The Flute

The flute is a woodwind instrument in which a stream of air is set vibrating at the sharp edge of a hole in the side of the tube. Unlike a recorder or a whistle there is no windway to direct the air: the lips shape it themselves. That makes the tone extremely flexible and the flute one of the most expressive wind instruments – but it also makes the embouchure demanding. Since Theobald Böhm created the cylindrical metal flute in 1847, the design has barely changed. The flute has its place in the symphony orchestra, the wind band, the wind quintet and chamber music, has a solo repertoire stretching from the Baroque to the present day, and at the same time belongs to a worldwide family of transverse flutes reaching from the Indian bansuri through the Chinese dizi to the Irish flute.

1Overview and classification

Flutes are aerophones whose sound is produced by a stream of air striking an edge. Hornbostel and Sachs distinguish end-blown flutes (such as the quena, ney and shakuhachi), transverse flutes (blown at the side) and vessel flutes (the ocarina); the recorder and the tin whistle are duct flutes with a fixed windway. The modern flute is a side-blown tube, open at both ends, with tone holes and a key mechanism (421.121.12).

Although it is usually made of metal, the flute counts as a woodwind instrument: the classification follows the way the sound is produced (without the lip vibration of the brass), and historically flutes were made of wood. The flute is in C, sounds as written and is notated in the treble clef. In the symphony orchestra there are usually two or three players, the third often doubling on piccolo.

2Etymology and names

The German word Flöte came into Middle High German (vloite) by way of Old French flaüte and Provençal flaut; the origin is either onomatopoeic or derived from Latin flare (“to blow”). In the Baroque the transverse flute was called the flûte traversière or traverso, while “flauto” without qualification meant the recorder – an important point in works by Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. Internationally: English flute, French flûte (traversière), Italian flauto (traverso), Spanish flauta travesera, Russian fleita, Chinese 长笛 (chángdí), Japanese フルート (furūto).

3History

The oldest musical instruments

Flutes are among the oldest known musical instruments. Bone and ivory flutes from the Geißenklösterle and Hohle Fels caves on the Swabian Alb are dated to around 35,000–43,000 years old; a vulture-bone flute from the Hohle Fels has five finger holes. The finds form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura” (2017). These early flutes were probably end-blown.

Transverse flutes in Asia and medieval Europe

Flutes held sideways are documented in China from the first millennium BC (bone and bamboo flutes, among them finds from the tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zeng, 433 BC). In Europe transverse flutes appear in Byzantine depictions in the tenth and eleventh centuries and spread in the High Middle Ages. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the cylindrical transverse flute with six finger holes became a military instrument of the landsknechts as the Schweizerpfeiff, played with a drum – the origin of the fife-and-drum traditions still alive today, for instance in Basel.

The Renaissance

The Renaissance flute was made in one piece with a cylindrical bore, six finger holes and no keys; it was built in families of different sizes (a consort), usually with a tenor flute in D as the basic instrument. In 1533 Pierre Attaingnant published chansons expressly for performance on flutes.

The baroque traverso

Around 1670, makers in the circle of the Hotteterre family in Paris developed a new flute: in three (later four) sections, with a conical bore (wider at the head, narrower towards the foot), one key for D♯/E♭ and turned decorative rings of ivory. It sounded softer, played better in tune over two octaves and could be played chromatically (with cross fingerings). In 1707 Jacques-Martin Hotteterre published the first flute method, Principes de la flûte traversière. Interchangeable middle joints of different lengths (corps de rechange) adapted the flute to the widely differing pitch standards of the day.

Johann Joachim Quantz (1697–1773), flute teacher to Frederick the Great, wrote some 300 flute concertos and, in 1752, the Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversiere zu spielen – one of the most important sources on eighteenth-century performance practice of any kind. He introduced a second key so that D♯ and E♭ could be distinguished.

