15th–19th centuries)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/72222 |title=Fluter (c.1400) |work=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster%27s&word=fluter |title=Fluter |work=Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language |access-date=5 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111061314/http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster%27s&word=fluter |archive-date=11 January 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fluter |title=Fluter |work=Random House Dictionary and Collins English Dictionary |access-date=5 January 2015}}</ref> and ''flutenist'' (17th and 18th centuries).<ref name=Fenwick>{{cite web |url=http://www.fenwicksmith.com/miscellany_flautist.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116191634/http://www.fenwicksmith.com/miscellany_flautist.html |archive-date=16 January 2014 |title=Is it flutist or flautist? |first=Fenwick |last=Smith |access-date=5 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gTElurCu-WYC&pg=PA2291 |title=Flutenist |work=The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia |access-date=5 January 2015|year=1906 }}</ref>


==History== ==History==
{{See|paleolithic flutes|prehistoric music}} {{Further|Paleolithic flutes|Prehistoric music}}

] remake of the ''Night Revels of Han Xizai'', originally by ] (10th century)]]
{{multiple image|caption_align=center|header_align=center
The oldest flute ever discovered may be a fragment of the ] of a juvenile ], with two to four holes, found at ] in ] and dated to about 43,000 years ago. However, this has been disputed.<ref>{{cite web
| align = right
| image2 = Gu Hongzhong's Night Revels, Detail 4.jpg
| width2 = 250
| alt2 = 12th-century art, Chinese women playing flutes
| caption2 = Chinese women playing flutes, from the 12th-century ] remake of the ''Night Revels of Han Xizai'', originally by ] (10th century)
| image1 = Sri Mariamman Temple Singapore 2 amk.jpg
| width1 = 154
| alt1 = Statue of Krishna playing a flute
| caption1 =Statue of ] playing a flute}}

A fragment of a juvenile ]'s ], with two to four holes, was found at ] in ] and dated to about 43,000 years ago. It may be the oldest flute discovered, but this has been disputed.<ref>{{cite web
| author = Tenenbaum, David | author = Tenenbaum, David
| month = June | year = 2000 | date = June 2000
| url = http://whyfiles.org/114music/4.html | url = http://whyfiles.org/114music/4.html
| title = Neanderthal jam | title = Neanderthal jam
| work = The Why Files | work = The Why Files
| publisher = University of Wisconsin, Board of Regents | publisher = University of Wisconsin, Board of Regents
| accessdate = 14 March 2006 | access-date = 14 March 2006
| archive-date = 5 January 2001
}}</ref><ref>, UCLA. Retrieved June 2007.</ref> In 2008 another flute dated back to at least 35,000 years ago was discovered in ] cave near ], ].<ref></ref> The five-holed flute has a V-shaped mouthpiece and is made from a ] wing bone. The researchers involved in the discovery officially published their findings in the journal ], in August 2009.<ref>{{Cite journal
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20010105225500/http://whyfiles.org/114music/4.html
| url-status = dead
}}</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901093813/http://cogweb.ucla.edu/ep/FluteDebate.html |date=1 September 2006 }}, UCLA. Retrieved June 2007.</ref> In 2008, a flute dated to at least 35,000 years ago was discovered in ] cave near ], ].<ref>Ghosh, Pallab. (25 June 2009) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001180212/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8117915.stm |date=1 October 2010 }}. BBC News. Retrieved on 2013-08-10.</ref> It is a five-holed flute with a V-shaped mouthpiece and was made from a ] wing bone. The discovery was published in the journal '']'', in August 2009.<ref>{{Cite journal
| doi = 10.1038/nature08169 | doi = 10.1038/nature08169
| year = 2009 |date=August 2009
|author1=Nicholas J. Conard |author2=Maria Malina |author3=Susanne C. Münzel | title = New Flutes Document the Earliest Musical Tradition in Southwestern Germany
| month = August
| author = Nicholas J. Conard, Maria Malina, and Susanne C. Münzel
| title = New Flutes Document the Earliest Musical Tradition in Southwestern Germany
| volume = 460 | volume = 460
| pages = 737–40 | pages = 737–40
Line 34: Line 57:
| issue = 7256 | issue = 7256
| bibcode=2009Natur.460..737C | bibcode=2009Natur.460..737C
|s2cid=4336590
}}</ref> The discovery is also the oldest confirmed find of any musical instrument in history.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news|title='Oldest musical instrument' found |publisher=BBC news |date=2009-06-25 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8117915.stm |accessdate=2009-06-26}}</ref> The flute, one of several found, was found in the ] next to the ] and a short distance from the oldest known ] carving.<ref>{{cite web|title=Music for cavemen |publisher=] |date=2009-06-24 |url=http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/06/24/1976108.aspx |accessdate=2009-06-26}}</ref> On announcing the discovery, scientists suggested that the "finds demonstrate the presence of a well-established musical tradition at the time when modern humans colonized Europe".<ref>{{cite news|title=Flutes Offer Clues to Stone-Age Music |publisher=The New York Times |date=2009-06-24 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/science/25flute.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss |accessdate=2009-06-26}}</ref> Scientists have also suggested that the discovery of the flute may help to explain "the probable behavioural and cognitive gulf between" ] and ].<ref name=BBC/>
}}</ref> This was the oldest confirmed musical instrument ever found,<ref name=BBC>{{cite news|title='Oldest musical instrument' found |work=BBC News |date=25 June 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8117915.stm |access-date=26 June 2009}}</ref> until a redating of flutes found in ] cave revealed them to be older, at 42,000 to 43,000 years.<ref name="jhevol"/>


The Hohle Fels flute is one of several found in the ] next to the ] and a short distance from the oldest known human carving.<ref>{{cite web |title=Music for cavemen |publisher=] |date=24 June 2009 |url=http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/06/24/1976108.aspx |access-date=26 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626032243/http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/06/24/1976108.aspx |archive-date=26 June 2009 |quote=Scientists say they've found what they consider to be the earliest handcrafted musical instrument in a cave in southwest Germany, less than a yard away from the oldest-known carving of a human. The flute fragments as well as the ivory figurine of a 'prehistoric Venus' date back more than 35,000 years, the researchers report&nbsp;... the real prize is a nearly complete flute hollowed out from the bone of a griffon vulture&nbsp;... found in the Hohle Fels cave, just 28 inches (70 centimeters) away from the spot where the prehistoric Venus&nbsp;... was found}}</ref> On announcing the discovery, scientists suggested that the "finds demonstrate the presence of a well-established musical tradition at the time when modern humans colonized Europe".<ref>{{cite news|title=Flutes Offer Clues to Stone-Age Music |newspaper=The New York Times |date=24 June 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/science/25flute.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss |access-date=26 June 2009}}</ref> Scientists have also suggested that this flute's discovery may help to explain "the probable behavioural and cognitive gulf between" ] and ].<ref name=BBC/>
A three-holed flute, 18.7&nbsp;cm long, made from a ] tusk (from the ] cave, near Ulm, in the southern German ] and dated to 30,000 to 37,000 years ago)<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2004/12/30/flute-prehistoric041230.html | title=Archeologists discover ice age dwellers' flute | work=CBC Arts | publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | date=2004-12-30 | accessdate=2009-04-21}}</ref> was discovered in 2004, and two flutes made from ] bones excavated a decade earlier (from the same cave in Germany, dated to circa 36,000 years ago) are among the oldest known musical instruments.
]'', mid-13th century, Spain]]
Playable 9000-year-old ] (literally, "bone flute"), made from the wing bones of red-crowned cranes, with five to eight holes each, were excavated from a tomb in ]<ref>. BBC. Retrieved July 2007.</ref> in the Central Chinese province of Henan.<ref>{{Cite journal
| author = Zhang, Juzhong
| coauthors = Xiao, Xinghua, Lee, Yun Kuen
| year = 2004
| month = December
| title = The early development of music. Analysis of the Jiahu bone flutes
| journal = Antiquity
| volume = 78
| issue = 302
| pages = 769–778
| url = http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/078/Ant0780769.htm
}}</ref>


]
The earliest extant Chinese transverse flute is a ''chi'' (]) flute discovered in the ] at the ] site, ] province, ]. It dates from 433 BC, of the later ].<ref>{{cite book|title=Xun Xu and the politics of precision in third-century AD China|author=Howard L. Goodman|publisher=]|year=2010|page=226|isbn=900418337X}}</ref> It is fashioned of ]ed bamboo with closed ends and has five stops that are at the flute's side instead of the top. Chi flutes are mentioned in ], compiled and edited by ], according to tradition.
An 18.7&nbsp;cm flute with three holes, made from a ] tusk and dated to 30,000–37,000 years ago, was found in 2004 in the ] cave near Ulm, in the southern German ].<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/archeologists-discover-ice-age-dwellers-flute-1.518045| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528034505/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2004/12/30/flute-prehistoric041230.html| archive-date=28 May 2009| title=Archeologists discover ice age dwellers' flute | work=CBC Arts | publisher=] | date=30 December 2004 | url-status=live| access-date=21 April 2009}}</ref> Two flutes made from ] bones were excavated a decade earlier from the same cave and dated to about 36,000 years ago.


