Western concert flute
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The Western concert flute or C flute (most flutes are tuned to the key of C) is a transverse (or side-blown) flute, a musical instrument of the woodwind family. A musician who plays the flute is generally called a flautist or flutist. Thousands of works have been composed for flute. Other types of flute exist, uncommon varieties are the alto and bass flute. contra-alto flutes and contrabass flutes are rarer, the latter is only available from certain flute makers. The other varieties of flute are excessively rare, with only four double contrabass flutes and only one hyperbass flute in the world. Flutes are used in many ensembles including concert bands, orchestras, flute ensembles, occasionally jazz bands and big bands.
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[edit] Description
The Western concert flute is a transverse (or side-blown) flute that is closed at the top. The instrument is played by blowing a stream of air over the embouchure hole (äm-bù-shəre) or tone hole. The flute has 16 circular finger holes, which can be used to produce high and low sounds depending on which finger holes are opened or closed as well as the direction and intensity of the air stream.
The standard concert flute is pitched in C and has a range of about three and a half octaves starting from the musical note C4 (corresponding to middle C on the piano), however, some experienced flautists are able to reach C8. Modern professional flutes have a B-foot joint, which can reach B4.
Also commonly used in Western orchestras is the piccolo, a small flute usually pitched an octave above the concert flute. Alto and bass flutes, pitched a fourth and an octave below the concert flute, are used occasionally. Parts for the alto flute are more common than for the bass. Many other sizes of flute and piccolo are used from time to time. A much less common instrument in this pitching system is the treble G flute. An older pitching system, used principally in older wind-band music, includes D-flat piccolos, E-flat soprano flutes (the primary instrument, equivalent to today's concert C flutes), F alto flutes, and B-flat bass flutes.
The modern professional concert flute is generally made of silver, gold, or combinations of the two. Student instruments are usually made of nickel silver, or silver-plated brass. Wooden flutes and headjoints are more widely available than in the past. Piccolos are often constructed with head and body of different matirials, which is usually seen as an unfavorable construction.
Some jazz and rock ensembles include flutes. Since Boehm's fingering is used in saxophones as well as in concert flutes, many flute players "double" on saxophone for jazz and small ensembles, and vice versa.
The flute is usually held with three points of pressure between the lower lip, base of left index finger, and right thumb.
Flutes often have some of the most rapidly changing parts in orchestral music. To become able to play these parts, one should practice complex scales and arpeggios in different modes and keys.
More advanced flute-players can also employ vibrato. When playing with vibrato, a player varies the amount of air blown through the instrument at a rapid rate to create a wobble in the pitch and amplitude of the tone. Most classical and some jazz flute players tend to play with a continuous vibrato, though the amount and speed of vibrato can be altered for expressive purposes. Many purists contend that Baroque music should be played without vibrato, or with vibrato only on certain notes. More specifically, most flute methods from that period call for vibrati - a finger vibrato - rather than a vibrato of breath pulsations. Eventually, when the breath attacks are too fast to be counted as separate notes, they become an instant though not yet subtle vibrato.
In outdoor playing, wind can "blow out" players' embouchures, causing the air stream to become misplaced. It is normal practice for the piccolo and flute players of a marching band to face away from the wind in heavy weather. The section-leader of the flutes in the marching band normally makes this decision.
A maladjusted flute will not play well. Loose keys caused by loose screws or wear in the key shafts make clicking noises and cause pad alignnment problems and leaks. Old pads can rot and leak, making it imposible to play certain notes. Rough handling can bend the keys and make them leak. The return springs can be dislodged or break, preventing opening or closure of the keys depending on if they are normally closed or normally open keys. Occasionally the alignment pins can fall out.
[edit] History
The flute has a long history, because it is one of the oldest wind instruments and one of the most widespread instruments in the world. The following section follows the history of the history of the western concert flute, for flutes in general see flute.
[edit] Medieval Flutes (1000-1400)
Throughout the 10th, 12th and 13th century, transverse flutes were very uncommon in Europe, with the recorder being more prominent. The transverse flute arrived in Europe from Asia, via the Byzantine Empire, where it migrated to Germany and France. These flutes became known as "German flutes", to distinguish them from others, such as the recorder[1]. The flute became used in court music, along with the viol, and was used in secular music, although only in France and Germany. It would not spread to the rest of Europe for nearly a century. The first literary appearance of the transverse flute was made in 1285, by Adenet le Roi in a list of instruments he played. After this, a period of 70 years ensues, where there are few references to the flute.