The keyed flute of the Classical and Romantic periods

From about 1760 the flute gained additional keys: four keys around 1780, later six and eight (following Johann George Tromlitz among others). They made semitones easier and the intonation purer, but did not change the basic design: the tone holes remained small and acoustically badly placed, so that fingers could reach them. Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Weber wrote for these flutes.

Theobald Böhm and the modern flute

• 1831 The Munich goldsmith and flautist Theobald Böhm (1794–1881) hears Charles Nicholson in London, whose flute with large tone holes has an unusually powerful tone.
• 1832 Böhm builds a conical flute with ring keys in which the tone holes are placed by acoustic rather than ergonomic criteria; rings and axles link the keys.
• 1838/39 In Paris, Louis Dorus and Paul Camus establish the Boehm flute; the Conservatoire adopts it.
• 1847 After acoustic studies (partly with Carl von Schafhäutl), Böhm builds a cylindrical silver flute with a parabolically tapered headjoint and very large tone holes closed by padded keys – the basis of every flute today.
• 1871 Böhm publishes Die Flöte und das Flötenspiel.
• until about 1930 In Germany the Boehm flute competes with the “reform flute” after Maximilian Schwedler, which stayed closer to the tonal ideal of the older instrument.
• 1960s The London flute maker Albert Cooper recalculates the tone hole positions for modern pitch (the “Cooper scale”), because many flutes were still built for lower pitch standards.
• 20th/21st century Leading workshops arise in France (Louis Lot, Bonneville), the United States (Verne Q. Powell, Haynes, Brannen), Japan (Muramatsu from 1923, Sankyo, Miyazawa, Yamaha, Altus) and Germany (Hammig, Mönnig); Eva Kingma develops quarter-tone systems.

4Construction

Part	Description
Headjoint	a tube with the lip plate, embouchure hole (about 10 × 12 mm), riser, and tuning cork with crown; slightly parabolic in taper. It slides into the body; pulling it out lowers the pitch.
Body	a cylindrical tube (inner diameter about 19 mm) with most of the tone holes and the main mechanism
Foot joint	C foot (lowest note C4) or B foot (B3, with a “gizmo” lever for C7)
Mechanism	about 16 keys on axles, needle springs of steel or gold, pads of felt with fish skin or synthetic materials
Tone holes	drawn (pulled out of the tube) or soldered (chimneys fitted on)

Ring keys, closed keys and extra mechanisms

Feature	Function
Ring (open) keys	five keys with a hole; they encourage correct finger placement and allow quarter tones and glissandi; considered more open in sound; standard from intermediate level
Closed keys	easier for beginners and small hands
Inline or offset G	the G key in line or set forward; offset is more ergonomic and more common today
Split E mechanism	makes the high E (E6) speak more easily and in better tune
C♯ trill key	makes certain trills in the high register easier
Gizmo key	on the B foot; improves the top C7
Brossa F, split E, quarter-tone keys	special mechanisms

Materials

Material	Properties	Used for
Nickel silver (copper-nickel-zinc), silver-plated	robust, inexpensive	student flutes
Sterling silver (925) / Britannia silver (958)	the standard for good headjoints and whole flutes	intermediate and professional instruments
Gold (9–24 carat), rose gold	heavy, described as warm and full-bodied	professional instruments
Platinum	very dense and expensive	individual instruments (Varèse wrote Density 21.5 for Georges Barrère’s platinum flute)
Wood (grenadilla, boxwood)	a softer, darker sound	modern wooden Boehm flutes; historic instruments
Plastic, carbon fibre	light, robust	children’s flutes, outdoor use

How far the material affects the sound is disputed. Classic experiments by the physicist John Coltman (1971) and later measurements show only small differences between materials of the same geometry; what counts is the cut of the headjoint, the wall thickness, the geometry of the tone holes, the workmanship – and the person playing. Many flautists nevertheless feel differences in response and resonance.

The headjoint

The headjoint is the most important part for the sound, and is often bought separately or upgraded. The shape and size of the embouchure hole, the height of the riser and the undercutting (the fine chamfering of the walls of the hole) determine response, resistance and colour. The position of the tuning cork (about 17 mm from the centre of the embouchure hole) affects the tuning of the octaves; the mark on the cleaning rod is there to check it.

