The flute is a woodwind instrument. It is played by blowing across
a hole on one end and plugging certain holes in the body to modify
pitch. Thus, the word "flute" comes from the Latin word
"flutus," meaning breath. It can be made of metal or wood,
depending on the tone the player wishes to produce. The most common
version of the flute is the transversal flute, a style in which
the instrument is held parallel to the ground. The common European
flute is constructed so that it can be taken apart into three joints:
the head joint, middle joint, and foot joint. The preferred metals
to make flutes are silver, gold, or nickel silver (a blend of copper,
zinc, and nickel). Sometimes it is even made of platinum, but not
often. The preferred wood is Grenadilla, a hard, heavy wood found
in the Congo Basin in Africa. Some people believe that gold is the best metal for a solo flute because it vibrates the best. Scientists point out that it is not the metal or wood itself, but rather the air blown inside that vibrates. Therefore, it is unlikely that the material should affect the sound too drastically. Gold flute usually does sound better, but that may be because more care is gone into constructing these instruments out of a precious, expensive metal. However, orchestra musicians prefer silver flute (perhaps with a gold plate inside) because they tend to carry much better than delicate gold instruments. The flute's close relatives are basically larger or smaller versions. The piccolo is simply that, a smaller flute. The word "piccolo" comes from "flauto piccolo," meaning "little flute". Piccolos are usually made out of wood, plastic, and/or metal. They have most of the same fingerings as the flute, require a tighter embouchure, and are an octave higher. The octave difference is because the piccolo is half the size of the flute. As the ancient Greeks demonstrated, if you cut a string in half, the half-string will sound an octave higher than the original when plucked. The lower relatives of the flute include the alto, bass, and octobass. The alto is just a bit larger, and has three notes lower than the standard. The bass is twice the size and goes an octave lower. Because the bass is so large, it would be impossible to reach all the keys if it were stretched out to its full length. So, the head joint is shaped in a J in order for the mouthpiece and keysto be within the player's reach. The octobass is the same way, but has a curving foot joint as well as the head joint. This monster measures a full 3 meters when straightened and is made of 4.5 kilos of brass in weight. The "flute family" is the oldest in the category of
woodwind instruments. Throughout history the size of the tube
along the flutes length has evolved in respect to its bore shape.
The term "flute" refers to a broad number of instruments
which are found in many different cultures. There are many names
for this special kind of flute. These names include: cross flute,
German flute, transverse flute and flauto traverso. What is important
about all of these names is that they define an instrument that
is held horizontally while being played. The instrument's earliest
probable history dates back to approximately 900 B.C. This instrument,
which was found in China, is called a ch'ie. |
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