[edit] Renaissance (1400-1600) and Baroque Flutes (1600-1760)
Begining in the 1470s, a military revival in Europe led to a revival in the flute. The Swiss army used flutes for signaling, and this helped the flute spread to all of Europe[2]. In the late 1500s, flutes were beginign to be used in court music (predecessors of the orchestra), and the first flute solos. Following the 16th century court music, flutes began appearing in chamber ensembles. These flutes were often tuned to the key of D, and used as the tenor voice. However, flutes varied greatly in size and range. This made transposition necessary, which led to the development of hexachords. Hexachords were employed by flutists to transpose music more easily[3]. With the onset of the baroque era, flutes become used in the scores of opera, ballet and chamber music. With this, composers now wrote music for the flute. These included Praetorius, Schütz, Rebillé and Descoteaux, Bach, Telemann, Blavet, Vivaldi and Handel. Because of the works of such composers, the flute was becoming popular as a solo instrument. However there were few professional flutists who had the instrument as their main instrument (many had oboe as their main instrument. In 1707, Jacques Martin Hotteterre wrote the first method book on playing the flute: Principes de la flûte traversière. The 1730s brought an increase in operatic and chamber music feature of flutes. The end of this era found the publication of Essay of a Method of Playing the Transverse Flute by Quantz, considered the greatest exposition on flute method of its time.
[edit] Classical Flutes (1760-1820)and Romantic Flutes (1820-1900)
The later half of the 18th century shows the first orchestras being formed, and the flute being a member thereof, featured in symphonies and concertos. Throughout the rest of the century the interest in flutes increases, and peaks in the early half of the 1800s[4]. Friedrich Dülon is the flutist considered a great artist, and Theobald Boehm begins flute making. The style of flutist change during the classical era; keys were added to the flute to strengthen its lower register, used by all professional flutists. With the romantic era, flutes begin to lose favor. Symphony Orchestras feature brass and strings more, and many musicians do not accept Boehm’s new flute design, however they will slowly win favor throughout Europe as the century wears on, until the end of the century brings a flute revival is spurred by Artists such as Debussy, when the Boehm flute has won favor. The early 19th century saw a great variety in flute designs. Conical bores giving a penetrating sound used in Vienna, English flutes had a range to low C and played best in flat keys, French flutes that gave a softer tone, and German flutes that blended best with orchestras.
[edit] Meyer flute
The Meyer flute is the predecessor to the Boehm flute. It was a combination of a traditional keyed flute and the Viennese flute, and became the most common throughout Europe and America. It had 12 keys, body of wood, head joint of metal and ivory, common at the end of the century[5].
[edit] Boehm flute
The dimensions and key system of the modern western concert flute and its close relatives are almost completely the work of the great flutist, composer, acoustician and silversmith, Theobald Boehm, who described his invention in his 1871 book, The Flute and Flute Playing. Minor additions to and variations on his key system are common but the acoustical structure of the tube remains almost exactly as he designed it. The most substantial departures from Boehm's original description are the universal eliminiation of the "crutch" for the left hand and the almost universal adoption of Briccialdi's thumb key mechanism instead of Boehm's. Boehm's key system, with minor variations, continues to be regarded as the most effective system of any modern woodwind, allowing trained players to perform with facility in all keys and with extraordinary velocity and brilliance. The modern flute has three octaves plus c-c#-d in the fourth octave. Many modern composers used the high dm; while such extremes are not commonly used, the modern flute can perform up to an f in its fourth octave.
[edit] Giorgi flute
Quite at the opposite end of the spectrum, in terms of the complexity of the key system developed by Boehm, was the Giorgi flute, an advanced form of the ancient holed flute. Patented in 1897, the Giorgi flute was designed without any mechanical keys, though the patent allows for the addition of keys as options. Giorgi enabled the performer to play equally true in all musical keys, as does the Boehm system. Giorgi flutes are now rarities, found in museums and private collections. The underlying principles of both flute patterns are virtually identical, with tone holes spaced as required to produce a fully chromatic scale. The player, by opening and closing holes, adjusts the effective length of the tube, and thus the rate of oscillation, which defines the audible pitch.