5Acoustics

How the sound is produced

The player blows a narrow, focused stream of air across the embouchure hole against its far edge. The stream oscillates alternately into the tube and out over the edge. This oscillation couples to the vibration of the air column, which exists as a standing wave in the tube and determines the frequency. Because the flute is open at both ends (at the embouchure hole and at the lower end or the first open tone hole), it behaves acoustically as a tube open at both ends: it has all the harmonic partials and overblows at the octave.

The effective length for C4 is around 60–66 cm. Closing and opening tone holes lengthens or shortens the air column. The first octave sounds as the fundamental, the second by overblowing to the second partial (faster air, a smaller lip opening, the same fingerings), and the third mainly through the third and fourth partials using cross fingerings and open vent holes.

Air speed, distance and angle

Three parameters determine which resonance speaks and how the tone sounds: the speed of the air stream, the distance between the lip opening and the edge, and the angle at which the stream meets the edge. Higher notes need faster air and a shorter path to the edge; too shallow an angle makes the tone low and dull, too steep an angle makes it high and thin.

Sound

The flute tone is comparatively poor in overtones – in the high register it approaches a sine wave. That explains its “pure” quality, how well it blends with other instruments, and how hard it is to carry over a loud orchestra in the low register. A component of noise (the sound of the air) is characteristic and makes the tone alive; too much of it is heard as breathiness.

Intonation and dynamics

The flute has an acoustic peculiarity: notes played louder go sharp and notes played softer go flat, because the conditions of resonance shift with the speed of the air. Flautists compensate with the angle of the air stream, the lips and the jaw (“rolling” or angling the airstream rather than turning the flute). Temperature also matters a great deal: warm breath raises the pitch, so at the start of a rehearsal a flute is often flat.

6Range and registers

Register	Range	Character	Technical features
Low register	B3/C4–C♯5	warm, dark, breathy; easily covered in the orchestra	relaxed lips, a slow air stream, an open throat
Middle register	D5–C♯6	clear, vocal, agile	overblowing to the second partial
High register	D6–C7	bright, brilliant, penetrating	cross fingerings, a faster and more focused air stream
Extreme register	C♯7–F7 and above	shrill, difficult	special fingerings; used in new music and virtuoso repertoire

7The flute family

Instrument	Key	Sounding range (approx.)	Used in
Piccolo	C (historically also D♭ for wind bands)	D5–C8; written an octave lower	orchestra, wind band, military music; the highest sound in the orchestra
Concert flute	C	C4/B3–C7	the standard instrument
Flûte d’amour	A or B♭	a minor third or a whole tone lower	the Baroque, and rarely in modern music
Alto flute	G	G3–G6; sounds a fourth lower	Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, Holst’s The Planets, film music, flute choirs
Bass flute	C	C3–C6; an octave lower	flute choirs, new music; often with a U-shaped headjoint
Contra-alto flute	G	an octave below the alto flute	flute choirs
Contrabass flute	C	two octaves lower (C2)	flute choirs, specialist repertoire
Subcontrabass / double contrabass flute	G and C	down to C1	rarities (from makers such as Kotato & Fukushima)

For children there are concert flutes with a curved headjoint (which shortens the reach by around 10 cm), light plastic flutes and a family of small beginner instruments (Nuvo, the Jupiter “Waveline” and others).

8Posture, embouchure and breathing

Posture

The flute is held horizontally or sloping slightly down to the right. Three points of support hold it: the chin or lower lip, the base joint of the left index finger and the right thumb (beneath the index finger, not beneath the little finger). Head and torso stay upright, the head turned slightly to the left, the arms hanging loosely. Seated, the player turns slightly to the right towards the music stand. Common faults are raising the right shoulder and clamping with the left hand.

