The compass of the flute is three octaves from middle C, but a good player can obtain a few notes above this. The piccolo sounds an octave above, but from b.

The flute is the only woodwind instrument held crosswise, parallel to the shoulders. Sometimes it is made of dart wood, sometimes of glittering silver. The sound, which is produced by blowing across the embouchure or blow hole, has a relatively simple and uncoloured quality due to the small number of harmonics present in it. When the breath strikes the sharp edge of the embouchure it enters the tube, sets the column of air in motion and this in its turn agitates the body of the instrument.

The three sections of the flute fit together by means of slides. The head joint is slightly tapered towards the stopped end, but the other two joints are cylindrical. The inner surface of the tube is perfectly smooth and, shiny so that the vibrating column of air can flow over it unimpeded. The sixteen keys are padded with felt covered by animal skin or some synthetic; these close the holes hermetically at the lightest touch. The keys, which are worked by small steel springs, all stand open when the flute is not in use or when the only open note (C sharp) is being played. Bottom C is produced by closing all the keys. From the first to the third octave an increasingly complex system of cross- or fork-fingering is needed to obtain all the chromatic notes of the scale. This is a method of using different combinations of open and closed holes in order to divide the column of air into the appropriate lengths to produce the different notes.

The choice of material for a flute is a matter of personal taste, some favouring the richer, mellower timbre of wood, others the more sparkly quality produced by silver. The former warms up slowly and maintains its temperature (and therefore its pitch) fairly well; the latter goes hot and cold quickly. Only the most affluent flute player can afford one made of gold, a soft and easily excited metal, and its rich glow is unlikely to be seen in an orchestra. Piccolos are also made of wood or metal and they have the same system of fingering.

Technique

A flute player does not simply breathe into his flute. The beginning of every musical phrase is articulated by pronouncing the letter T. In staccato passages every note is attacked with a T, and in rapid staccato the letters T-K are pronounced. In very fast or triple tonguing this becomes T-K-T T-K-T. A special effect can be produced by rolling an R in the English fashion, with the tongue behind the teeth; this is called flutter tonguing.

The muscles round the mouth and in the cheeks are much exercised when playing the flute and an off-duty flautist can sometimes be identified by the permanent and somewhat enigmatic grin on his face. In the lower register the muscles are slack and the stream of air across the embouchure broad and slow. In the upper registers the stream of air becomes narrower and accelerated and the muscles have to be tautened. The cavities in the head are forms of resonating chambers, and a good flautist will know how to make use of these, like a singer, to give more volume and character to the timbre he is producing. The same technique is used for the piccolo, but on account of its high register, which involves constant exercise of taut muscles, flute players do not like playing both instruments. The muscles used in the lower register lose their flexibility after a great deal of playing in the upper register.

As with all wind instruments good breath control is all-important. The diaphragm must be well-supported and therefore a good upright position always maintained. A flautist who slumps and lets his instrument sag in a diagonal direction will probably produce a weak and puffy tone. Any tone that is in the slightest breathy is to be deplored, and is a true waste of breath, but it is a fact that playing in an orchestra can damage good tone production. Surrounded by a large number of other instrumentalists who singly or in groups produce more volume, and with relatively brief moments to be heard as a soloist, opportunities to keep the ear alert to and maintain beautiful tone are infrequent. And without good, clear tone throughout all three registers, particularly the top one which inclines to sound screamy, the flute is nothing more than an instrument of great agility and shallow musical interest.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
The Flute

• The modern Concert Flute
• The Woodwind Family: Flute, clarinet, saxophone, and Double Reeds part 2
• Unusual Wind Music Instruments
• The Flute continue...
• The Woodwind Family: Flute, clarinet, saxophone, and Double Reeds part 3
• Whistles and Duct Flutes
• LISZT, Piano Concerto No 1.
• Jazz, Rhythms from African Music
• Special Music Instrument, the Oboe & CorAnglais
• The story of the Recorder

dodoMusic Box, Music Equipments, Woodwinds31 Aug, 2008