A playable 9,000-year-old Chinese ] (literally, "bone flute") was excavated from a tomb in ] along with 29 similar specimens.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115103938/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/sci/tech/454594.stm |date=15 January 2009 }}. BBC. 23 September 1999.</ref> They were made from the wing bones of red-crowned cranes and each has five to eight holes.<ref>{{Cite journal
], in ] 4:21, cites ] as being the "father of all those who play the ''ugab'' and the '']''". The former Hebrew term refers to some wind instrument, or wind instruments in general, the latter to a stringed instrument, or stringed instruments in general. As such, Jubal is regarded in the Judeo-Christian tradition as the inventor of the flute (a word used in some translations of this biblical passage). Some early flutes were made out of ]s (shin bones). The flute has also always been an essential part of ] and mythology,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Students' Britannica India |last=Hoiberg|first=Dale|last2=Ramchandani |first2=Indu| year=2000 |publisher= Popular Prakashan |location=] |isbn=0852297602 |page=125 |pages= |url=http://books.google.com/?id=AE_LIg9G5CgC}}</ref> and the cross flute believed by several accounts to originate in ]<ref>{{Cite book|title=How to Play Flute & Shehnai|last=Chaturvedi|first=Mamta|year=2001 |publisher= Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd|location=] |isbn=8128814761|page=7|pages= |url=http://books.google.com/?id=0rz8rvUOmSwC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Music and Music-makers |last=Morse |first=Constance |year=1968 |publisher=Ayer Publishing |location=] |isbn=0836907248 |page=7 |pages= |url=http://books.google.com/?id=XEXWVhtcuJ4C}}</ref> as Indian literature from 1500 ] has made vague references to the cross flute.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Choreographic Music for the Dance |last=Arvey |first=Verna |year=2007 |publisher=Read Country Books |location=] |isbn=1406758477 |page=36 |url= http://books.google.com/?id=GOwFSQkpfNsC}}</ref>
|author = Zhang, Juzhong
|author2 = Xiao, Xinghua
|author3 = Lee, Yun Kuen
|date = December 2004
|title = The early development of music. Analysis of the Jiahu bone flutes
|journal = Antiquity
|volume = 78
|issue = 302
|pages = 769–778
|doi = 10.1017/s0003598x00113432
|url = http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/078/Ant0780769.htm
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130603141434/http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/078/Ant0780769.htm
|archive-date = 3 June 2013
|doi-access= free
}}</ref>
The earliest extant Chinese transverse flute is a ''chi'' (]) flute discovered in the ] at the ] site, ] province, ], dating from 433 BC, during the later ].<ref>{{cite book|title=Xun Xu and the Politics of Precision in Third-Century AD China|author=Goodman, Howard L. |publisher=]|year=2010|page=226|isbn=978-90-04-18337-7}}</ref> It is fashioned of ]ed bamboo with closed ends and has five stops on the flute's side instead of the top. '']'', traditionally said to have been compiled and edited by ], mentions chi flutes.


The earliest written reference to a flute is from a ]-language ] dated to c. 2600–2700 BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://Flutopedia.com/dev_flutes_euroasia.htm#Early_Sumerian_Flutes |title=The Development of Flutes in Europe and Asia |author=Goss, Clint |year=2012 |work=Flutopedia |access-date=8 January 2012}}</ref>
==Flute acoustics==
Flutes are mentioned in a recently translated tablet of the ], an epic poem whose development spanned the period from about 2100–600 BC.<ref name="Meso_Flutes">{{cite web |url=http://Flutopedia.com/mesopotamian_flutes.htm |title=Flutes of Gilgamesh and Ancient Mesopotamia|author=Goss, Clint |year=2012 |work=Flutopedia |access-date=8 January 2012}}</ref> A set of cuneiform tablets knows as the "''musical texts''" provide precise tuning instructions for seven scales of a stringed instrument (assumed to be a Babylonian ]). One of those scales is named "''embūbum''", which is an ] word for "flute".<ref name="Meso_Flutes" />
A flute produces ] when a stream of air directed across a hole in the instrument creates a vibration of air at the hole.<ref>, UNSW. Retrieved June 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite web| author=Wolfe, Joe | title=Introduction to flute acoustics | work=UNSW Music Acoustics | url=http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/flute/ | accessdate=16 January 2006 }}</ref>


], in ] 4:21, cites ] as being the "father of all those who play the ''ugab'' and the '']''". The former Hebrew term is believed by some to refer to a wind instrument, or wind instruments in general, the latter to a stringed instrument, or stringed instruments in general. As such, Jubal is regarded in the Judeo-Christian tradition as the inventor of the flute (a word used in some translations of this biblical passage).<ref name="braun2004">Judith Cohen, "Review of 'Music in Ancient Israel/Palestine: Archaeological, Written, and Comparative Sources', by Joachim Braun". Min-Ad: Israel Studies in Musicology Online. Vol. 3. (2004). http://www.biu.ac.il/hu/mu/min-ad04/BraunRev-2.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919195604/https://www.biu.ac.il/hu/mu/min-ad04/BraunRev-2.pdf |date=19 September 2020 }}</ref> In other sections of the Bible (1 ] 10:5, 1 ] 1:40, ] 5:12 and 30:29, and ] 48:36) the flute is referred to as "''chalil''", from the root word for "hollow".<ref>Strong's Hebrew Concordance, "chalil". http://biblesuite.com/hebrew/2485.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217034936/http://biblesuite.com/hebrew/2485.htm |date=17 February 2013 }}</ref> Archeological digs in the Holy Land have discovered flutes from the Bronze Age ({{Circa}} 4000–1200 BC) and the Iron Age (1200–586 BC), the latter era "witness the creation of the Israelite kingdom and its separation into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judea."<ref name="braun2004"/>
The air stream across this hole creates a ], or siphon. This excites the air contained in the usually cylindrical ] within the flute. The player changes the ] of the sound produced by opening and closing holes in the body of the instrument, thus changing the effective length of the ] and its corresponding ]. By varying the air pressure, a flute player can also change the pitch of a note by causing the air in the flute to resonate at a ] other than the ] without opening or closing any holes.


Some early flutes were made out of ]s (shin bones). The flute has also always been an essential part of ],<ref>{{Cite book|title=Students' Britannica India |last1=Hoiberg|first1=Dale|last2=Ramchandani |first2=Indu| year=2000 |publisher= Popular Prakashan |location=] |isbn=978-0-85229-760-5 |page=125 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AE_LIg9G5CgC}}</ref> and the cross flute believed by several accounts to originate in ]<ref>{{Cite book|title=How to Play Flute & Shehnai|last=Chaturvedi|first=Mamta|year=2001 |publisher= Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd|location=] |isbn=978-81-288-1476-1|page=7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0rz8rvUOmSwC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Music and Music-makers |last=Morse |first=Constance |year=1968 |publisher=Ayer Publishing |location=] |isbn=978-0-8369-0724-7 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XEXWVhtcuJ4C}}</ref> as Indian literature from 1500 BC has made vague references to the cross flute.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Choreographic Music for the Dance |last=Arvey |first=Verna |year=2007 |publisher=Read Country Books |location=] |isbn=978-1-4067-5847-4 |page=36 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=GOwFSQkpfNsC}}</ref>
To be louder, a flute must use a larger resonator, a larger air stream, or increased air stream ]. A flute's ] can generally be increased by making its resonator and tone holes larger. This is why a police whistle, a form of flute, is very wide for its pitch, and why a pipe organ can be far louder than a concert flute: a large ] can contain several cubic feet of air, and its tone hole may be several inches wide, while a concert flute's air stream measures a fraction of an inch across.


