The Flute
History
Aside from the voice, flutes are the earliest know musical instruments. The oldest flute ever discovered may be a fragment of bone from a bear. The modern, or Western concert flute, is a descendant of the 19th-century German flute. the size and placement of tone holes, the keys and the fingering system used today were developed from 1832 to 1847 by Theobald Boehm and greatly improved the instrument’s range and intonation.
What about the Flute and playing it?
Beginner’s flutes are normally made of nickel, silver alloys or brass which is silver plated, while professional instruments use solid silver, gold, and sometimes platinum. The standard concert flute is pitched in the key of C and has a range of three octaves starting from middle C (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 orchestral instruments, with the exception of the piccolo, which plays an octave higher. G alto and C bass flutes are used occasionally.
Be patient with your students learning to form an embrochure and to produce a sound. The flute is the only instrument played by blowing air over the edge of an open hole at the top. Though strongly desired, producing beginning notes on the flute is not the first stage of development in learning to play the flute. Good, learned technique will eventually lead to producing a good sound. The pitch range of the flute is three octaves, and it is keyed in concert-pitch.
Aside from the voice, flutes are the earliest know musical instruments. The oldest flute ever discovered may be a fragment of bone from a bear. The modern, or Western concert flute, is a descendant of the 19th-century German flute. the size and placement of tone holes, the keys and the fingering system used today were developed from 1832 to 1847 by Theobald Boehm and greatly improved the instrument’s range and intonation.
What about the Flute and playing it?
Beginner’s flutes are normally made of nickel, silver alloys or brass which is silver plated, while professional instruments use solid silver, gold, and sometimes platinum. The standard concert flute is pitched in the key of C and has a range of three octaves starting from middle C (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 orchestral instruments, with the exception of the piccolo, which plays an octave higher. G alto and C bass flutes are used occasionally.
Be patient with your students learning to form an embrochure and to produce a sound. The flute is the only instrument played by blowing air over the edge of an open hole at the top. Though strongly desired, producing beginning notes on the flute is not the first stage of development in learning to play the flute. Good, learned technique will eventually lead to producing a good sound. The pitch range of the flute is three octaves, and it is keyed in concert-pitch.