The Flute (photo) (audio)

Very early models of flutes were created by primitive people of ancient civilizations such as Egypt and Greece. Early visual artwork on walls of Egyptian tombs and houses depicted people playing primitive flutes during the ninth century. It wasn't until the sixteenth century, however, until the first recorded detailed description of a flute was found.

The primitive flute was a cylindrical tube with six evenly spaced

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finger holes. The mouthpiece or the embouchure at one end and a stopper at the other end are found in a flute. When playing, a flutist places his or her lips against the embouchure and blows air not into the mouthpiece opening but across it. When in

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position, a flute is held in a horizontal position almost parallel to the floor (if it's not slanted :o) ).

The more modern flute, refined during the sixteenth to eighteenth century had more holes and the placement of these holes changed. These alterations produced an instrument with a wider range, a more precise tuning and purer sound. The flute during this time period was usually made of boxwood ornamented with ivory. Much music has been made for the flute such as the solos in Bach's "Suite No. 2 in B Minor" and Mozart's "Flute Concerto in G Major".

In the nineteenth century, Theobald Boehm devised numerous improvements to the flute. He created a new type of fingering and changed the positions of the finger holes. The instrument was changed from a perfectly cylindrical shape to more of an oval look. These refinements allowed the instrument to have more volume, a richer tone and greater agility.