==Acoustics==
The air stream must be directed at the correct angle and velocity, or else the air in the flute will not vibrate. In ]d or ducted flutes, a precisely formed and placed windway will compress and channel the air to the labium ramp edge across the open window. In the pipe organ, this air is supplied by a regulated blower.


A flute produces sound when a stream of air directed across a hole in the instrument creates a vibration of air at the hole.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100813223531/http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/fluteacoustics.html#airjet |date=13 August 2010 }}, UNSW. Retrieved June 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite web| author=Wolfe, Joe | title=Introduction to flute acoustics | work=UNSW Music Acoustics | url=http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/flute/ | access-date=18 January 2006 }}</ref> The airstream creates a ] or siphon. This excites the air contained in the ] (usually cylindrical) within the flute. The flutist changes the ] of the sound produced by opening and closing holes in the body of the instrument, thus changing the effective length of the ] and its corresponding ]. By varying the air pressure, a flutist can also change the pitch by causing the air in the flute to resonate at a ] rather than the ] without opening or closing any of the holes.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/music/flute.html#c4 | title=The Flute | website=HyperPhysics | access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>
In non-fipple flutes, the air stream is shaped and directed by the player's lips, called the ]. This allows the player a wide range of expression in pitch, volume, and timbre, especially in comparison to ]/ducted flutes. However, it also makes an ] or transverse flute considerably more difficult for a beginner to produce a full sound on than a ducted flute, such as the ]. Transverse and end-blown flutes also take more air to play, which requires deeper breathing and makes ] a considerably trickier proposition.


Head joint geometry appears particularly critical to acoustic performance and tone,<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Spell | first = Eldred | title = Anatomy of a Headjoint | journal = The Flute Worker | year = 1983 | url = http://eldredspellflutes.com/Articles.htm | issn = 0737-8459 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071116141712/http://eldredspellflutes.com/Articles.htm | archive-date = 16 November 2007 }}</ref> but there is no clear consensus among manufacturers on a particular shape. Acoustic impedance of the embouchure hole appears the most critical parameter.<ref>{{cite web| last = Wolfe | first = Joe | title = Acoustic impedance of the flute | work = Flute acoustics: an introduction | url = http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/fluteacoustics.html#acousticimpedance}}</ref> Critical variables affecting this acoustic impedance include: the length of the chimney (the hole between the lip-plate and the head tube), chimney diameter, and radii or curvature of the ends of the chimney and any designed restriction in the "throat" of the instrument, such as that in the Japanese ] flute.
Generally, the quality called timbre or "tone colour" varies because the flute can produce ]s in different proportions or intensities. The tone color can be modified by changing the internal shape of the bore, such as the conical taper, or the diameter-to-length ratio. A harmonic is a frequency that is a whole number multiple of a lower register, or "]" note of the flute. Generally the air stream is thinner (vibrating in more modes), faster (providing more energy to excite the air's resonance), and aimed across the hole less deeply (permitting a more shallow deflection of the air stream) in the production of higher harmonics or upper ].


A study in which professional flutists were blindfolded could find no significant differences between flutes made from a variety of metals.<ref>{{Cite journal
Head joint geometry appears particularly critical to acoustic performance and tone,<ref>{{Cite journal| last = Spell | first = Eldred | title = Anatomy of a Headjoint | journal = The Flute Worker |year=1983 | url = http://eldredspellflutes.com/Articles.htm | id = ISSN 0737-8459}}</ref> but there is no clear consensus on a particular shape amongst manufacturers. Acoustic impedance of the embouchure hole appears the most critical parameter.<ref>{{cite web| last = Wolfe | first = Joe | coauthors = | title = Acoustic impedance of the flute | work = Flute acoustics: an introduction | url = http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/fluteacoustics.html#acousticimpedance}}</ref> Critical variables affecting this acoustic impedance include: chimney length (hole between lip-plate and head tube), chimney diameter, and radii or curvature of the ends of the chimney and any designed restriction in the "throat" of the instrument, such as that in the Japanese ] Flute.
| author = Widholm, G. |author2=Linortner, R. |author3=Kausel, W. |author4=Bertsch, M.

A study in which professional players were blindfolded could find no significant differences between instruments made from a variety of different metals.<ref>{{Cite journal
| author = Widholm, G.
| coauthors = Linortner, R., Kausel, W. and Bertsch, M.
| year = 2001 | year = 2001
| title = Silver, gold, platinum—and the sound of the flute | title = Silver, gold, platinum—and the sound of the flute
Line 78: Line 103:
| pages = 277–280 | pages = 277–280
| url = http://iwk.mdw.ac.at/Forschung/english/linortner/linortner_e.htm | url = http://iwk.mdw.ac.at/Forschung/english/linortner/linortner_e.htm
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080313014949/http://iwk.mdw.ac.at/Forschung/english/linortner/linortner_e.htm
}}</ref> In two different sets of blind listening, no instrument was correctly identified in a first listening, and in a second, only the silver instrument was identified. The study concluded that there was "no evidence that the wall material has any appreciable effect on the sound color or dynamic range of the instrument".
| archive-date = 13 March 2008
}}</ref> In two different sets of blind listening, no flute was correctly identified in a first listening, and in a second, only the silver flute was identified. The study concluded that there was "no evidence that the wall material has any appreciable effect on the sound color or dynamic range".


== Materials ==
==Categories of flute==
Historically, flutes were most commonly made of ], bamboo, wood, or other organic materials. They were also made of glass, bone, and ]. Most modern flutes are made of metal, primarily ] and ]. Silver is less common than silver alloys.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of physical science and technology |date=2002 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-227410-7 |editor-last=Meyers |editor-first=Robert A. |edition=3rd |location=San Diego}}</ref> Other materials used for flutes include gold, platinum, ] and copper.<ref>https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/flute/selection/ {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref>

==Types==
]'', a ] instrument and type of ].]] ]'', a ] instrument and type of ].]]


In its most basic form, a flute can be an open tube which is blown like a bottle. There are several broad classes of flutes. With most flutes, the musician blows directly across the edge of the mouthpiece. However, some flutes, such as the ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ] have a duct that directs the air onto the edge (an arrangement that is termed a "]"). These are known as '''fipple flutes'''. The fipple gives the instrument a distinct timbre which is different from non-fipple flutes and makes the instrument easier to play, but takes a degree of control away from the musician. In its most basic form, a flute is an open tube which is blown into. After focused study and training, players use controlled air-direction to create an airstream in which the air is aimed downward into the tone hole of the flute's headjoint. There are several broad classes of flutes. With most flutes, the musician blows directly across the edge of the mouthpiece, with 1/4 of their bottom lip covering the embouchure hole. However, some flutes, such as the ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ] have a duct that directs the air onto the edge (an arrangement that is termed a "]"). These are known as ''']'''. The fipple gives the instrument a distinct timbre which is different from non-fipple flutes and makes the instrument easier to play, but takes a degree of control away from the musician.


Another division is between '''side-blown''' (or ''']''') flutes, such as the Western concert flute, ], ], ], and ]; and ''']s''', such as the ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. The player of a side-blown flute uses a hole on the side of the tube to produce a tone, instead of blowing on an end of the tube. End-blown flutes should not be confused with fipple flutes such as the ], which are also played ] but have an internal duct to direct the air flow across the edge of the tone hole. Another division is between side-blown (or ]) flutes, such as the Western concert flute, ], ], ] and ]; and ''']s''', such as the ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. The player of a side-blown flute uses a hole on the side of the tube to produce a tone, instead of blowing on an end of the tube. End-blown flutes should not be confused with fipple flutes such as the ], which are also played ] but have an internal duct to direct the air flow across the edge of the tone hole.


