Throughout history, there have been many instruments that have been played to make musical melodies and beautiful sounds that can bring emotion to someone. One of these instruments that has evolved greatly in history is the flute. In fact, the flute family is one of the largest in the woodwind instrument family. There are countless sizes and shapes of different types of flutes. The flute has formed into its greatly known instrumentation of a beautiful, rich sound that has evolved since the beginning of 1320.
The modern metal flute was invented in the nineteenth century by a young man named Theobald Boehm. “The flute has been around for a very long time, but the first metal flute was made by Theobald Boehm.” (iwest.k12.il.us) The nineteenth century marked several additional conversions for the flute. In the year of 1830, Boehm decided to begin his inventing.
“In 1830, Theobald Boehm, a German watchmaker and goldsmith and an amateur flutist, developed the modern flute. The modern flute reverted back to a cylindrical bore and achieved the desired range and acceptable intonation by elongating the end section above the embouchure hole and modifying the sizes and positions of the finger holes. Boehm also designed the Boehm fingering system, which was a most important improvement in the flute.” (community.middlebury.edu)
As soon as Boehm invented the finger systems for the flute, this major improvement helped others learn how to handle the flute. The metal flute is the most common in today’s society.
Although the metal flute was invented in the nineteenth century, there are ancient histories of other types of flutes from years and years ago. “The oldest flutes found, are thousands of years old and made of bones. These flutes were us...
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... flute is at the top of it’s peak with having dark and rich sounds.” (Missy Cabiness) The flute has evolved remarkably since the beginning of its existence.
Works Cited
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"FLUTEKIDS." Flutekids. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
"Ancient Flute Oldest Instrument Found › News in Science (ABC Science)." Ancient Flute Oldest Instrument Found › News in Science (ABC Science). N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
“Flute & Piccolo." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
"A Flute Historical Timeline." A Flute Historical Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
"The Amazing Ring Flute!" The Amazing Ring Flute! N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013
Missy Cabiness-Flute Mentor
The Western concert flute was developed over the centuries from a simple end-blown flute to the current transverse flute. Transverse flutes are flutes that are held parallel to the floor. To play a transverse, the flutist directs the airstream across the mouth or blow hole and not directly into the instrument. The flute constitutes one of the most important instruments of the orchestra because of its high range, ability to blend in with other instruments and play the melody.
The Native American flute is the third oldest known musical instrument in the world, with bone flutes dating back over 60,000 years. The first instrument found were drums, then varies whistle were made. Over time, the instrument evolved with many different materials and shapes. And these difference and changes reflect the culture of that time. Virtually, flutes were used all types of hardwoods and softwoods in history.
The next logical step in this evolutionary chain was as sure as a spoiled child’s demands. Now that I have what I want I want more of it. Thus came the psaltery (diagram 2). The psaltery was a great leap fourth from the monochord. It was a small trapezoid shaped box with many strings stretched over it. However unlike the monochord the psaltery did not have movable bridges to change the pitch while playing and furthermore these bridges were much more like the bridges of modern string instruments. The psaltery was played by picking the strings (which were obviously tuned to different pitches) with the fingers or with a pick. This was an extremely popular instrument in the Middle Ages but as the music got more complicated and simple accompaniment wasn’t enough it was soon swallowed by progress.
When you hear the instrument, “clarinet” which person do you think of? Lots of people try to be funny and answer Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants but who really were the super stars of this well-known instrument? There are many clarinet players out there that had a lot of great master pieces and who made very important achievements with this instrument. One of these famous clarinet players was a man named Johann Simon Hermstedt. Johann Simon Hermstedt was one of the many well-known clarinet players of the 19th century. Hermstedt was born on December 29 of 1778 and he died on August 10 of 1846 in Sondershausen, Germany. Hermstedt also played an important part in Germany, when he lived in Germany, he played as court clarinetist to Duke Gunther I of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, and he also taught him how to play the clarinet. Another clarinet player named Louis Spohr’s used to play concerts and he played four concerts along with Carl Maria von Weber, played all pieces that were composed by Hermstedt. These two clarinet players were very dedicated to his work and his life; they were very inspired by his way of playing. Hermstedt was pretty much a bit of a composer himself, he wrote various pieces of music for other wind instrument players but he’s not as famous as Mozart and all other composers, he was more of a conservative player.
...se on both the tenor and alto flute, one an octave higher than the other. While the return of the verse and the flute’s soothing sound give this ending a vague happy feeling, the contrast between the flutes’ pitches and timbres cannot help but leave the listener with a feeling of tension and apprehension over what will ensue.
trumpet or flute. It was the right hand corner that filled in the material during the rhythmic
Patented in 1928 by Leon Theremin, the theremin has not escaped its original status as a novelty instrument. Most people have heard the theremin, even though they may not recognize it. The theremin is a staple of sci-fi films, particularly classic ones. It is not as prominent today but it has featured in recent movies such as Mars Attacks and Ed Wood.
It is believed that the Irish brought to the region the fiddle and the pipes. It is believed that the first stringed instrument, the dulcimer was brought by the Germans, Norwegians, Swedish and French. The dulcimer became known as the 1“Hog Fiddle” or “Music Box”.
Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 was his last and longest symphony he composed. While listening to this breathtaking piece of music, one specific aspect of this piece stood out to me; this being the instrumentation. In this symphony, many different instruments were used. While listening, I recognized many of them. A flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings make up this famous piece that is known world-wide by millions of people.
Another distinctive feature is the rising importance of the woodwind section. Before the 19th century, the string section played a main role in presenting the melody while woodwind instruments were only adopted to create some orchestral colors to the piece. However, the use of the woodwinds became very different during the 19th century that not only melodies were assigned to them, sometimes they were even accompanied by the strings (Ex 4):
Clarinets are mainly made of African blackwood, metal, or a special hard plastic called ebonite. The keys on the clarinet are made of metal. The mouthpiece is mainly made of ebonite. The ligature is made of metal. The reed...
Music has shaped the lives of people throughout history. Even in its earliest forms, music has included use of instruments. One of the oldest musical instruments known is a variation of the flute; the original flute is thought to date back nearly 67,000 years ago. Tonight we are going to move throughout the eras with a history of instrumental music. This concert will begin with the Renaissance Era and continue through time until we have reached modern instrumental music.
Richard W. Payne, M.D. "The Plains Flute",The Flutists Quarterly, 1988, Vol. 13, no.4, The National Flute Association, Ind. Ann Arbor MI.
...te. In old times, most flutes were made of bamboo, which allowed even common people to play it. By covering the holes and blowing through the side hole while moving the fingers flexibly between the six holes, a sound will be produced that is leisurely and mellifluous like sound from far away. This always reminds people of a pastoral picture of a farmer riding on a bull while playing a flute
...y other inventions that have been discarded like the swords and the plate body. These were discarded because of the invention of the early hand held gun. The gun was good for long range and penetrated through plate body’s steel or iron. The chain mail was discarded because the plate body was stronger and later became a symbol of honor and royalty.