Simple system flute most commonly refers to the type of
flute
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
manufactured and favored by classical European musicians during the
Classical era
Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the interwoven civilization ...
. This type of flute is the direct precursor of, and was made obsolete within the
art music
Art music (alternatively called classical music, cultivated music, serious music, and canonic music) is music considered to be of high culture, high phonoaesthetic value. It typically implies advanced structural and theoretical considerationsJa ...
world by, the introduction of the
Boehm system flute. Subsequently, many simple system flutes were integrated into folk music (including
Irish folk music and Cuban
charanga bands).
Physical characteristics
The simple system flute had a cylindrical head joint and a reverse tapered body. The six main
tone hole
A tone hole is an opening in the body of a wind instrument which, when alternately closed and opened, changes the pitch (music), pitch of the sound produced. Tone holes may serve specific purposes, such as a trill hole or register hole. A tone ...
s were heavily undercut to produce even intonation and registration while providing even finger spacing.
French simple system flutes (or "
five-key flutes") from this era typically had five keys that enabled the flute to play in any key.
English and
German models were typically designed with eight keys: the five of the five-key flute, plus an alternate F key running along the instrument, and two keys on the foot joint to extend the lower register down to
middle C
C or Do is the first note of the C major scale, the third note of the A minor scale (the relative minor of C major), and the fourth note (G, A, B, C) of the Guidonian hand, commonly pitched around 261.63 Hz. The actual frequency has d ...
.
Alternative meaning
Simple system flute may also refer to any flute with tone holes played by the direct application and removal of fingers, as opposed to keys, from pre-historical bone flutes to the modern
Irish flute. The presence of keys (as found on the Classical flutes described above) does not preclude categorization as a "simple system" flute, as long as the primary tone holes are not keyed.
Related links
Charles Nicholson (flautist)
Further reading
*
External links
*http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/5keyfingers.htm
*http://www.oldflutes.com/german.htm
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Side-blown flutes