The flute belongs to the class of woodwind instruments without reeds.

Construction
The flute consists of a tube open at the lower end and nominally closed at the upper, beyond the embouchure or mouth-hole, by means of a conical cork stop. In flutes made after Boehm’s system the tube has now, instead of the old conical bore, a cylindrical one, terminating in a head with a parabolic curve. This tube consists of three joints:

1.       The head, plugged at the upper end and containing at about the third of its length the orifice called embouchure, across which the performer directs the breath obliquely with the lips without closing it.

2.       The body, containing the holes and keys necessary to produce the scale.

3.       The foot, containing the additional keys necessary for extended the compass from Middle D to Middle C.

Flutes are made of various materials including wood, silver, gold and ebonite.

Production of Sound
The flute is held transversely with the embouchure turned slightly outward, so that the player’s breath strikes the sharp outer edge of the orifice, setting up a flutter which reacts upon the stationary column of air within the flute, thus generating the sound-waves.  There are sufficient holes and keys on the flute to produce all the chromatic semitones of the first octave. The next two octaves are obtained through the same holes by over-blowing and also a change in the position of the lips.

Compass
The compass of a flute is about 3 octaves. Treble clef is used in notation. It is a non-transposing instrument as music is played as written.

Quality of Tone
The peculiar timbre of the flute is characterized by a slight hollowness which may be accounted for by the paucity of upper partials present in the clang, for which, it is thought, the construction and proportions of the interior of the head may be responsible. The tone differs greatly in the three registers of the flute; the lowest being sonorous; the medium sweet and elegiac; and the highest birdlike and brilliant.

Possibilities
It is possible to play on the flute sustained notes, diminuendo and crescendo; diatonic and chromatic scales and arpeggios, both legato and staccato; leaps, turns, trills, etc. Articulation is done with the tongue. In large orchestras, two or three flutes are used  playing in harmony or unison. One of the flute players can take the piccolo when necessary.

Origin
The flute is one of the most ancient instruments. The Egyptians had a long flute, held transversely, and of such length that the player’s arms were stretched to their full extent downward.  This flute, known as the nay, was used without embouchure by blowing across the open end of the pipe.

We do not know exactly how the flute passed from the older civilizations to the newer in Europe, but it was probably made known by the Moors or the crusaders. During the Middle Ages the flute seems to have been more fully developed in Germany than elsewhere. It existed in two forms:  Vertical and transverse.

The flute generally plays with the violin, sustains notes with other wind instruments, or carries on conversations with the oboe and clarinet families.