- Discover the many different types of flutes
- Learn about their rich history and what they sound like
- Get to know different composers who praise the flute
- Want to keep it in the woodwind family? Check out our post on bass clarinet vs. clarinet
So, What Even Is A Flute?
The history of the modern flute dates back to 35,000 years ago. A member of the woodwind family, all flutes share the common characteristic in that they are essentially a column of air confined in a hollow body.
The sound of a flute is activated by a stream of air striking against the edge of an opening. Additionally, holes outside the tube can be covered to produce different pitches or notes while playing the Flute.
Flutes come in many different types, with different cultures and regions utilizing different varieties of Flutes to create music and perform in ensembles.
In this article, we will present many flute types and illustrate their history. We’ll also include use cases with various examples of them in action.
How Many Types Of Flutes Are There?
The flute is an instrument with a global presence and a rich history. Over the centuries, Flutes have been crafted with various materials, including wood, bone, ivory, glass, and porcelain, to plastics, resins, and baked clay.
Crafting materials are not the only way flutes differ, as the instrument has taken on various forms throughout its lifespan.
Being one of the oldest and most widely used wind instruments, the Flute has been used widely across many musical genres, including Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, and even Hip-Hop.
Here are the 17 flute types that we will be examining in our roundup:
- Concert Flute
- Piccolo Flute
- Alto Flute
- Bass Flute
- Eb Flute
- Irish Flute
- Plastic Flute
- Baroque Flute
- Ney Flute
- Peruvian Clay Flute
- The Native American Flute
- Quena
- Bansuri
- Vessel Flute
- Panpipe
- Giorgi Flute
- Electric and Electronic Flute
1. The Concert Flute
Also known as the traverse flute, the Concert Flute is the most common type of flute and one you will typically hear in modern orchestras.
In the past, they were commonly made of wood. However, it is rare to find them made with this material nowadays. They belong to the “woodwind” family (along with the clarinet, the oboe, and the bassoon, among others).
This modern flute is a tube of metal, about 67 cm in length and 1.9 cm in bore diameter. The sound is produced by blowing across the mouth-hole, activating the air in the tube.
It is functionally in the key of C and thus non-transposing (unlike the Clarinet, for example, or the Flute in E-flat).
It has a practical compass of just over three octaves, overblowing at the octave so that the fingering of the first octave is duplicated in the second. The fingering of the third octave differs from the other two.
One of the main challenges (not only of this type of flute but of the instrument in general) is the control of the sound. As a result, the embouchure is an integral part of the flutist’s training.
The concert flute is an excellent choice for beginners (beyond the challenge of mastering its embouchure hole) and undoubtedly the instrument of choice for professionals.
It is a very docile instrument (present not only in orchestras but also in many chamber music ensembles, jazz, popular music, and bossa nova, among others) makes the concert flute a prevalent instrument.
2. Piccolo
Tuned one octave above the concert flute, the Piccolo is a transposing instrument in that its music is written an octave lower than the sounding pitch.
It began to be more widely adopted in the late 19th century, with composers such as Mahler and Strauss incorporating it into their orchestral arrangements.
By the end of the 20th century, the instrument gave rise to many piccolo specialists. As more complex and challenging parts were composed for the instrument, its popularity grew.
With a sharp and distinctively piercing sound, this flute is widely used in the repertoire of military bands and classical music pieces, among other genres.
For example, we find a prominent Piccolo Flute in Berlioz’s “Grand Symphonie funèbre et triomphale”, composed in 1840, originally for a military band. This piece also includes third flutes in F.
3. The Alto Flute
Pitched in G (4th below the concert flute), the Alto Flute was built by Theobald Boehm in 1854 as a new instrument. Its mechanism differs slightly from the concert flute, as does its sonority, which Boehm compared to the French horn.
It is a transposing instrument, and its music is written a 4th higher than it sounds.
Its tone is particularly mellow due to its size and requires excellent lung power to achieve a particularly resonant and wide result.
Its particular and melancholic color attracted several key composers of the 20th century (such as Stravinsky, Ravel, and Holst), who gave it important roles in paradigmatic works (such as The Rite of the Spring, or Daphnis et Chloé).
4. The Bass Flute
The Bass Flute is tuned in C, an octave below the concert flute. It is held transversely, with the head bent backward in a U-shape to reach the player’s lips.
Some flutes go even lower, like the Sub-bass Flute in G (an octave below the alto flute, or one tone lower still, in F) or the Contrabass Flute, which also happens to be one of the rarer members of the flute family.
The Contrabass Flute is in C, two octaves below the concert flute! Due to its large size, this flute is held vertically, with the head bent twice like the letter P to put the embouchure piece within reach.