Flutes may be open at one or both ends. The ], ], ], ], and ] are closed-ended. Open-ended flutes such as the concert flute and the recorder have more harmonics, and thus more flexibility for the player, and brighter timbres. An organ pipe may be either open or closed, depending on the sound desired. Flutes may be open at one or both ends. The ], ], ], ], and ] are closed-ended. Open-ended flutes such as the concert flute and the recorder have more harmonics, and thus more flexibility for the player, and brighter timbres. An organ pipe may be either open or closed, depending on the sound desired.


Flutes may have any number of pipes or tubes, though one is the most common number. Flutes with multiple ] may be played one resonator at a time (as is typical with pan pipes) or more than one at a time (as is typical with ]). Flutes may have any number of pipes or tubes, though one is the most common number. Flutes with multiple ] may be played one resonator at a time (as is typical with pan pipes) or more than one at a time (as is typical with double flutes).


Flutes can be played with several different air sources. Conventional flutes are blown with the mouth, although some cultures use ]s. The ]s of ], which are acoustically similar to duct flutes, are blown by bellows or fans. Flutes can be played with several different air sources. Conventional flutes are blown with the mouth, although some cultures use ]s. The ]s of ], which are acoustically similar to duct flutes, are blown by bellows or fans.


===The Western concert flutes=== ===Western transverse===
{{Main|Western concert flute}} {{Main|Western concert flute}}
]]] ]]]


====Wooden one-keyed====
The ], a descendant of the 19th-century ], is a transverse flute that is closed at the top. An ''] hole'' is positioned near the top, across and into which the player blows. The flute has circular tone holes, larger than the finger holes of its baroque predecessors. The size and placement of tone holes, the key mechanism, and the fingering system used to produce the notes in the flute's ] were evolved from 1832 to 1847 by ], and greatly improved the instrument's dynamic range and intonation over those of its predecessors.<ref>Boehm 1964, 8–12.</ref> With some refinements (and the rare exception of the ] and other custom adapted fingering systems), Western concert flutes typically conform to Boehm's design, known as the ]. Beginner's flutes are normally made of nickel silver or brass which is silver plated, while professionals use solid silver, gold, and sometimes platinum instruments. There are also modern wooden bodies instruments usually with silver or gold keywork. The wood is usually ].
Usually in D, wooden transverse flutes were played in European classical music mainly in the period from the early 18th century to the early 19th century. As such, the instrument is often indicated as ]. Gradually marginalized by the Western concert flute in the 19th century, baroque flutes were again played from the late 20th century as part of the ] practice.


====Concert====
The standard concert flute is pitched in the key of C and has a range of three ]s starting from ] (or one half-step lower, when a B foot is attached to the instrument). This means that the concert flute is one of the highest common orchestral instruments, with the exception of the ], which plays an octave higher. G alto and C bass flutes are used occasionally, and are pitched a perfect fourth and an octave below the concert flute, respectively. Parts are written for alto flute more frequently than for bass {{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}. The ], ], and ] are other rare forms of the flute pitched two, three, and four octaves below middle C respectively.
]]]
The ], a descendant of the medieval German flute, is a transverse treble flute that is closed at the top. An ''] hole'' is positioned near the top, and the flutist blows across it. The flute has circular tone holes larger than the finger holes of its baroque predecessors. The size and placement of tone holes, key mechanism, and fingering system used to produce the notes in the flute's ] were evolved from 1832 to 1847 by ], who helped greatly improve the instrument's dynamic range and intonation over its predecessors.<ref>]. (1964). ''The Flute and Flute-Playing in Acoustical, Technical, and Artistic Aspects'', translated by Dayton C. Miller, with a new introduction by Samuel Baron. New York: Dover Publications. {{ISBN|0-486-21259-9}}, pp. 8–12.</ref> With some refinements (and the rare exception of the Kingma system and other custom adapted fingering systems), Western concert flutes typically conform to Boehm's design, known as the ]. Beginner's flutes are made of nickel, silver, or brass that is silver-plated, while professionals use solid silver, gold, and sometimes even platinum flutes. There are also modern wooden-bodied flutes usually with silver or gold keywork. The wood is usually ].


The standard concert flute is pitched in C and has a range of three ]s starting from ] or one half step lower when a B foot is attached. This means that the concert flute is one of the highest-pitched common ] and ] instruments.
Other sizes of flutes and piccolos are used from time to time. A rarer instrument of the modern pitching system is the treble G flute. Instruments made according to an older pitch standard, used principally in wind-band music, include Db piccolo, ] (the primary instrument, equivalent to today's concert C flute), F alto flute, and Bb bass flute.
]


===The Indian bamboo flute=== ====Concert variants====
] eight-holed bamboo flute]] ]
The ] plays an octave higher than the regular treble flute. Lower members of the flute family include the ] and ] flutes that are used occasionally, and are pitched a perfect fourth and an octave below the concert flute, respectively. The ], ], ], ], and ] flutes are other rare forms of the flute pitched up to four octaves below middle C.
]]]
] being played by an ] artist.]]
The bamboo flute is an important instrument in ], and developed independently of the Western flute. The ] God ] is traditionally considered a master of the bamboo flute. The Indian flutes are very simple compared to the Western counterparts; they are made of ] and are keyless.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music |last=Arnold |first=Alison |year=2000 |publisher=Taylor & Francis|location=] |isbn=0824049462 |page=354 |pages= |url=http://books.google.com/?id=ZOlNv8MAXIEC}}</ref>


Other sizes of flutes and piccolos are used from time to time. A rarer instrument of the modern pitching system is the G ]. Instruments made according to an older pitch standard, used principally in wind-band music, include D{{music|flat}} piccolo, E{{music|flat}} ] (Keyed a minor 3rd above the standard C flute), F alto flute, and B{{music|flat}} bass flute.
], a legendary Indian flutist, was the first to transform a tiny folk instrument to a bamboo flute (32&nbsp;inches long with seven finger holes) suitable for playing traditional Indian classical music, and also to bring to it the stature of other classical music instruments. The extra hole permitted ''madhyam'' to be played, which facilitates the ''meends'' (like M N, P M and M D) in several traditional ]s.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}


===Indian===
Pandit Raghunath Prasanna developed various techniques in the realm of flute playing so as to faithfully reproduce the subtleties and nuances of the Indian classical music. In fact, he was responsible to provide a strong base to his Gharana by training his own family members. Disciples of the family like Pt. Bhola nath Prasanna, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, ] globally known for their melodious music.
{{Further|Bansuri|Venu}}
] eight-holed bamboo flute]]


]
Indian concert flutes are available in standard pitches. In Carnatic music, the pitches are referred by numbers such as (assuming C as the tonic) 1 (for C), 1½ (C#), 2 (D), 2½ (D#), 3 (E), 4 (F), 4½ (F#), 5 (G), 5½ (G#), 6 (A), 6½ (A#) and 7 (B). However, the pitch of a composition is itself not fixed and hence any of the flutes may be used for the concert (as long as the accompanying instruments, if any, are tuned appropriately) and is largely left to the personal preference of the artist.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}


Two main varieties of Indian flutes are currently used. The first, the ], has six finger holes and one embouchure hole, and is used predominantly in the ] of Northern India. The second, the ] or Pullanguzhal, has eight finger holes, and is played predominantly in the ] of Southern India. Presently, the eight-holed flute with cross-fingering technique is common among many Carnatic flutists. Prior to this, the South Indian flute had only seven finger holes, with the fingering standard developed by Sharaba Shastri, of the Palladam school, at the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Dictionary of Hindustani Classical Music |last= Caudhurī|first=Vimalakānta Rôya|last2=Roychaudhuri|first2=Bimalakanta |year= 2000|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publication |location=] |isbn=8120817087 |page= |pages= |url=http://books.google.com/?id=gQWLa--IHjIC}}</ref> The ] is an important instrument in ], and developed independently of the Western flute. The ] God Lord ] is traditionally considered a master of the bamboo flute. The Indian flutes are very simple compared to the Western counterparts; they are made of ] and are keyless.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music |last=Arnold |first=Alison |year=2000 |publisher=Taylor & Francis|location=] |isbn=978-0-8240-4946-1 |page=354 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZOlNv8MAXIEC}}</ref>
]


