Flute family
One of the oldest woodwind instruments; the sound arises from blowing across an edge.
What it means
The flute is one of the oldest musical instruments of all. Its sound arises when an air stream is split at an edge and sets the air column in the tube vibrating; there is no reed. The flute family comprises very different constructions, from the simple tube to the complicated keyed instrument.
Musical use
Archaeological finds of flutes made of bird bone and mammoth ivory in the Swabian Jura are more than 35,000 years old and count among the oldest instruments of humankind. One distinguishes flutes with a beak or fipple, such as the recorder, from transverse flutes, which are blown from the side, as well as from pan pipes and notched flutes of other cultures. In Europe it was above all the recorder and the transverse flute that developed into art instruments.
The flute should be distinguished from reed instruments such as the oboe and clarinet, in which a vibrating reed produces the sound. The organ pipe, too, uses the flute's edge principle in its flue stops but counts as part of the organ.
Performance practice
On all flutes, aim for a calm, even air stream, since pitch, tone, and response depend directly on blowing pressure and angle. Begin with long, soft notes and practise fast articulation only afterwards.