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There~s More to a Flute Than Just a Toot!
by Beverly Rocca
http://www.flutefun.com

It~s easy to pick out the melodic notes of a flute in
many of the symphonies and even in trendy music that
youngsters listen to nowadays. As the flute has been in
existence for so long and comes in many shapes and sizes
you~ll find derivatives of the flute in many branches of
the musical tree. You can play melodies on a flute in lots
of different musical ranges and the range you play in
totally depends on which flute you are playing. The flute
has really branched out throughout time.

All flutes, no matter what type, actually belong to the
aerophone group, more commonly known as a wind instrument.
To make notes on a flute you have to blow air against the
edge of the mouthpiece. This makes half of the air you
blow go down inside the flute which vibrates to produce a
note. This is pretty much the same as when a kid blows
across the top of a glass bottle. The finger holes on the
flute help to make different musical notes as they either
elongate or restrict the vibrating air.

When was the first flute made? It~s difficult to know for
sure as the flute has been around for so long; it was
actually the first melodic instrument ever crafted. To
give you an idea of just how long they have been around an
early flute was found in Eastern Europe in the 1990~s and
is believed to be over 80,000 years old. This bone flute
can still play the higher notes of the diatonic scale.

Are all flutes made from bone? Of course not! Throughout
history flutes have been made from all manner of materials
including stone, bamboo, reeds, baked clay, porcelain,
hard woods, glass, ivory, silver and the contemporary
materials such as tough rubber and plastic.

Though there are many types of flutes, they fall into two
main categories: side-blown (known as transverse) and
end-blown. Both types of flutes have been in existence
throughout the history of humanity and have touched all of
the world~s cultures, in one form or other. Among these
are the Japanese Shakuhachi (notched flute), Ocarina
(globular duct flute), South American Antara Panpipes
(rim-blown flute), Soprano Recorder (fipple or duct
flute), Fife (Transverse Flute) and the Irish Tin Whistle
(flageolet-type fipple flute).

Where did today~s flutes originally come from? The flutes
that we identify with are the ones that are played in
concerts and this design comes from Eastern Europe. It has
existed for over eight centuries and started off as a
keyless side-blown flute. It has evolved considerably
since then. Its part of the ~consort~ family of flutes,
the same as the end-blown recorder. This family of
instruments is categorized by how big or small they are;
you start with the soparino which is the smallest and then
move through the group to bigger instruments such as the
soprano, alto, tenor and bass.

There have been many more different types of flutes
developed since then. These include flutes crafted from
gold or silver and known as the contralto, contrabass and
double contrabass flutes. Other substances that are used
in today~s flutes include wood, brass, platinum, nickel
and plastic. In terms of size you can get the biggest
which is a bass flute in C, to an alto flute in G, a tenor
flute, a concert flute, a soprano flute in Eb, a treble
flute in G or the tiniest of the all, the piccolo in C.

The beautiful and melodic sound of the flute, whether it
is part of the aerophone group or any other musical
family, has been heard by humans throughout the passage of
human existence.

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