Two main varieties of Indian flutes are currently used. The first, the ] (बांसुरी), has six finger holes and one embouchure hole, and is used predominantly in the ] of Northern India. The second, the ] or Pullanguzhal, has eight finger holes, and is played predominantly in the ] of Southern India. Presently, the eight-holed flute with cross-fingering technique is common among many Carnatic flutists. Prior to this, the South Indian flute had only seven finger holes, with the fingering standard developed by Sharaba Shastri, of the Palladam school, at the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Dictionary of Hindustani Classical Music |last1= Caudhurī|first1=Vimalakānta Rôya|last2=Roychaudhuri|first2=Bimalakanta |year= 2000|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publication |location=] |isbn=978-81-208-1708-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gQWLa--IHjIC}}</ref>
The quality of the flute's sound depends somewhat on the specific ] used to make it, and it is generally agreed that the best bamboo grows in the ] area in South India.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Rough Guide to South India 3 |last=Abram |first=David |last2=Guides |first2=Rough |last3=Edwards |first3=Nick |last4=Ford |first4=Mike |last5=Sen |first5=Devdan |last6=Wooldridge |first6= Beth |year=2004 |publisher=] |location=] |isbn=1843531038 |page= |pages=670, 671 |url= http://books.google.com/?id=sEhJBfbhTAAC}}</ref>
] culture. Photograph by ] taken in 1919.]]
The quality of the flute's sound depends somewhat on the specific ] used to make it, and it is generally agreed that the best bamboo grows in the ] area of South India.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Rough Guide to South India 3 |last1=Abram |first1=David |last2=Guides |first2=Rough |last3=Edwards |first3=Nick |last4=Ford |first4=Mike |last5=Sen |first5=Devdan |last6=Wooldridge |first6= Beth |year=2004 |publisher=] |location=] |isbn=978-1-84353-103-6 |pages=670, 671 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sEhJBfbhTAAC}}</ref>


In 1998 ] ], ] developed a methodology to produce perfectly tuned flutes for the ten 'thatas' currently present in Indian Classical Music.<ref>Paper authored by Avinash Balkrishna Patwardhan unveiling the fundamental principles governing Indian classical music by research on Bharata Muni's Natya Shastra at the National Symposium on Acoustics (1998), ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Calcutta, India.</ref>
===The Chinese flute===
In China there are many varieties of ] (笛子), or Chinese flute, with different sizes, structures (with or without a resonance membrane) and number of holes (from 6 to 11) and intonations (different keys). Most are made of bamboo, but can come in wood, jade, bone, and iron. One peculiar feature of the Chinese flute is the use of a resonance membrane mounted on one of the holes that vibrates with the air column inside the tube. It gives the flute a bright sound.


In a regional dialect of Gujarati, a flute is also called Pavo.<ref>Archived at {{cbignore}} and the {{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AatluOKqQJM| title = Jodiyo Pavo by Mubarak Ali Husain 2016 | website=]| date = 24 March 2016 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> Some people can also play pair of flutes (Jodiyo Pavo) simultaneously.
Commonly seen flutes in the modern Chinese orchestra are the bangdi (梆笛), qudi (曲笛), xindi (新笛), and dadi (大笛). The bamboo flute played vertically is called the xiao (簫), which is a different category of wind instrument in China.


===The Japanese flute=== ===Chinese===
{{Main|Chinese flutes}}
In China there are many varieties of ] (笛子), or Chinese flute, with different sizes, structures (with or without a resonance membrane) and number of holes (from 6 to 11) and intonations (different keys). Most are made of bamboo, but can come in wood, jade, bone, and iron. One peculiar feature of the Chinese flute is the use of a resonance membrane mounted on one of the holes that vibrates with the air column inside the tube. This membrane is called a '']'', which is usually a thin tissue paper. It gives the flute a bright sound.


Commonly seen flutes in the modern Chinese orchestra are the ] (梆笛), ] (曲笛), ] (新笛), and ] (大笛). The bamboo flute played vertically is called the ] (簫), which is a different category of wind instrument in China.
The Japanese flute, called the ], {{nihongo|笛||]: ふえ}}, encompasses a large number of musical flutes from Japan, both of the end-blown and transverse varieties.


===The sring=== === Korean ===
{{Main|Daegeum}}
The ] (also called ''blul'') is a relatively small, end-blown flute with a nasal tone quality<ref name="Pahlevanian 2001">Pahlevanian 2001</ref> and the pitch of a piccolo,{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} found in the Caucasus region of Eastern Armenia. It is made of wood or cane, usually with seven finger holes and one thumb hole,<ref name="Pahlevanian 2001"/> producing a diatonic scale. The sring is used by shepherds to play various signals and tunes connected with their work, and also lyrical love songs called ''chaban bayaty'', as well as programmatic pieces.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} The sring is also used in combination with the '']'' and the dohl to provide music for dancing.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} One Armenian musicologist believes the sring to be the most characteristic of national Armenian instruments.<ref>Komitas 1994{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}</ref>
The Korean flute, called the ], 대금, is a large bamboo transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. It has a buzzing membrane that gives it a unique timbre.{{Clarify|date=May 2020|reason=The Chinese flute, called dizi, is described in the immediately preceding section as also having a buzzing membrane. How is the daegeum's timbre so unlike that of the dizi that it can be called "unique"?}}

===Japanese===
{{Main|Fue (flute)}}

The Japanese flute, called the ], {{lang|ja|笛}} (]: {{lang|ja|ふえ}}), encompasses a large number of musical flutes from Japan, include the end-blown ] and ], as well as the transverse ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].

===Sodina and suling===
] player in Madagascar]]

The ] is an end-blown flute found throughout the island state of ], located in the Indian Ocean off southeastern Africa. One of the oldest instruments on the island, it bears close resemblance to end-blown flutes found in Southeast Asia and particularly Indonesia, where it is known as the '']'', suggesting the predecessor to the sodina was carried to Madagascar in outrigger canoes by the island's original settlers emigrating from Borneo.<ref name="Musical Standard">{{Cite journal | last = Shaw | first = Geo | title = Music among the Malagasy | journal = The Musical Standard | volume = 17 | issue = 797 | page = 297 | date = 8 November 1879 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rQAtAAAAYAAJ&q=Music+among+the+Malagasy+musical+standard&pg=PA297 | access-date = 15 November 2010}}</ref> An image of the most celebrated contemporary sodina flutist, ] (d. 2001), was featured on the ].<ref>{{cite news |last=Maminirina |first=Rado |title=Le billet Rakoto Frah vaut de l'or |newspaper=Express de Madagascar |date=15 July 2011 |url=http://www.lexpressmada.com/4969/patrimoine-madagascar/25398-le-billet-rakoto-frah-vaut-de-l-or.html |access-date=7 October 2012 |language=fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509011709/http://www.lexpressmada.com/4969/patrimoine-madagascar/25398-le-billet-rakoto-frah-vaut-de-l-or.html |archive-date=9 May 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Sring===
The ] (also called ''blul'') is a relatively small, end-blown flute with a nasal tone quality<ref name="Pahlevanian 2001">Pahlevanian, Alina. (2001). "Armenia §I: Folk Music, 3: Epics", in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by ] and ]. London: Macmillan Publishers.</ref> found in the Caucasus region of Eastern Armenia. It is made of wood or cane, usually with seven finger holes and one thumb hole,<ref name="Pahlevanian 2001"/> producing a diatonic scale. One Armenian musicologist believes the sring to be the most characteristic of national Armenian instruments.<ref>Komitas, Vardapet. (1994). ''Grakan nshkhark' Komitas Vardapeti beghun grch'ēn: npast mē Komitas Vardapeti srbadasman harts'in'', edited by Abel Oghlukian. Montreal: Ganatahayots' Aṛajnordarani "K'ristonēakan Usman ew Astuatsabanut'ean Kedron".</ref>