[edit] 20th Century Flutes
With the ability to record sound (beginning in the 1890s), flutes begin to regain their favorability, not seen since the classical era. Recordings of flute music become increasingly common, with professional flutists spending a great deal of time recording music. Beginning in the 1970s, models of alto and bass flutes are invented for modern music and flute ensembles. In the 1990s, the French model replaces the previously used pre-1940 Boehm model, used by professionals. The 20th century brings the first recordings of Baroque music on modern flutes.
[edit] Boehm-Lot-Cooper Flute
In the 1950s, Albert Cooper modified the Boehm Flute to make playing modern music easier. The flute was tuned to A440, and the embouchure hole was cut in a new way to change to timbre of the flute. These flutes became the most used flutes by profesionals and by amatuers.
[edit] Brögger Flute
In the 1980s, Johan Brögger modified the Boehm-Lot-Cooper flute, by fixing two major problems that had existed for nearly 150 years. malajustument between certain keys, and problems between the G key and the B♭ key. The result was non-rotating shafts, which gave a quiter sound and less friction on moving parts. Also the modifications allowed for springs to be adjusted individually, and the flute was strengthened.
[edit] Kingma Flute
The Kingma flute was developed at the end of the 20th century by Eva Kingma and Bickford Brannen to allow the use of quarter tones. It is esentially a Boehm flute, with the ability to play quarter tones and has better capablitiy of producing multiphonics. These abilities are especially useful for those who wish to play eastern music and for jazz flutists.
[edit] Appearance and development
The precursors of the modern concert flute were keyless wooden transverse flutes, similar to modern fifes. Later these were modified to be well tempered, and include between one and eight keys to aid in producing chromatic notes. The most common pitch for such flutes was and remains D, but other pitches sometimes occur. These simple system flutes continue to be used in folk music (particularly Irish traditional music) and in "historically informed" performances of Baroque (and earlier) music.
[edit] Construction and materials
Concert flutes have three parts: the head, the body, and the foot. The head is sealed by a cork (or plug). It is possible to make fine adjustments to tuning by adjusting the headjoint cork, but usually it is left in the factory-recommended position around 17.3mm from the centre of the embouchure hole for best scale. Gross, temporary adjustments of pitch are made by moving the head in and out of the head-joint. The player makes fine or rapid adjustments of pitch and timbre by adjusting the embouchure, and/or adjusting the position of the flute in relation to the player, i.e. side to side, or rolling in and out.
Often, a different head can make the flute play like a different flute. Some flute makers sell both end blown heads and transverse heads that can be interchanged. The same flute body can be used as a whistle/recorder style instrument, or as a transverse flute.
The most common mechanical options of flutes are "offset G" keys, "split E" modification, and a "B foot." All of Boehm’s original models had offset G keys, which are mechanically simpler, and permit a more relaxed hand position, especially for younger players. Offset G keys are more common on less-expensive flutes, but available on almost all makes at every level of expense. The in-line G was originally invented because it was easier to manufacture, and was used by the better commercial flutes. The split E modification makes the third octave E easier to play for some players. The B foot extends the range of the flute down one semitone to B below middle C.
Trill keys permit rapid alternation between two notes. Fingerings using the trill keys also permit a skilled player to reach four octaves of range, though the commonly used range is three octaves. The C# trill key, an increasingly popular option available on many top-end professional flutes, allows many trills and tremolos that would otherwise be difficult or impossible.
Less-expensive flutes are constructed of nickel alloys, possibly silver-plated. Flutes that are more expensive are made of silver alloys. Flutes have been constructed of gold, platinum, wood, glass and many other materials.
The tubes are usually drawn. Soldered tubes are thought by some to improve tone. Tone-holes may be either drawn or soldered. The rest of the mechanism is constructed by lost-wax castings and machining, with mounting posts silver-soldered to the tube. On the best flutes, the castings are forged to increase their strength.
The head joint tube is tapered slightly towards the closed end. Boehm described the shape of the taper as parabolic, but examination of his flutes did not reveal a true parabolic curve. The head joint is the most difficult part to construct, because the lip-rest and tone-hole have critical dimensions, edges and angles, which vary slightly in different models. Head joint geometry appears particularly critical to acoustic performance and tone [6], but there is no clear consensus on a particular shape amongst manufacturers. Acoustic impedance of the embouchure hole appears the most critical parameter [7]. Critical variables affecting this acoustic impedance include: chimney length (hole between lip-plate and head tube), chimney diameter, and radiuses or curvature of the ends of the chimney. Generally, the shorter the hole, the more quickly a flute can be played; the longer the hole, the more complex the tone. Finding a particularly good example of a flute is dependent on play testing.
