Flute design preceeding the
modern flute which was invented by
Theobald Böhm in the 19th century. It is usually made from
dense woods (
ebony,
blackwood,
rosewood, etc).
I am familiar with two types of the simple system flute:
- The small-holed baroque flute (with one key)
- A more robust flute with larger finger holes which is used for Irish traditional music.
The flute bore is conical, contributing to the sound quality and intonation peculiarities of this instrument. The baroque flute is a fairly timid, but beautifully nuanced instrument. This is in contrast to the normal ideal of power that most players of the Irish traditional style favors.
The influence of the wood on the tone is clear to anyone who compares one of these flutes to the modern, all-metal flute. The most important factor seems to be the embouchure (the hole where the flute player blows in air), but nobody seems to be able to explain why wood is different from silver.
The player's chops (the state of which is also called embouchure) remains the main factor that determines emerging sound!