Embouchure

The lip plate rests against the edge of the lower lip, which covers about a quarter to a third of the embouchure hole. The lips form a small oval opening (the aperture) through which the air stream leaves. The embouchure is flexible: the lip opening, the distance to the edge and the angle are adjusted for every register and dynamic. Learning usually begins on the headjoint alone (producing a tone, changing octave through air speed).

Breathing

The flute uses a great deal of air, because part of it passes by the edge. Deep breathing into the flanks and a controlled, supported exhalation are therefore central (breath support). Beginners often feel slightly dizzy; breaks and breathing exercises help. Advanced players learn circular breathing for very long phrases.

Articulation

Articulation is made with the tongue against the teeth or the upper gum ridge: single tonguing (“tu” or “du”), double tonguing (“tu-ku” or “du-gu”) and triple tonguing (“tu-ku-tu”). Baroque practice uses differentiated syllables (Quantz: “di-del”, “tiri”). Legato is produced without the tongue, by changing fingers while the air continues.

Vibrato

Flute vibrato is a fluctuation of volume and pitch produced from the breath support, the throat or both, usually at 4 to 6 oscillations a second. The French school around Paul Taffanel and Marcel Moyse made continuous vibrato the standard in the early twentieth century; in baroque practice it is used as an ornament (flattement, or finger vibrato).

9Extended techniques

Technique	Description
Flutter tonguing	a rolled R with the tip of the tongue or in the throat; a rattling sound (used in the orchestra since Richard Strauss and Rimsky-Korsakov)
Whistle tones	extremely quiet whistling overtones produced with a minimal air stream
Jet whistle	a strong burst of air with the mouth over the embouchure hole; a howling noise (Villa-Lobos, Assobio a jato)
Tongue ram	the tongue closes the embouchure hole abruptly; the note sounds about a major seventh lower
Multiphonics	two or more notes at once, using special fingerings
Singing and playing	singing and blowing at the same time; beats and two-part textures
Key clicks	percussive slapping of the keys, sometimes without air
Air sounds, aeolian sounds	breathy blowing with only a trace of pitch
Pizzicato, slap	tongue-stop articulations
Glissando, quarter tones	using ring keys, rolling the flute, or special headjoints (the glissando headjoint devised by Robert Dick)
Beatboxing	combining flute tone with vocal percussion (Greg Pattillo, Nathan Lee)

The standard works are Robert Dick’s The Other Flute (1975), Pierre-Yves Artaud’s Present Day Flutes and Carin Levine and Christina Mitropoulos-Bott’s The Techniques of Flute Playing (Bärenreiter).

10Schools, teaching and methods

School / teacher	Period, place	Contribution
Jacques-Martin Hotteterre	Paris, 1707	the first flute method (Principes)
Johann Joachim Quantz	Berlin/Potsdam, 1752	the Versuch einer Anweisung: tone, articulation, ornamentation, taste
Johann George Tromlitz	Leipzig, 1791	Ausführlicher und gründlicher Unterricht die Flöte zu spielen
Theobald Böhm	Munich, 1871	Die Flöte und das Flötenspiel; 24 Caprices op. 26
The French school	Paris Conservatoire, from about 1890	Paul Taffanel (the founder of the modern school), Philippe Gaubert, Marcel Moyse; a light, colourful tone with vibrato; the Taffanel/Gaubert Méthode complète (1923)
The German school	19th/20th century	Ernesto Köhler, Maximilian Schwedler, Karl Friedrich Heinrich Zimmermann; later Aurèle Nicolet and Karlheinz Zöller
The American school	Philadelphia, New York	Georges Barrère (a Frenchman in New York), William Kincaid (Philadelphia Orchestra), Julius Baker; their pupils shaped the American orchestras
The English tradition	London	Geoffrey Gilbert, William Bennett, Trevor Wye (whose Practice Books are used worldwide)
Japan	Tokyo	a strong flute culture, instrument making and competitions (Kobe)