Ravel, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich have composed scores for bass flutes, and various types have been used in avant-garde music and jazz.
5. The E-flat Flute
Also known as the Eb Soprano Flute, this instrument is very similar to the concert flute in terms of its materials, the way it is played, and its sound.
Its uniqueness is that it is tuned neither in G nor C but in E-flat (a third above the concert flute). Initially used by marching bands to replace the E-flat clarinet, its tuning places it between the concert flute and the alto (tuned to G).
Its tone is sweeter than that of the more conventional flute and mellower compared to the piccolo. Unfortunately, the Soprano Flute is not widely used today, and you’d be hard-pressed to find them in live ensembles and recordings. However, it is worth mentioning that a few American Publications for Flute Choir do include a part for E-Flat Soprano Flute.
6. The Irish Flute
The Irish Flute is one of the most popular cultural flutes in the world. Introduced during the 18th century, its popularity has grown considerably over the years.
It is basically a transverse flute; this type of flute is held sideways and blown horizontally when played. As one of the traditional flutes, it has been widely used in the traditional music of Ireland and Scotland over the centuries.
In its highest register, it has a similar sound to the concert flute, albeit with a lesser ability to project sound.
7. The Plastic Flute
Extremely popular due to its use by children, mainly in elementary schools, the Plastic Flute is the cheapest and most common version of the flute family.
Made of plastic, it is ideal for children and is as durable as it is inexpensive.
And although it does not have the richness of sound you would encounter when hearing a Concert Flute. It is an ideal choice for those who want to start with a wind instrument, as it is straightforward to make a sound, unlike the others, where sounding the flute can be a challenge.
8. The Baroque Flute
It’s become commonplace to find chamber music groups specializing in baroque music.
The Baroque Flute is ideal for those interested in Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel, or Georg Philipp Telemann.
Baroque flutes are divided into three parts: head joint, body, and foot joint.
This afforded luthiers precision in the shape and finish of the inner bore. The air channel is narrower than in Renaissance models.
Starting from a cylindrical shape at the head, the inner bore narrows considerably as it approaches the foot.
In today’s copies of these flutes, the last two holes are usually double holes to facilitate the playing of chromatic intervals. However, most of the original preserved instruments have single holes.
The baroque flute has a softer and sweeter sound than its predecessors, primarily due to the shape and size of the inner bore and differences in the air channel construction.
9. The Ney Flute
The Ney Flute, possibly one of the oldest in the flute family, is widely used in the folk music of Turkey, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries.
Also known as the “Arabic flute,” it is a precursor to the modern flute and is made in a straightforward way, consisting simply of a hollow cylinder with finger holes.
While modern Neys can be made of metal or plastic, they were initially made of wood or reed.
While a seasoned and experienced player can reach more than three octaves, a beginner can usually go – with some effort – two full octaves.
10. The Peruvian Clay Flute (The Ocarina)
One of the best-known clay flutes, native to Inca cultures, the Peruvian Clay Flute is a wind instrument different from the flutes previously reviewed.
Unlike others, the Peruvian Clay Flute’s construction is almost circular and has 8 holes to modify the notes and a loophole underneath to add a string for the hanging instrument.
Its main advantage is that it is straightforward to use, and makes an excellent gift for children ages seven and up.
11. The Native American Flute
It is theorized that the Native American Flute was inspired by the holes made by woodpeckers in the branches of trees.
When the wind blew through those holes, a beautiful sound was made, and the natives of the region wanted to replicate it.
Unlike the more sophisticated flutes -and as would be expected when placing it among the traditional flutes- they are made in one piece (not by head, foot, body components, etc.) from tree branches and milled lumber and have holes for the player to put their fingers on.
Also, they are relatively easy to play, as their embouchure has no complexities. Blow into the mouth hole of the flute, and the note will sound.
The sound of the Native American Flute is clear and direct, and its tones are particularly unstable, which gives this type of Flute a particular color.
12. The Quena
Originally hailing from the Andean region of South America, the Quena was used to praise indigenous deities.
It’s heavily depicted in paintings and drawings made between 200 BC and 600 AD in Nazca and Chimu Peruvian cities. Their usage can be seen in Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.
They are mainly made of cane, although they were initially made of condor bones, stone, or clay. The Quena is a tubular flute and boasts a straightforward construction. It is similar to the Native American Flutes in terms of its tone.
The Quena generally has seven holes: six in the front and one in the back, which is covered with the thumb.
Located within the group of vertical flutes, the Quena was initially used to play pentatonic melodies. Over time, this also extended to diatonic melodies and more.
13. The Bansuri Flute
The Bansuri Flute is a high transverse flute originating in India, made from a single piece of bamboo and consisting of six or seven open holes.
