the history of the c flute
TRANSCRIPT
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Haley Robinson,
Mr. Meyers
Concert Band
28th October, 2010
The History of the C Flute
All throughout history, one instrument is constantly seen in historical evidence; the flute.
Although the cross flute, German flute, transverse flute and flauto traverse might not be the same
type of flute one may play in concert band; they had one main similarity; theyre played parallel
to the ground making those same flutes the early ancestor of todays flute.
The earliest flutes are shown in history are in two hundred BC pre-Christian Roman
artifacts where such drawings of the cross flute are shown and evidence from three hundred AD
suggests it was played by both Ancient Romans and Etruscans. Thanks to the Byzantines, the
earliest models of the flute (in the key of D) were found all through out Western Europe by the
fourteenth century. Within a hundred years, Henry VIIIs large collection of flutes with a cork
stopper and shape like todays flute but with a limited range (different sizes of flutes were used
for different ranges, smaller the flutethe higher it went) made the flute a critical component in
Italian music. In sixteen-seventy, the evolution of the flute progressed as the Jean Hotteterre
family made improvements such as making it a three part instrument (head joint, body, and foot
joint), making the body of the flute conical, and downsizing the size of the six keys to add a key
to allowing it to produce an E-flat and playing chromatics using cross fingerings. This
eventually progressed to London flute-makers adding G-sharp, B-flat, and F keys in seventeen-
sixty. All of these improvements increased the popularity of the flute as Mozart and Hayden
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made musical arrangements including/for it and extending the range to include low C and C-
sharp making it also popular in Celtic ensembles by the end of the eighteen century.
In the early to mid eight hundreds, Theobald Boehm revolutionized the flute to what it is
today. Boehm was originally a goldsmith and a jeweler but his love of music transformed him
into a flute maker and professional flutist in the royal courts orchestra in Munich. Within
thirteen years of playing and making flutes, he attended a concert of Charles Nicholson of
England where flutes had larger finger holes making a better sounding tone. There, he realized
that the tone holes would have to be spaced for good intonation meaning a new mechanism
would be needed to allow the extension of the fingers a conical design allowed this. By
eighteen forty-three, Boehm patented the structure. He wasnt done improving the flute. Three
years later, he studied acoustics with Carl von Schafhautl at the University of Munich. This lead
to the design of padded cups for keys larger than earlier of his models and a U-shaped head-joint.
Not many changes have been made since to flute other than the fact a U-shaped head-joint
normally used for young children learning to play flute since their short neck doesnt allow the
extension to play the more tube shaped modern head-joint.
Due to fact the flute has been around for so long, the reason why the flute was
made is unknown. It is in fact the oldest woodwind instrument and was once only made out of
wood, bones, and tusk. Love or hate the flute, the flute will always be the high note to any
concert band.
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Pitch Tendencies
Pitch Tendency Average Intonation onInstrument
How To Fix
C Flat 12 cents flat Direct air up
C# Flat 12 cents flat Direct air up
D Flat 6 cents flat Push inD# Flat 7 cents flat Push in
E Flat 4 cents flat Push in
F Flat In Tune Push in
F# Flat 5 cents sharp Push in
G Flat 3 cents flat Push in
G# Flat 6 cents sharp Direct air up
A Flat 14 cents sharp Roll out
A# Flat 4 cents sharp Roll out
B Flat 1 cent sharp Push in
C Sharp 10 cents sharp Direct air down
C# Very sharp 50 cents sharp Direct air downD Flat 28 cents sharp Push in
D# Flat 3 cents flat Push in
E Flat 4 cents flat Push in
F Flat 3 cents flat Push in
F# Sharp 17 cents sharp Pull out
G Sharp 20 cents sharp Roll in
G# Sharp 28 cents sharp Roll in
A Sharp 10 cents sharp Roll in
A# Sharp 10 cents sharp Pull out
B Sharp 35 cents sharp Pull outC Sharp 33 cents sharp Roll in
C# Very sharp 38 cents sharp Roll in and depressright hand fingerings
D Flat 20 cents flat Push in
D# Sharp 47 cents sharp Push out
E Sharp 35 cents sharp Push out
F Flat 30 cents flat Push in
F# Flat 20 cents flat Push in
G Sharp 8 cents sharp Push out
G# Sharp 31 cents sharp Push out
A Sharp 7 cents sharp Push outA# Flat 4 cents flat Push in
B Flat 13 cents flat Push in
C Sharp 28 cents sharp Push out
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Websites used:
http://www.gemeinhardt.com/history.asp
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_invented_the_flute
http://wwwcshs.stjohns.k12.fl.us/band/Pitch%20Tendencies%20of%20Instruments.pdf
http://bjhmusic.homestead.com/Pitch_Tendency_Chart_Guide-_Flute.pdf
http://www.bethchandler.com/downloads/Flute%20Intonation.pdf
http://www.hhsbands.com/forms/Pitch%20Tendency/Flutepitch.pdf
http://www.gemeinhardt.com/history.asphttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_invented_the_flutehttp://wwwcshs.stjohns.k12.fl.us/band/Pitch%20Tendencies%20of%20Instruments.pdfhttp://bjhmusic.homestead.com/Pitch_Tendency_Chart_Guide-_Flute.pdfhttp://www.bethchandler.com/downloads/Flute%20Intonation.pdfhttp://www.hhsbands.com/forms/Pitch%20Tendency/Flutepitch.pdfhttp://www.gemeinhardt.com/history.asphttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_invented_the_flutehttp://wwwcshs.stjohns.k12.fl.us/band/Pitch%20Tendencies%20of%20Instruments.pdfhttp://bjhmusic.homestead.com/Pitch_Tendency_Chart_Guide-_Flute.pdfhttp://www.bethchandler.com/downloads/Flute%20Intonation.pdfhttp://www.hhsbands.com/forms/Pitch%20Tendency/Flutepitch.pdf