Studies and exercise books

Level	Works
Beginners	flute methods (Weinzierl/Wächter’s Schule für Querflöte, Gisela Mathiak’s Die Zauberflöte, Weinzierl’s Flöte spielen, Essential Elements, the Suzuki Flute School)
Lower and intermediate levels	Ernesto Köhler op. 33 (vols 1–2), Gariboldi op. 132, Berbiguier’s 18 Studies, Joachim Andersen op. 41
Advanced	Andersen op. 33, op. 30, op. 63 and op. 15; Böhm op. 26 and op. 37; Karg-Elert’s 30 Caprices op. 107
Tone and technique	Marcel Moyse: De la sonorité (1934) and Tone Development through Interpretation; Taffanel/Gaubert: 17 grands exercices journaliers; Trevor Wye: Practice Books; Peter-Lukas Graf: Check-up
Orchestra	collections of audition excerpts (Jeanne Baxtresser’s Orchestral Excerpts; the Bärenreiter and Peters orchestral studies)

11Repertoire

Baroque

Composer	Work
Jacques-Martin Hotteterre, Michel Blavet, Michel de la Barre	French suites and sonatas
Johann Sebastian Bach	Partita in A minor BWV 1013 (solo flute); the sonatas in B minor BWV 1030, A major BWV 1032, E minor BWV 1034 and E major BWV 1035; the trio sonata from the Musical Offering; the Orchestral Suite in B minor BWV 1067 (Badinerie); the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto
Georg Philipp Telemann	12 Fantasias for solo flute TWV 40:2–13; the Paris Quartets; concertos
George Frideric Handel	flute sonatas (the Halle sonatas, op. 1)
Antonio Vivaldi	the concertos op. 10 (“La tempesta di mare”, “La notte”, “Il gardellino”)
Johann Joachim Quantz, Frederick II	concertos and sonatas of the Berlin school
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach	Sonata in A minor Wq 132 (solo); concertos in D minor and G major

Classical and Romantic

Composer	Work
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	the flute concertos in G major K. 313 and D major K. 314 (1778); Andante in C major K. 315; Concerto for Flute and Harp in C major K. 299; four flute quartets
Carl Stamitz, Franz Danzi, François Devienne, Saverio Mercadante	concertos of the Classical period
Ludwig van Beethoven	Serenade in D major op. 25 (flute, violin, viola)
Franz Schubert	Introduction and Variations on “Trockne Blumen” D 802
Carl Maria von Weber	Trio in G minor op. 63 (flute, cello, piano)
Friedrich Kuhlau	numerous duets, sonatas and fantasias (the “Beethoven of the flute”)
Carl Reinecke	the “Undine” Sonata op. 167; Concerto in D major op. 283; Ballade
Franz and Karl Doppler	Fantaisie pastorale hongroise op. 26; duets
Theobald Böhm	Grande Polonaise, variations
Cécile Chaminade	Concertino in D major op. 107 (1902)
Gabriel Fauré	Fantaisie op. 79 (the Paris examination piece of 1898)
Paul Taffanel	Fantaisie on Der Freischütz; Andante pastoral et Scherzettino

The twentieth and twenty-first centuries

Composer	Work
Claude Debussy	Syrinx (1913) for solo flute; Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp (1915)
George Enescu, Philippe Gaubert, Albert Roussel	Paris examination pieces and sonatas
Edgard Varèse	Density 21.5 (1936) for solo flute
Jacques Ibert	Flute Concerto (1934)
Paul Hindemith	Sonata (1936); Eight Pieces for Flute Alone
Carl Nielsen	Flute Concerto (1926)
Frank Martin	Ballade (1939)
Sergei Prokofiev	Sonata in D major op. 94 (1943)
Francis Poulenc	Sonata (1957)
Henri Dutilleux	Sonatine (1943)
André Jolivet	Chant de Linos (1944); Concerto
Olivier Messiaen	Le Merle noir (1952)
Pierre Boulez	Sonatine (1946); … explosante-fixe …
Luciano Berio	Sequenza I (1958)
Kazuo Fukushima, Tōru Takemitsu	Mei (1962); Voice, Air
Brian Ferneyhough	Cassandra’s Dream Song, Unity Capsule
Salvatore Sciarrino	L’opera per flauto
Kaija Saariaho	Laconisme de l’aile, NoaNoa; the concerto Aile du songe
Ian Clarke, Wil Offermans, Robert Dick	contemporary works using extended techniques
Lowell Liebermann	Sonata op. 23; Concerto
Marc-André Dalbavie, Elliott Carter, Christopher Rouse	concertos of the present day