===Ọjà===
]
The ] {{IPAc-en||audio=LL-Q33578 (ibo)-Olugold-Ọjà.wav}} is a traditional musical instrument utilized by the ], who are indigenous to ]. The ọjà (flute) is used during cultural activities or events where ] is played. It is skillfully carved from wood/bamboo or metal and is played by blowing air into one end while covering and uncovering holes along the body to create different notes.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Simwa |first=Adrianna |date=2017-09-22 |title=Top 10 Igbo Traditional Musical Instruments |url=https://www.legit.ng/1126026-igbo-musical-instruments-names.html |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=Legit.ng – Nigeria news. |language=en}}</ref>

==Breathing techniques==
There are several means by which flautists breathe to blow air through the instrument and produce sound. They include ] and ]. Diaphragmatic breathing optimizes inhalation, minimizing the number of breaths. Circular breathing brings air in through the nose and out through the mouth, enabling a continuous sound.


==See also== ==See also==
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==References== ==References==
{{Reflist|2}} {{Reflist}}


==Bibliography== ==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}} {{Refbegin}}
*Buchanan, Donna A. 2001. "Bulgaria §II: Traditional Music, 2: Characteristics of Pre-Socialist Musical Culture, 1800–1944, (iii): Instruments". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by ] and ]. London: Macmillan Publishers.
*]. 1964. ''The Flute and Flute-Playing in Acoustical, Technical, and Artistic Aspects'', translated by Dayton C. Miller, with a new introduction by Samuel Baron. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-21259-9
*Crane, Frederick. 1972. ''Extant Medieval Musical Instruments: A Provisional Catalogue by Types''. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. {{ISBN|0-87745-022-6}}
*Buchanan, Donna A. 2001. “Bulgaria §II: Traditional Music, 2: Characteristics of Pre-Socialist Musical Culture, 1800–1944, (iii): Instruments”. ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ed. S. Sadie and J. Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.
*Galway, James. 1982. ''Flute''. Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides. London: Macdonald. {{ISBN|0-356-04711-3}} (cloth); {{ISBN|0-356-04712-1}} (pbk.) New York: Schirmer Books. {{ISBN|0-02-871380-X}} Reprinted 1990, London: Kahn & Averill London: Khan & Averill {{ISBN|1-871082-13-7}}
*Crane, Frederick. 1972. ''Extant Medieval Musical Instruments: A Provisional Catalogue by Types''. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. ISBN 0-87745-022-6
* Loewy, Andrea Kapell. 1990. "Frederick the Great: Flutist and composer". ''College Music Symposium'' 30 (1): 117–125. JSTOR 40374049. The ] (1712–1786) was a composer and patron of music.
*Galway, James. 1982. ''Flute''. Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides. London: Macdonald. ISBN 0356047113 (cloth); ISBN 0356047121 (pbk.) New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 002871380X Reprinted 1990, London: Kahn & Averill London: Khan & Averill ISBN 1871082137
*Phelan, James, 2004. ''The complete guide to the flute and piccolo: From acoustics and construction to repair and maintenance'', second edition. : Burkart-Phelan, Inc., 2004. {{ISBN|0-9703753-0-1}}
*Komitas, Vardapet. 1994. ''Grakan nshkhark' Komitas Vardapeti beghun grch'ēn: npast mē Komitas Vardapeti srbadasman harts'in'', edited by Abel Oghlukian. Montreal: Ganatahayots' Aṛajnordarani "K'ristonēakan Usman ew Astuatsabanut'ean Kedron".
*Putnik, Edwin. 1970. ''The Art of Flute Playing''. Evanston, Illinois: Summy-Birchard Inc. Revised edition 1973, Princeton, New Jersey and Evanston, Illinois. {{ISBN|0-87487-077-1}}
*Pahlevanian, Alina. 2001. “Armenia §I: Folk Music, 3: Epics”. ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ed. S. Sadie and J. Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.
*Toff, Nancy. 1985. ''The Flute Book: A Complete Guide for Students and Performers''. New York: Charles's Scribners Sons. {{ISBN|0-684-18241-6}} Newton Abbot: David & Charles. {{ISBN|0-7153-8771-5}} Second Edition 1996, New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-510502-8}}
*Phelan, James, ''The Complete Guide to the '' (Burkart-Phelan, Inc., 2004)
*Wye, Trevor. 1988. ''Proper Flute Playing: A Companion to the Practice Books''. London: Novello. {{ISBN|0-7119-8465-4}}
*Putnik, Edwin. 1970. ''The Art of Flute Playing''. Evanston, Illinois: Summy-Birchard Inc. Revised edition 1973, Princeton, New Jersey and Evanston, Illinois. ISBN 0874870771
*Maclagan, Susan J. "A Dictionary for the Modern Flutist", 2009, Lanham, Maryland, USA: Scarecrow Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8108-6711-6}}
*Toff, Nancy. 1985. ''The Flute Book: A Complete Guide for Students and Performers''. New York: Charles's Scribners Sons. ISBN 0684182416 Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0715387715 Second Edition 1996, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195105028
*Wye, Trevor. 1988. ''Proper Flute Playing: A Companion to the Practice Books''. London: Novello. ISBN 0711984654
*Maclagan,Susan J. "A Dictionary for the Modern Flutist", 2009, Lanham, Maryland, USA: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6711-6
{{Refend}} {{Refend}}


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{{Wiktionary}} {{Wiktionary}}

*. You can find more than 1000 public domain free sheet music scores.
*. Information regarding flute techniques and technologies are found here.
<!-- NOTE TO EDITORS: Links to random pages about flutes DO NOT belong here. That's what the dmoz.org link is for. See http://en.wikipedia.org/WP:EL --> <!-- NOTE TO EDITORS: Links to random pages about flutes DO NOT belong here. That's what the dmoz.org link is for. See http://en.wikipedia.org/WP:EL -->
*Ardal Powell. . ''Grove Music Online''. ''Oxford Music Online''. Oxford University Press. (by subscription)
* from the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History at ] * from the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History at ]
A selection of historic flutes from around the world at ] *A selection of historic flutes from around the world at ]
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*nature.com * {{cite journal |last1=Conard |first1=Nicholas J. |last2=Malina |first2=Maria |last3=Münzel |first3=Susanne C. |title=New flutes document the earliest musical tradition in southwestern Germany |journal=Nature |date=August 2009 |volume=460 |issue=7256 |pages=737–740 |doi=10.1038/nature08169 |pmid=19553935 |bibcode=2009Natur.460..737C |s2cid=4336590 }}
* {{dmoz|/Arts/Music/Instruments/Winds/Woodwinds/Flute}}
* Resources on flute acoustics from the University of New South Wales. * Resources on flute acoustics from the University of New South Wales.
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320155840/http://ludowe.instrumenty.edu.pl/en/instruments-/categories/category/326 |date=20 March 2023 }}

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Latest revision as of 21:59, 21 January 2025

Woodwind instrument This article is about the whole family of instruments. For the flute commonly used in orchestras and bands, see Western concert flute. For other uses, see Flute (disambiguation).

Picture of a collection of flutes. Contains Shinobue and other flutes spread out on a violet velveteen cloth.
Shinobue and other flutes
Part of a series on
Musical instruments
Woodwinds
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String instrumentsBowed

Plucked

Percussion
Keyboards

The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, flutes are edge-blown aerophones. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist or flutist.

Paleolithic flutes with hand-bored holes are the earliest known identifiable musical instruments. A number of flutes dating to about 53,000 to 45,000 years ago have been found in the Swabian Jura region of present-day Germany, indicating a developed musical tradition from the earliest period of modern human presence in Europe. While the oldest flutes currently known were found in Europe, Asia also has a long history with the instrument. A playable bone flute discovered in China is dated to about 9,000 years ago. The Americas also had an ancient flute culture, with instruments found in Caral, Peru, dating back 5,000 years and in Labrador dating back about 7,500 years.

