Flute and Piccolo
The flute is a woodwind instrument related to the recorder. The first flute was made out of tibia (shin bone) and was made about 5,000 years ago. The flute produces sounds by blowing over a rounded mouthpiece and holding down tone holes. The wooden flute is commonly referred ton as the plains flute. The flute dates back to 9 B.C. The first modern flute was made in 1832 and hade a bowl shaped mouthpiece, open standing keys, and metal pads to cover the large holes. The average flute is 27 inches long.
The piccolo is the Italian word for “little”. It is also a descendant of the recorder, but it came closer to the time the recorder was made. The earliest piccolo was made about 3,000 years ago. The piccolo is mainly made out of silver or other metals, but some are still made out of wood. The piccolo has a similar pitch range to the flute, except notes on the piccolo (which have the same fingering as on the flute) produce a sound 1 octave higher than on the flute. The major piccolo user in the orchestra was Beethoven.
By: Jordan
Bibliography:
http://www.cs.umd/edu/hcil/jazz.com
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/dso.asp?PageID=158