Chamber music

The wind quintet (Reicha, Danzi, Hindemith’s Kleine Kammermusik, Ligeti’s Six Bagatelles); flute and harp (Mozart, Saint-Saëns’s Fantaisie, Ibert’s Entr’acte); flute and guitar (Giuliani, Piazzolla’s Histoire du Tango); flute quartets (Mozart); the trio with viola and harp (Debussy); and flute choirs and ensembles.

Orchestral solos and audition excerpts

Work	Passage
Bach, St Matthew Passion	the aria “Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben”
Beethoven, Leonore III	the solo call in the Allegro
Brahms, Symphony no. 4	the solo in the finale (passacaglia)
Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream	the Scherzo
Rossini, William Tell	the overture
Bizet, Carmen	the entr’acte before Act 3
Dvořák, Symphony no. 8	the solos in the first and fourth movements
Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune	the opening solo
Ravel, Daphnis et Chloé	the solo in the “Pantomime”
Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf	the bird
Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker	the “Dance of the Reed Flutes”
Saint-Saëns, The Carnival of the Animals	“Volière”
Stravinsky, The Firebird, Petrushka	solos

12Transverse flutes around the world

The European flute is only one branch of a worldwide family of side-blown flutes. Many of them still use bamboo or wood without keys, and reach chromatic notes through half-covered holes and blowing technique.

Instrument	Region	Characteristics	Well-known players
Bansuri	North India	bamboo, 6–7 finger holes, large instruments for low fundamentals; raga improvisation with slides (meend)	Pannalal Ghosh, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Rakesh Chaurasia
Venu (pullanguzhal)	South India	bamboo, 8 finger holes, Carnatic music	T. R. Mahalingam, N. Ramani, Shashank Subramanyam
Dizi	China	bamboo with an additional hole covered by a thin membrane (dimo); a characteristic buzzing tone	Zhao Songting, Tang Junqiao
Shinobue, ryūteki, nōkan	Japan	bamboo transverse flutes of folk music (matsuri), of gagaku and of the Noh theatre	–
Irish flute	Ireland, Scotland	the conical wooden nineteenth-century “simple system” flute (0–8 keys), today often keyless reproductions in D; ornaments (cuts, rolls) and breathing used rhythmically	Matt Molloy, Catherine McEvoy, Kevin Crawford
Fife	Europe, USA	the small, high transverse flute of marching bands and fife-and-drum corps (as at the Basel carnival)	–
Flauta de cinco llaves	Cuba	a five-keyed wooden flute, the lead instrument of the charanga (danzón, cha-cha-chá) with brilliant improvisation in the high register	José Fajardo, Richard Egües
Choro flute	Brazil	the flute as the melody instrument of choro	Pixinguinha, Altamiro Carrilho
Fulani flute	West Africa	a transverse flute with few holes, played while singing at the same time	–

Related, but not transverse flutes in the strict sense, are the end-blown flutes such as the Arabic and Turkish ney, the Japanese shakuhachi and the Andean quena, which many flautists also learn.

13Jazz, pop and film music

In jazz the flute established itself from the 1950s, mostly as a second instrument for saxophonists. Important players include Frank Wess, Herbie Mann (Latin and bossa jazz), Eric Dolphy, Yusef Lateef, Rahsaan Roland Kirk (singing while playing, circular breathing), Hubert Laws, James Moody, Jeremy Steig, Dave Valentin, Nicole Mitchell and Elena Pinderhughes. In rock, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull shaped a percussive flute style shot through with vocal sounds; in pop and progressive rock (the Moody Blues, Genesis, Focus) and in film (from The Lord of the Rings with its Irish flute to Hollywood orchestras) the flute is everywhere. The flute beatboxers of the 2000s brought the instrument to social media.

