Flutes produce a magical, distinct sound that sets them apart from other woodwind instruments. By exploring their unique tones, influenced by air moving through strategically placed stops, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for their evolution and types over time.
Professional flutists usually play Western concert flutes. The most popular ones are the standard concert flute, piccolo, alto, and bass flutes. Less common variations include the contrabass, subcontrabass, and soprano flute.
The flute has evolved significantly since its origins as bone instruments from the stone age. Modern engineering has made it versatile, producing diverse sounds used in military bands, orchestras, and movie soundtracks.
If you’re thinking of learning to play this iconic instrument, here’s the story behind the flute and the four main types you might choose to play.
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Where did Modern Flute Types Originate?
Flutes, part of the woodwind family, are unique aerophones. They create sound by moving air across openings instead of using a reed.
Flutes have been part of human culture since the Paleolithic period, spanning from 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 BCE. Early musicians used hollow bones with small openings to make music.
Flutes are the oldest musical instruments known to man. Archeologists found a five-hole flute made from a vulture wing bone in the Geißenklösterle cave in Southern Germany. They estimated its age at 42,000 to 43,000 years.
These instruments reached beyond Europe. A 9000-year-old flute made from a red crane’s wing bone was discovered in China. Ancient China also introduced the first transverse flute with side openings.
Flutes during the Medieval and Middle Ages were simple instruments with a limited sound range. They had complicated cross fingerings, making them hard to play.
The German Theobald Boehm is the father of the modern flute. As an inventor and musician, he created the Boehm fingering system. This system uses mechanical rods, pins, and springs, enabling players to press specific keys simultaneously.
These advancements increased the range and versatility of the modern flute. His designs are the foundation for most current flute types, which I’ll explore below.
Types of Flute
The western concert flute is the most popular modern flute. This versatile woodwind is heard in concert bands, orchestras, and flute ensembles.
The Concert Flute
The typical concert flute that I hear today in orchestras and flute choirs is pitched in C, with a range of approximately 3.5 to 4 octaves starting from middle C. This flute usually spans up to C7 or D7, though professional players can reach up to F#7.
The standard transverse concert flute, played from the side, is closed at the blown end. The flutist blows air across the opening and alters pitch by opening or closing the usual 16 tone holes.
The flute allows techniques like overblowing, where the flutist’s breath direction and intensity affect the pitch and timbre of the sound.
Piccolo Flute
Piccolo flutes date to the Middle Ages, used as military instruments for their high, penetrating sound that cut through battle noise. They gained a musical role in the early 18th century.
Flutes became popular orchestral instruments during the Baroque period in the early 19th century. Vivaldi wrote concertos for them.
The Piccolo flute, half the size of a standard flute, shares most of the same fingerings as a traditional transverse flute. The key difference is its sound, with notes resonating a full octave higher than written.
Musicians often use piccolos to double the violins or flutes because it adds a unique sound by playing an octave higher. This makes the piccolo a popular choice in concert bands.
Alto Flute
The iconic Alto flute has a larger diameter and length than the standard C transverse flute. Its rich, mellow tone sets it apart, creating a sound a perfect fourth below written C, pitched in G.
The favored instrument of Theobald Boehm, the Alto flute, is a key part of an orchestra. It adds depth and warm tones more subtly than the C or piccolo flutes.
I appreciate the alto in solo pieces like Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.
Bass Flute
The large flute, pitched in C, is an octave below the concert flute. At almost 146cm (57 in) long, it features a special joint to bring the embouchure hole to the player’s lips.
The instrument is the least popular flute type due to its bulk. Other instruments in the same register can often drown it out.
Lesser Know Flute Types
The Contrabass Flute
The contrabass flute is rare, often used in solo and chamber music. It shares the range of a regular flute but is pitched two octaves lower than middle C. Its haunting sound in low registers below G2 sometimes resembles a bassoon.
The contrabass calls for a lot of air to produce its distinctive, deep notes. It offers a rich bass sound to flute choirs.
The Subcontrabass Flute
The subcontrabass is a huge member of the flute family, stretching over 15 feet (4.6m). Usually tuned to G, it sits below the contrabass flute in C. These unique flutes with their dark sound are rare and mainly seen in flute choirs.
Double-Contrabass Flute
This large member of the flute family measures over 18 feet (5.5m) and is called an octobass flute. It has the lowest range of sound, pitched in the key of C, which is 3 octaves below the standard C flute.
Unlike other bass flutes, this one maintains a strong sound range and is easy to play. It’s commonly found in flute choirs and movie scores.
The Hyperbass
The hyperbass is a rare version of the flute, measuring 26 feet (8 meters) in length. Pitched in C, it plays four octaves below the concert flute and one octave below the double contrabass.
The lowest note on a hyperbass is C0, which is 16 hertz—below the typical human hearing range of 20 to 20,000 Hz!
Soprano Flute
The soprano flute, pitched in E and a minor third above the concert flute, is one of the rarer forms today. It was originally used to replace the E flat clarinet.
The treble Flute
The treble flute is rare today, mainly found in Ireland, Scotland, flute choirs, and some marching bands. Pitched in the key of G, it sounds a fifth higher than the written note.
The treble flute, similar to a piccolo, plays in a high range. Its greater length provides a different upper register quality and extends the lower range.
Other types of uncommon flute include:
Flûte d’amour
Translated as the ‘love flute,’ this rare instrument isn’t commonly found in flue orchestras or large ensembles. Pitched in A♭, A, or B♭, it lies between the C concert flute and the alto flute in G.
Verdi composed his opera Aida with three Flûte d’amour to perform the Sacred Egyptian dance at the end of the first act.
Contro Alto Flute
The contro-alto flute is larger, positioned between the bass and contrabass flutes. It’s pitched in G or F, transposing a fourth or fifth below the bass flute. This instrument is held vertically with an adjustable floor peg, similar to the bass flute.