The bamboo flute has a long history, especially in China and India. Flutes have been discovered in historical records and artworks starting in the Zhou dynasty (c.1046–256 BC). The oldest written sources reveal the Chinese were using the kuan (a reed instrument) and hsio (or xiao, an end-blown flute, often of bamboo) in the 12th–11th centuries BC, followed by the chi (or ch'ih) in the 9th century BC and the yüeh in the 8th century BC. Of these, the bamboo chi is the oldest documented transverse flute.

Musicologist Curt Sachs called the cross flute (Sanskrit: vāṃśī) "the outstanding wind instrument of ancient India", and said that religious artwork depicting "celestial music" instruments was linked to music with an "aristocratic character". The Indian bamboo cross flute, Bansuri, was sacred to Krishna, who is depicted with the instrument in Hindu art. In India, the cross flute appeared in reliefs from the 1st century AD at Sanchi and Amaravati from the 2nd–4th centuries AD.

According to historian Alexander Buchner, there were flutes in Europe in prehistoric times, but they disappeared from the continent until flutes arrived from Asia by way of "North Africa, Hungary, and Bohemia". The end-blown flute began to be seen in illustration in the 11th century. Transverse flutes entered Europe through Byzantium and were depicted in Greek art about 800 AD. The transverse flute had spread into Europe by way of Germany, and was known as the German flute.

Etymology and terminology

The word flute first appeared in the English language during the Middle English period, as floute, flowte, or flo(y)te, possibly from Old French flaute and Old Provençal flaüt, or possibly from Old French fleüte, flaüte, flahute via Middle High German floite or Dutch fluit. The English verb flout has the same linguistic root, and the modern Dutch verb fluiten still shares the two meanings. Attempts to trace the word back to the Latin flare (to blow, inflate) have been called "phonologically impossible" or "inadmissable". The first known use of the word flute was in the 14th century. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, this was in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Hous of Fame, c. 1380.

A musician who plays any instrument in the flute family can be called a flutist, flautist, or flute player. Flutist dates back to at least 1603, the earliest quotation cited by the Oxford English Dictionary. Flautist was used in 1860 by Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Marble Faun, after being adopted during the 18th century from Italy (flautista, itself from flauto), like many musical terms in England since the Italian Renaissance. Other English terms, now virtually obsolete, are fluter (15th–19th centuries) and flutenist (17th and 18th centuries).

History

Further information: Paleolithic flutes and Prehistoric music Statue of Krishna playing a fluteStatue of Krishna playing a flute12th-century art, Chinese women playing flutesChinese women playing flutes, from the 12th-century Song dynasty remake of the Night Revels of Han Xizai, originally by Gu Hongzhong (10th century)

A fragment of a juvenile cave bear's femur, with two to four holes, was found at Divje Babe in Slovenia and dated to about 43,000 years ago. It may be the oldest flute discovered, but this has been disputed. In 2008, a flute dated to at least 35,000 years ago was discovered in Hohle Fels cave near Ulm, Germany. It is a five-holed flute with a V-shaped mouthpiece and was made from a vulture wing bone. The discovery was published in the journal Nature, in August 2009. This was the oldest confirmed musical instrument ever found, until a redating of flutes found in Geißenklösterle cave revealed them to be older, at 42,000 to 43,000 years.

The Hohle Fels flute is one of several found in the Hohle Fels cavern next to the Venus of Hohle Fels and a short distance from the oldest known human carving. On announcing the discovery, scientists suggested that the "finds demonstrate the presence of a well-established musical tradition at the time when modern humans colonized Europe". Scientists have also suggested that this flute's discovery may help to explain "the probable behavioural and cognitive gulf between" Neanderthals and early modern human.

Bone flute made of a goat's tibia, 11th–13th century AD.

An 18.7 cm flute with three holes, made from a mammoth tusk and dated to 30,000–37,000 years ago, was found in 2004 in the Geißenklösterle cave near Ulm, in the southern German Swabian Alb. Two flutes made from swan bones were excavated a decade earlier from the same cave and dated to about 36,000 years ago.

A playable 9,000-year-old Chinese Gudi (literally, "bone flute") was excavated from a tomb in Jiahu along with 29 similar specimens. They were made from the wing bones of red-crowned cranes and each has five to eight holes. The earliest extant Chinese transverse flute is a chi () flute discovered in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng at the Suizhou site, Hubei province, China, dating from 433 BC, during the later Zhou dynasty. It is fashioned of lacquered bamboo with closed ends and has five stops on the flute's side instead of the top. Shi Jing, traditionally said to have been compiled and edited by Confucius, mentions chi flutes.

The earliest written reference to a flute is from a Sumerian-language cuneiform tablet dated to c. 2600–2700 BC. Flutes are mentioned in a recently translated tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem whose development spanned the period from about 2100–600 BC. A set of cuneiform tablets knows as the "musical texts" provide precise tuning instructions for seven scales of a stringed instrument (assumed to be a Babylonian lyre). One of those scales is named "embūbum", which is an Akkadian word for "flute".

The Bible, in Genesis 4:21, cites Jubal as being the "father of all those who play the ugab and the kinnor". The former Hebrew term is believed by some to refer to a wind instrument, or wind instruments in general, the latter to a stringed instrument, or stringed instruments in general. As such, Jubal is regarded in the Judeo-Christian tradition as the inventor of the flute (a word used in some translations of this biblical passage). In other sections of the Bible (1 Samuel 10:5, 1 Kings 1:40, Isaiah 5:12 and 30:29, and Jeremiah 48:36) the flute is referred to as "chalil", from the root word for "hollow". Archeological digs in the Holy Land have discovered flutes from the Bronze Age (c. 4000–1200 BC) and the Iron Age (1200–586 BC), the latter era "witness the creation of the Israelite kingdom and its separation into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judea."

Some early flutes were made out of tibias (shin bones). The flute has also always been an essential part of Indian culture, and the cross flute believed by several accounts to originate in India as Indian literature from 1500 BC has made vague references to the cross flute.

Acoustics

A flute produces sound when a stream of air directed across a hole in the instrument creates a vibration of air at the hole. The airstream creates a Bernoulli or siphon. This excites the air contained in the resonant cavity (usually cylindrical) within the flute. The flutist changes the pitch of the sound produced by opening and closing holes in the body of the instrument, thus changing the effective length of the resonator and its corresponding resonant frequency. By varying the air pressure, a flutist can also change the pitch by causing the air in the flute to resonate at a harmonic rather than the fundamental frequency without opening or closing any of the holes.

Head joint geometry appears particularly critical to acoustic performance and tone, but there is no clear consensus among manufacturers on a particular shape. Acoustic impedance of the embouchure hole appears the most critical parameter. Critical variables affecting this acoustic impedance include: the length of the chimney (the hole between the lip-plate and the head tube), chimney diameter, and radii or curvature of the ends of the chimney and any designed restriction in the "throat" of the instrument, such as that in the Japanese Nohkan flute.

A study in which professional flutists were blindfolded could find no significant differences between flutes made from a variety of metals. In two different sets of blind listening, no flute was correctly identified in a first listening, and in a second, only the silver flute was identified. The study concluded that there was "no evidence that the wall material has any appreciable effect on the sound color or dynamic range".

Materials

Historically, flutes were most commonly made of reed, bamboo, wood, or other organic materials. They were also made of glass, bone, and nephrite. Most modern flutes are made of metal, primarily silver and nickel. Silver is less common than silver alloys. Other materials used for flutes include gold, platinum, grenadilla and copper.

Types

Playing the zampoña, a Pre-Inca instrument and type of pan flute.