14Leading flautists

Period	Names
18th century	Michel Blavet, Johann Joachim Quantz, Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin, Johann Baptist Wendling
19th century	Louis Drouet, Charles Nicholson, Theobald Böhm, Louis Dorus, Franz and Karl Doppler, Paul Taffanel
Early 20th century	Philippe Gaubert, Georges Barrère, Marcel Moyse, René Le Roy, Gustav Scheck
Mid-20th century	Jean-Pierre Rampal, Severino Gazzelloni, Julius Baker, Aurèle Nicolet, Maxence Larrieu, William Bennett, Karlheinz Zöller
Late 20th century	James Galway, Peter-Lukas Graf, Paula Robison, Irena Grafenauer, Patrick Gallois, Emmanuel Pahud, Robert Aitken
The present day	Sharon Bezaly, Magali Mosnier, Mathieu Dufour, Andrea Lieberknecht, Denis Bouriakov, Clara Andrada, Sébastian Jacot, Kaja Pečnik
Baroque traverso	Frans Brüggen, Barthold Kuijken, Wilbert Hazelzet, Konrad Hünteler, Marcello Gatti

15Training and competitions

The flute is taught at every conservatoire, usually with the piccolo as a compulsory or additional subject and the traverso in early music departments. Important international competitions are the Kobe International Flute Competition (since 1985), the Carl Nielsen International Competition (Odense), the Concours international de flûte Jean-Pierre Rampal (Paris), the ARD International Music Competition (Munich), the Kraków flute competition and the competitions of the National Flute Association (USA), as well as the German youth competition “Jugend musiziert”. The German Flute Society (DGfF) and the British Flute Society hold conventions.

16Buying and costs

Category	Guide price (new)	Typical specification
Children’s and beginners’ flutes	about €150–400 (plastic) or €500–1,200 (metal)	silver-plated, closed keys, sometimes a curved headjoint, split E mechanism
Intermediate	about €1,500–4,000	a silver headjoint or silver body, ring keys, often a B foot
Solid silver, professional	about €5,000–20,000	hand-made mechanism, drawn or soldered tone holes
Gold, platinum	about €20,000 to over €100,000	top instruments
Piccolo	about €600–8,000	wood (grenadilla) or plastic; metal piccolos for outdoor wind bands
Alto flute	about €2,500–15,000	straight or curved headjoint

17Care and maintenance

• Dry all the sections inside after playing with the cleaning rod and a cotton or microfibre cloth; hold the headjoint by the tube, not by the embouchure hole.
• Wipe the outside with a silver cloth (fingerprints cause tarnish); do not use silver polish on the mechanism.
• When assembling, hold the sections by the tube rather than the mechanism; keep the tenons clean and do not grease them.
• Lift sticking pads with cleaning paper (without adhesive); avoid sugary food and drink before playing.
• Do not move the tuning cork; check its position with the cleaning rod from time to time.
• Workshop: an annual check, pad replacement as needed, and a full overhaul roughly every 5 to 10 years.

18Learning the flute

Stage	Content
The first weeks	producing a tone on the headjoint, posture, breathing, the first notes B4, A4 and G4
Year 1	a range of D4–D6, simple keys, tonguing, legato, short pieces and duets
Years 2–3	C4–G6, all scales up to four sharps or flats, dynamics, ensemble and youth orchestra playing
Years 4–5	the full range, vibrato, double tonguing, baroque sonatas (Handel, Telemann), Köhler and Andersen studies
Advanced	the Mozart concertos, the French repertoire, triple tonguing, piccolo, orchestral excerpts
Preparing for a degree course	Bach’s sonatas and the Partita, Prokofiev, Ibert, Poulenc, contemporary works, audition repertoire

Many people start on the recorder and change at about eight to ten; reading and some fingerings are already familiar, but the embouchure has to be learnt afresh.

