The Flute
A brief Introduction to the flute’s historical development and present-day usage
The flute, sometimes called a Boehm flute or concert flute, is typically cylindrical and is commonly made of metal and played transversely. It is assembled in three sections called the headjoint, body and footjoint. The body also contains most of the key-and-lever mechanism.
The flute is held transversely to the player’s right and supported in three positions: the right hand thumb, the jaw where the flute rests against it and the index finger which acts as a pivot. Sound is produced by blowing a steady stream of air through a small elliptical opening, formed by the lips, across the far edge of the hole (embouchure hole), sited on top of the headjoint. The pitches are changed by pressing and releasing a system of keys (pads); in turn, the keywork and levers may also depress other pads.
Historical origins and development
Flute-like instruments have been found dating back to before the time of Christ. Further proof exists in pictorial evidence such as murals, paintings, statues and also in written evidence, such as poems that describe a flute-like instrument. For example, most have heard of the mythical Greek God Pan, a fawn-like creature, often pictured playing pan-pipes and a range of flutes.
During the Renaissance period (15th and 16th centuries), flutes were made of wood and in different sizes, the tenor in ‘D’ being closer in size to the standard concert flute used today. They were keyless with six holes, the tenor being in two pieces with an opening on the headjoint to blow the air across.
The Baroque period saw revolutionary improvements in the flute, largely due to the flute makers Hotteterre (1674-1763). The flute was now made in three sections; the headjoint, body and footjoint. The headjoint remained cylindrical, but saw a change in the body which now had a narrowing conical bore. It also saw the introduction of the right E♭ key to be played by the little finger (this is still used today).
Slight changes were made to the flute during the 18th century which lead to French flute maker Quantz (Johann Joachim Quantz, 1697 – 1773) added a tuning cork “best results were achieved when the distance between it and the mouth hole was equal to its diameter “[1] and the C# key on the footjoint . The flute’s pitch was unpredictable, so Quantz came up with the idea of a tuning slide as part of the headjoint by making it longer. This would help tuning when playing with other instruments and make it more adaptable when playing with instruments of differing pitch. Quantz’s mouth holes were also different, as he had made them more elliptical. Around 1770, work started on improving the flute’s scales to enable a complete chromatic scale (a scale of semi-tones) without excessive cross-fingerings. With these new notes came new keys and levers (metal). This was very much a work in progress in the 19th century, especially by the German flute maker Theobald Boehm (1794-1881). These flutes were made of grenadilla wood. The key in which the flutes played in this era would be ‘D’; the conical shape remains but with the introduction of more keys. This is often called the Old Boehm system.
During the 19th century, a technological event happened as Boehm continued to improve his mechanical system, introducing the cylindrical bore and the fully keyed and levered system used in modern flutes. Although "The mechanism of the Boehm flute is standard save in one important particular - the G# (sharp) key - and several minor ones. With regards to the G# key, Boehm intended this to be an 'open G# key', sprung to stay open, and closed by the little finger from G natural downwards. This arrangement has been widely retained in England, but the French would never have it. Instead, they rearranged the key as a closed key (sprung to keep closed) as it had been on the old flute before, so that the little finger presses it only for the G#'s and for those notes in the high register that require it to be open.[2] Flutes are more commonly purchased and played as standard today using the French practice of the ‘closed G#’ key system.
The flutes usage
The flute has been played within a wide range of settings throughout the world and across the centuries. For example, 14th century paintings show the flute being used in military situations.”The Swiss soldiers used a flute and a drum to signal precise movements to a tight and mobile formation of soldiers armed with pikes, halberds, swords, crossbows, and firearms. These effective techniques, including the use of the flute, were copied all over Europe within a few years.”[3] Although flute is mentioned here, it may historically have been the fife which today has evolved into the piccolo (a smaller version of the flute), being a much higher pitched and shrill instrument making it easier to hear.
“No distinction was made at this time between 'flute' and 'fife', so that the earliest written instructions for playing the instrument (Virdung, 1511) described only the instrument's military role. A slightly later instruction book (Agricola, 1529, 1545) showed that by then it was used in four-part consort music too.”[4]
Flutes are also often seen today in wind and military bands. The music handed down through centuries would have been played by the fife. “The instrument we recognise as a 'fife', a short, shrill flute with six or more fingerholes, had appeared by the end of the 16th century. German mercenary troops and others made it the traditional signalling and ceremonial instrument, so that massed bands of fife and drum became an emblem of the American War of Independence, among other struggles.“
“The fife was replaced by the bugle in the 19th century, but has recently been revived in Switzerland, by North American war re-enactors, and in the Pope's Swiss Guard at the Vatican, which was founded in 1548 but replaced fifes with bugles in 1814.” [5]
We also have pictorial evidence of flutes being played in consort going back as far as Henry VII’s reign. Often used in sets of family members it wasn’t till later in the 17th century that mixed consorts were developing. “France set the cultural fashions for the rest of Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, so the fact that woodwind music in general, and - increasingly - flute music in particular, were appreciated at the French court had important consequences for countries (and musicians) far and wide"[6].
Ireland had their own flutes.”Irish flutes were originally old simple system flutes that were discarded by concert musicians during the advent of the modern Boehm system”. “Historically, there were two main styles of Irish flute, the Pratten and the Rudall & Rose. The Pratten has wider bore dimensions and provides a louder sound, while the Rudall & Rose has a darker, pure tone and is slightly thinner than the Pratten style flute” [7]
During the latter years of the 18th century, the European concert flute became increasingly popular in ensembles, symphonies and concertos. Currently, the flute has been accepted as a jazz instrument (used in big bands and jazz bands) and as a solo instrument.
[1] James Galway, Flute, Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides, Kahn & Averill, London, pg. 28.
[2] Anthony Baines, Woodwind Instruments and Their HistoryDover Publications, Inc. pg.63.
[3] http://www.flutehistory.com/Instrument/Military.php3 14th August 2009
[4] http://www.flutehistory.com/Instrument/Military.php3 14th August 2009
[5] http://www.flutehistory.com/Instrument/Military.php3 14th August 2009
[6] James Galway, Flute, Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides, Kahn & Averill, London, pg 19.
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_flute, 14th August 2009