In its most basic form, a flute is an open tube which is blown into. After focused study and training, players use controlled air-direction to create an airstream in which the air is aimed downward into the tone hole of the flute's headjoint. There are several broad classes of flutes. With most flutes, the musician blows directly across the edge of the mouthpiece, with 1/4 of their bottom lip covering the embouchure hole. However, some flutes, such as the whistle, gemshorn, flageolet, recorder, tin whistle, tonette, fujara, and ocarina have a duct that directs the air onto the edge (an arrangement that is termed a "fipple"). These are known as fipple flutes. The fipple gives the instrument a distinct timbre which is different from non-fipple flutes and makes the instrument easier to play, but takes a degree of control away from the musician.

Another division is between side-blown (or transverse) flutes, such as the Western concert flute, piccolo, fife, dizi and bansuri; and end-blown flutes, such as the ney, xiao, kaval, danso, shakuhachi, Anasazi flute and quena. The player of a side-blown flute uses a hole on the side of the tube to produce a tone, instead of blowing on an end of the tube. End-blown flutes should not be confused with fipple flutes such as the recorder, which are also played vertically but have an internal duct to direct the air flow across the edge of the tone hole.

Flutes may be open at one or both ends. The ocarina, xun, pan pipes, police whistle, and bosun's whistle are closed-ended. Open-ended flutes such as the concert flute and the recorder have more harmonics, and thus more flexibility for the player, and brighter timbres. An organ pipe may be either open or closed, depending on the sound desired.

Flutes may have any number of pipes or tubes, though one is the most common number. Flutes with multiple resonators may be played one resonator at a time (as is typical with pan pipes) or more than one at a time (as is typical with double flutes).

Flutes can be played with several different air sources. Conventional flutes are blown with the mouth, although some cultures use nose flutes. The flue pipes of organs, which are acoustically similar to duct flutes, are blown by bellows or fans.

Western transverse

Main article: Western concert flute
Western concert flute

Wooden one-keyed

Usually in D, wooden transverse flutes were played in European classical music mainly in the period from the early 18th century to the early 19th century. As such, the instrument is often indicated as baroque flute. Gradually marginalized by the Western concert flute in the 19th century, baroque flutes were again played from the late 20th century as part of the historically informed performance practice.

Concert

An illustration of a Western concert flute

The Western concert flute, a descendant of the medieval German flute, is a transverse treble flute that is closed at the top. An embouchure hole is positioned near the top, and the flutist blows across it. The flute has circular tone holes larger than the finger holes of its baroque predecessors. The size and placement of tone holes, key mechanism, and fingering system used to produce the notes in the flute's range were evolved from 1832 to 1847 by Theobald Boehm, who helped greatly improve the instrument's dynamic range and intonation over its predecessors. With some refinements (and the rare exception of the Kingma system and other custom adapted fingering systems), Western concert flutes typically conform to Boehm's design, known as the Boehm system. Beginner's flutes are made of nickel, silver, or brass that is silver-plated, while professionals use solid silver, gold, and sometimes even platinum flutes. There are also modern wooden-bodied flutes usually with silver or gold keywork. The wood is usually African Blackwood.

The standard concert flute is pitched in C and has a range of three octaves starting from middle C or one half step lower when a B foot is attached. This means that the concert flute is one of the highest-pitched common orchestra and concert band instruments.

Grenadilla wood piccolo with a modified wave headjoint

Concert variants

Center: Piccolo. Right: larger flute

The piccolo plays an octave higher than the regular treble flute. Lower members of the flute family include the G alto and C bass flutes that are used occasionally, and are pitched a perfect fourth and an octave below the concert flute, respectively. The contra-alto, contrabass, subcontrabass, double contrabass, and hyperbass flutes are other rare forms of the flute pitched up to four octaves below middle C.

Other sizes of flutes and piccolos are used from time to time. A rarer instrument of the modern pitching system is the G treble flute. Instruments made according to an older pitch standard, used principally in wind-band music, include D♭ piccolo, E♭ soprano flute (Keyed a minor 3rd above the standard C flute), F alto flute, and B♭ bass flute.

Indian

Further information: Bansuri and Venu
A Carnatic eight-holed bamboo flute
An eight-holed classical Indian bamboo flute.

The bamboo flute is an important instrument in Indian classical music, and developed independently of the Western flute. The Hindu God Lord Krishna is traditionally considered a master of the bamboo flute. The Indian flutes are very simple compared to the Western counterparts; they are made of bamboo and are keyless.

Two main varieties of Indian flutes are currently used. The first, the Bansuri (बांसुरी), has six finger holes and one embouchure hole, and is used predominantly in the Hindustani music of Northern India. The second, the Venu or Pullanguzhal, has eight finger holes, and is played predominantly in the Carnatic music of Southern India. Presently, the eight-holed flute with cross-fingering technique is common among many Carnatic flutists. Prior to this, the South Indian flute had only seven finger holes, with the fingering standard developed by Sharaba Shastri, of the Palladam school, at the beginning of the 20th century.

Cipriano Garcia playing a flute of the Tohono O'odham culture. Photograph by Frances Densmore taken in 1919.

The quality of the flute's sound depends somewhat on the specific bamboo used to make it, and it is generally agreed that the best bamboo grows in the Nagercoil area of South India.

In 1998 Bharata Natya Shastra Sarana Chatushtai, Avinash Balkrishna Patwardhan developed a methodology to produce perfectly tuned flutes for the ten 'thatas' currently present in Indian Classical Music.

In a regional dialect of Gujarati, a flute is also called Pavo. Some people can also play pair of flutes (Jodiyo Pavo) simultaneously.

Chinese

Main article: Chinese flutes

In China there are many varieties of dizi (笛子), or Chinese flute, with different sizes, structures (with or without a resonance membrane) and number of holes (from 6 to 11) and intonations (different keys). Most are made of bamboo, but can come in wood, jade, bone, and iron. One peculiar feature of the Chinese flute is the use of a resonance membrane mounted on one of the holes that vibrates with the air column inside the tube. This membrane is called a di mo, which is usually a thin tissue paper. It gives the flute a bright sound.

Commonly seen flutes in the modern Chinese orchestra are the bangdi (梆笛), qudi (曲笛), xindi (新笛), and dadi (大笛). The bamboo flute played vertically is called the xiao (簫), which is a different category of wind instrument in China.

Korean

Main article: Daegeum

The Korean flute, called the daegeum, 대금, is a large bamboo transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. It has a buzzing membrane that gives it a unique timbre.

Japanese

Main article: Fue (flute)

The Japanese flute, called the fue, 笛 (hiragana: ふえ), encompasses a large number of musical flutes from Japan, include the end-blown shakuhachi and hotchiku, as well as the transverse gakubue, komabue, ryūteki, nōkan, shinobue, kagurabue and minteki.

Sodina and suling

A sodina player in Madagascar

The sodina is an end-blown flute found throughout the island state of Madagascar, located in the Indian Ocean off southeastern Africa. One of the oldest instruments on the island, it bears close resemblance to end-blown flutes found in Southeast Asia and particularly Indonesia, where it is known as the suling, suggesting the predecessor to the sodina was carried to Madagascar in outrigger canoes by the island's original settlers emigrating from Borneo. An image of the most celebrated contemporary sodina flutist, Rakoto Frah (d. 2001), was featured on the local currency.

Sring

The sring (also called blul) is a relatively small, end-blown flute with a nasal tone quality found in the Caucasus region of Eastern Armenia. It is made of wood or cane, usually with seven finger holes and one thumb hole, producing a diatonic scale. One Armenian musicologist believes the sring to be the most characteristic of national Armenian instruments.

Ọjà

ọjà

The Ọjà // is a traditional musical instrument utilized by the Igbo people, who are indigenous to Nigeria. The ọjà (flute) is used during cultural activities or events where Igbo music is played. It is skillfully carved from wood/bamboo or metal and is played by blowing air into one end while covering and uncovering holes along the body to create different notes.

Breathing techniques

There are several means by which flautists breathe to blow air through the instrument and produce sound. They include diaphragmatic breathing and circular breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing optimizes inhalation, minimizing the number of breaths. Circular breathing brings air in through the nose and out through the mouth, enabling a continuous sound.

See also

References

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Bibliography

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External links


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