19The flute at Cuxhaven Music School

We teach the flute to children, young people and adults – from the first notes on the headjoint to competitions and preparation for a degree course, in classical music as well as jazz, folk and pop. Our teachers advise on children’s flutes with a curved headjoint and on instruments to borrow, and bring flautists into our ensembles early on. Related instruments: the oboe and the recorder.

20Frequently asked questions

Why is the flute a woodwind instrument?

The classification follows the way the sound is produced (without the lip vibration of the brass) rather than the material; and until the nineteenth century flutes were in fact made of wood.

From what age can you start?

With a curved headjoint from about six or seven, with a normal flute usually from eight or nine. What matters is that the arms can reach the flute without strain.

Why do I feel dizzy at the beginning?

Because a lot of air passes by the embouchure hole and you are breathing more deeply than usual. It passes as the embouchure improves; regular breaks help.

Open or closed keys?

Closed keys are easier to begin with; from intermediate level open (ring) keys have advantages. Ring-key flutes can be fitted with plugs at first.

Solid silver or silver-plated – can you hear the difference?

The differences are smaller than often assumed; the headjoint, the workmanship and the player shape the sound far more. A solid silver headjoint is nevertheless the most worthwhile first upgrade.

How loud is a flute?

Fairly quiet in the low register and powerful in the high one (peaks above 100 dB right at the ear). The piccolo is very loud, and hearing protection on the right side makes sense for orchestral players.

Can you play the flute with braces?

Yes, usually after a short adjustment; the embouchure and lip position adapt. Orthodontic wax helps if it is uncomfortable.

21Glossary

Embouchure

The position of the lips and the direction of the air stream.

Breath support

Controlled exhalation using the breathing muscles.

Boehm system

The modern flute mechanism devised by Theobald Böhm (1847).

Corps de rechange

Interchangeable middle joints of the baroque flute for different pitch standards.

Dimo

The membrane on the Chinese dizi.

Cross fingering

A fingering with a closed hole below an open one.

B foot

A foot joint extending down to B3.

Headjoint

The upper section with the embouchure hole; decisive for the sound.

Lip plate

The plate around the embouchure hole against which the lower lip rests.

Offset G

A G key set forward from the line.

Ring keys

Keys with an opening in the middle.

Tuning cork

The cork in the headjoint; it affects the tuning of the octaves.

Traverso

The baroque wooden flute with a conical bore.

Undercutting

The chamfering of the walls of the embouchure hole.

Whistle tone

A very quiet whistling overtone.

Circular breathing

Breathing in through the nose while continuing to blow.

22Sources and further reading

• Ardal Powell: The Flute. Yale University Press, New Haven 2002.
• Nancy Toff: The Flute Book. Oxford University Press, 3rd edn 2012.
• Theobald Böhm: Die Flöte und das Flötenspiel in akustischer, technischer und artistischer Beziehung. Munich 1871.
• Johann Joachim Quantz: Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversiere zu spielen. Berlin 1752.
• Jacques-Martin Hotteterre: Principes de la flûte traversière. Paris 1707.
• Paul Taffanel, Philippe Gaubert: Méthode complète de flûte. Leduc, Paris 1923.
• Robert Dick: The Other Flute. Oxford University Press 1975.
• Carin Levine, Christina Mitropoulos-Bott: The Techniques of Flute Playing. Bärenreiter, Kassel.
• Neville H. Fletcher, Thomas D. Rossing: The Physics of Musical Instruments. Springer, 2nd edn 1998.
• John W. Coltman: “Effect of material on flute tone quality”. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 49 (1971).
• Nicholas J. Conard and others: “New flutes document the earliest musical tradition in southwestern Germany”. Nature 460 (2009).
• Article “Flöte” in: MGG; “Flute” in: Grove Music Online.

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Last updated: September 2026 · Musikpedia editorial team, Cuxhaven Music School