It is a musical instrument associated with herders and pastoral tradition.
The bansuri, with 14 inches (35. 56 cm) as a standard measure (there are bansuris of approx. 60 cm), was traditionally used as a soprano instrument, mainly as accompaniment in light compositions, including film music.
Although it was later used in Indian classical and folk music, you’ll hear it often used in modern meditation music that you’d find in the ‘new age’ section of music stores.
14. Vessel Flute
Vessel Flutes feature a spherical shape, unlike the form of other Flutes. This spherical body results in the Vessel Flute resonating uniquely, providing this type of Flute with its own unique tonality.
These Flutes are occasionally called Globular Flutes due to their globe-like appearance, often adorned with several finger holes.
The Ocarina “which we covered earlier in this article” is just one of many types of Vessel Flute.
16. Pan Pipe
The Pan Pipe is another member of the Flute family; it can also be referred to as the Pan Flute or Syrinx depending on the region of origin.
The Pan Pipe operates similarly to other Flutes. However, different pitches are reached via air flowing through pipes of different lengths. This provides the Pan Pipe with both a unique appearance and sound.
The Pan Pipe is named after Pan, the Greek God of Nature and Shepherds, and can be constructed via a plethora of different materials, including Bamboo, Giant Cane, or Local Reeds. More modern examples of the Pan Flute may be made of other materials, such as metal.
17. Giorgi Flute
Invented by Señor Carlo Giorgi, the Giorgi Flute is a type of Flute developed in 1888 utilizing Ebonite material.
The Giorgi Flute features 11 fingerholes, the intention being to play this instrument with ten fingers. Four fingers and one thumb on each hand would be used to play this Flute, making it inherently different from others in the Flute family.
The long stretches required to play the Giorgi Flute resulted in it not being widely adopted, as it was relatively hard to play unless the player had rather long fingers.
18. Electronic Flute
Many types of Flutes can be modified with a contact mic attachment, making them electric. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities concerning ancient wind instruments, including the ability to amplify them and incorporate various effects and other means of sound manipulation into the function of the traditional Flute.
For example, the Electronic Flute enables players to use their Flute with various outboard equipment, including effects processors such as guitar pedals. Other devices, such as the Multivider, allow the player to transpose the instrument’s pitch one or two octaves lower than the instrument’s natural pitch.
Lastly, the Sylphyo is an electronic instrument designed to emulate the sound of wind instruments such as the Flute. Featuring more than 30 built-in sounds ranging from traditional to contemporary, this instrument is very versatile and one to watch if you are interested in modern innovations in wind instrument design.
3 Of The Best Flutes You Can Buy Today
1. Yamaha YFL-462H Intermediate Flute (Intermediate Option)
An excellent choice for the intermediate player, this Flute represents a high level of quality for a decent price point. The Yamaha YFL-462H is well worth a look for any player looking to move from their starter instrument up to something nicer.
Features/Specs
- Design based on Yamaha’s Professional Series Flutes
- Sterling Silver Construction
- French Style Ring Keys
- Nickel Plated Keys are Effortless to Play
2. Prelude by Selmer FL711 Student Flute (For Beginners)
The FL711 offers a quality option for any student looking for an instrument that will get them through college. The Prelude by Selmer FL7111 provides fantastic value for money and will stand the test of time.
Features/Specs
- Nickel Silver construction balances value and performance
- Hand-assembled silver keys in a comfortable offset G system
- Closed rings offer a fantastic foundation for learning fundamental fingering skills
- The Split E system makes it easier to access the 3rd Octave E
3. Wm. S. Haynes SW Custom 2 Professional Flute (Premium Choice)
An instrument for the most discerning player, the Wm. S. Haynes SW Custom 2 represents the maximum playability, quality, and craftsmanship. No expense has been spared in securing the finest materials to craft this instrument, ensuring that the SW Custom 2 will be an investment for generations.
Features/Specs
- 18k Gold Riser
- Coin Silver N cut Headjoint
- Meticulously crafted Coin Silver Body with soldered tone holes
- Exquisite sound and craftsmanship
FAQs
What Is The Price Of A Good Concert Flute?
There is an extensive price range for concert recorders. But, roughly speaking, a good concert flute, made of good material, can cost between $3,000 and $20,000.
What Is The Smallest Flute?
The most miniature flute is the piccolo (Italian for “small”). It measures approximately half the length of the concert flute and is also the highest-pitched flute.
What Is The Biggest Flute?
The most giant flute of all is the Double Contrabass flute.
It has the lowest pitch, which is hardly surprising considering its dimensions. It measures 2.5 meters tall, has a tubing of almost 7 meters, and can weigh up to 13kg!
