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MUSIC
The Flute
Sound is generated by different methods in the aerophones designated as flutes and reeds.
In reeds an air column in the tube is caused to vibrate between two parts of a beating
double reed or between a beating single reed and a mouthpiece. The Flute is a wind
instrument in which the sound is produced by a stream of air directed against a sharp
edge. The air then breaks up into eddies that alternate regularly above and below the
edge, setting into vibration the air enclosed in the flute.
There are many forms of flutes. Flutes may differ in their shape. Flutes are generally
tubular in shape, but they may be globular. The ocarina and primitive gourd flutes are
examples of the globular flutes. If a tubular flute is stopped at the lower end, its pitch
is an octave lower than that of a comparable open flute.
Flutes can also be classified by the way they are positioned and the way the column of air
is vibrated. The panpipes, Balkan kaval, and the Arabic nay, are vertical, end-vibrated
flutes. In these the player holds the pipe end to his mouth, directing his breath against
the opposite edge. The notched flutes have a notch cut in the edge to facilitate sound
generation. These flutes may be found in China, South America, and Africa. There are also
verticle nose flutes. These are found especially in Oceania. Vertical flutes such as the
recorder, in which an internal flue or duct directs the air against a hole cut in the side
of the instrument, are known as fipple, or whistle, flutes. There are also transverse, or
cross, flutes. These flutes are horizontally held and side blown. In these the stream of
breath strikes the opposite rim of a lateral mouth hole.
The characteristic flute of Western music is the transverse flute held sideways to the
right of the player. It was known in ancient Greece and Etruria by the 2nd century BC and
was next recorded in India, then China and Japan, where it remains a leading wind
instrument. It is first depicted in Europe around 1100 AD. The flutes of the 16th century
were typically made of boxwood with six finger holes and no keys. They retained the
cylindrical bore of their Asiatic bamboo relatives. These 16th-century flutes were made
obsolete late in the 17th century by the one-keyed conical flute. This type of flute was
probably conceived by the celebrated Hotteterre family of makers and players in Paris. A
conical flute is made in separate joints, the head joint being cylindrical, the others
contracting toward the foot. Two joints were common in the 18th century, the upper being
supplied in alternate lengths for tuning purposes. The instrument was known then as the
flauto traverso, traversa, or German flute.
Theobald Böhm, a Munich flute player and inventor, set out to rationalize the instrument,
creating his new conical model in 1832. This flute was superseded in 1847 by Böhm's
second design, with its experimentally evolved cylindrical bore. It is this flute that is
used today with very little variation from the original.
A modern Böhm-system flute is made of wood or metal. It is 26 1/2 inches long, with a
bore of about 3/4 inch. It is built in three sections. The body, or middle joint, and the
foot joint have the note holes. There are at least 13 note holes.These are controlled by
an interlocking mechanism of padded key plates hinged on a longitudinal axis. The bore
narrows in the head joint, which contains the mouth hole, and is closed just above the
hole by a cork or fibre stopper. The flute is open at the foot end.
Sources: Encyclopedia Britanica
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before
his presence with singing.
Psalm 100:1-21
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LONGEVITY
