The one thing that comes to mind as we hear the word Flute is the instrument in the hand of Lord Krishna. But did you know there are lots of different types of flutes? Yes! Each with its unique sound, history, and different styles of music, there are many types of Flutes. In this article, we have curated the list of several flute types, how they are different and what are the typical uses of these instruments. Read on!

What is Flute & Its History:

The reedless woodwind instrument you can use for sounding is called a Flute. This is because a blow of air across the instrument’s opening results in its oscillations by the airflow, creating sound. You can play this instrument by blowing across the hole by holding it with both fingers. You can open and close the keys to alter the pitch with the help of your fingers.

The Flute is the world’s oldest sound instrument, whose artefacts consist of ancient stone age period’s bones. Ancient Sumerians, Egyptians, and Greeks were the people who used flutes the most. The Etruscan carving had the first simple transverse flutes with a few holes in the fourth to first centuries. After that, people used simple wooden flutes with six military and folk music holes in the middle ages and Renaissance periods.

The flute makers modified its diameter and the size of the tone holes by adding new keys and splitting the Flute into three pieces until the nineteenth century. Then, Goldsmith and Theobald Boehm, a musician, revolutionized the Flute design.

Common Categories of Flutes:

Here are the common varieties of flutes available globally:

Directly-Blown Flute:

The player blows air straight across the edge of the mouthpiece when playing this Flute. A duct directs the air onto the edge, and the air is blown into travelling across the sharp edge in some directly-blown flutes. Also called Fipple flutes, whistles, recorders, and tin whistles are some examples of these types of flutes.