The holes are stopped by pads constructed of fish skin (gold-beater's skin) over felt, or in some very low-cost or “ruggedized” flutes, silicone rubber. Accurate shimming of pads on professional instruments to ensure pad sealing is very demanding of techncian time. In the time-honoured method, pads are seated on paper shims sealed with shellac. A recent development is "precision" pads fitted by a factory-trained technician. Student model flutes are more likely to have pads bedded in thicker materials like wax or hot melt glue. Larger sized closed hole pads are also held in with screws and washers. Synthetic pads appear more water resistant but may be susceptible to mechanical failure (cracking).
Flutes may have open or closed tone holes (ring keys). Student models generally have closed holes for ease of playing. Flutes for more advanced players generally have open-holed, "French" keys in order to facilitate alternate fingerings, "extended techniques" (e.g. quarter-tones, glissando) and multiphonics. Multiphonics and microtones are possible on closed-hole -flute, but not on entire register and is hard to get; glissandos are limited to half tone only in this kind of flute). Many flute-players prefer these open-hole keys (some say that open-holes create a better projection of the sound). Closed holes permit a more relaxed hand position for some players, which can help their playing. Plugs can be used to seal off the open holes of learning students.
Flutes key axles are typically made of drill rod steel or stainless steel. Flutes' steel axles and mechanisms need periodic cleaning and relubrication for optimal performance. Phelan recommends motor oil in preference to commercially available "key oil".
Most flute keys have needle springs, made of phosphor bronze, stainless steel, beryllium copper, or a gold alloy. The B thumb keys typically have flat springs. Phosphor bronze is by far the most common material for needle springs because it is relatively inexpensive, makes a good spring, and is resistant to corrosion. Unfortunately, it is prone to metal fatigue. Stainless steel also makes a good spring and is resistant to corrosion. Gold springs are found mostly in high-end flutes because of its cost.
[edit] In jazz
Flutes were rarely used in early jazz. Drummer and bandleader Chick Webb was among the first to use flutes in jazz, beginning in the late 1930s. Since then, a number of notable performers have used flutes in jazz, including Eric Dolphy and Herbie Mann. Many saxophonists take up flute as a second instrument.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Powell, Ardal, Dr. Medieval flutes. FluteHistory.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- ^ Powell, Ardal, Dr. Military flutes. FluteHistory.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- ^ Powell, Ardal, Dr. Renaissance flutes. FluteHistory.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- ^ Powell, Ardal, Dr. Classical flutes. FluteHistory.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- ^ Powell, Ardal, Dr. 19th Century flutes. FluteHistory.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- ^ Spell, Eldred (1983). "Anatomy of a Headjoint". Flute Worker, the. ISSN: 0737-8459.
- ^ Wolfe, Joe. Acoustic impedance of the flute. Flute acoustics: an introduction.
[edit] References
- Boehm, Theobald (1964). The Flute and Flute-Playing. Dover Pblications.
- Phelan, James (2004). The Complete Guide to the Flute and Piccolo. Burkart-Phelan, inc..
- Rockstro, Richard Sheperd (1890, 1986). A treatise on the construction the history and the practice of the flute - including a sketch of the elements of acoustics and critical notices of sixty celebrated flute-players. Fritz Knuf-Buren.
- Toff, Nancy (1996). The Flute Book: A Complete Guide for Students and Performers. Oxford University Press.
- Powell, Ardal, Dr. FluteHistory.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
[edit] External links
- FluteHistory.com - A comprehensive history of the transverse flute in western music
- FluteInfo - Contains fingering charts, performance articles, free sheet music and other musical information.
- The Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection - has many pictures of flutes through the ages, among other useful information.
- Flute Acoustics - a scientific explanation of flute timbre
- The Virtual Boehm Flute - gives an immense database of standard and alternative fingerings, including quarter-tones and multiphonics.
- Flutes.tk - a collection of links to other flute pages
- The Galway Network - home page of the popular Sir James Galway
- Larry Krantz Flute Pages - Wide range of flute related information contributed by many professional flute players. Access to information about FLUTE - email discussion group.
- Jennifer Cluff flute articles - Extensive list of articles on hard-to-find flute topics.
- The Woodwind Fingering Guide - A large, easy-to-navigate listing of flute fingerings
