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The Early Flutes
In The Middle Ages and the Renaissance
circa 1320 - One-piece wooden flute, 2' long, key of "D"
1511 - Zwerchpfeiff, narrower, 6 finger-holes
1529 - Descant, alto, tenor and bass versions appear
Around the turn of the 16th century - "fifes" became very popular!
1619 - 20 - Praetorius' SYNTAGMA MUSICUM portrays three Querflotten, with 2-octave ranges
1636 - Flutes Allemands appear, keys of "D" and "G", with new cylindrical bore, made of wood
In The 17th and 18th Centuries
1670 - Three-piece, 1-keyed flute in "D" appears in Jean Baptiste Lully's famous orchestra in France. More changes: conical bore (tapers down to middle, placing the holes closer together) and smaller finger-holes
1720 - Middle joint is divided in half, called corps de recharge, and 2 keys added
1722 - Famous flutist (and writer) Quantz adds tuning cork in headjoint and C# key on footjoint
1726 - E-flat key added on footjoint
1760 - G#, B-flat, and F keys added by London makers Florio, Gedney, and Potter
1774 - Florio, Gedney, and Potter remove C# from footjoint
circa 1780 - 4 and 6-keyed flutes appearing in the symphonic music of Mozart and Haydn, Meyer-system flute with 8 keys appears
1782 - Maker J.H. Ribock adds closed C key
19th Century
1800 - B-flat lever and left-hand lever added
1806 - 44 - Claude Laurent makes 3, 4, and 7-keyed GLASS flutes
1808 - Rev. Frederick Nolan invents open holes (rim only, finger-pad covers holes) and links the keys to one another
1810 - George Miller in London, starts making metal bores
1812 - Tebaldo Monzani puts knobs on the mouth-hole
1814 - James Wood in London makes three tuning slides
1822 - The Nicholsons (father and son) make a thinner flute and adjust keys
1824 - Maker Pottgiessen invents the ring and crescent key
1827 - Rudall & Rose start making 8-keyed flutes, which become very popular
circa 1830 - Beethoven uses the flute in his symphonies
The Boehm Era
Theobald Boehm (1794-1881) was born in Munich, was a talented goldsmith and skilled at the mechanical arts. He also served as a Royal Bavarian Court Musician, an avid flute player. His workshop was in his own home and he worked with a painter, Greve to design and build his flutes. The Boehm flute is the accepted standard today. Boehm's discoveries were quite revolutionary. |
Boehm's Developments
circa 1810 - Boehm builds his first model and tinkers with keys, springs (to control key tension), and pads
circa 1829 - Finger-holes are still too far apart, so Boehm develops completely new fingering system, even building his own machine for boring holes, pillars, posts, and flat gold springs (new system uses rods to connect all the keys, thus the need for posts, springs, etc.)
1830 - Boehm's new model was finished
1831 - Boehm presents new model, in performance, in Paris and London
1832 - Boehm is inspired by hearing flute virtuoso Charles Nicholson's clear and brilliant tone; changes from standard covered holes to ring keys (see Rev. Nolan above) or "open holes", producing clearer tone and better intonation. He also aided finger action by adding a thumb crutch for the left hand.
Boehm and Others
1833 - Gordon's Diatonic Flute comes out with crescent-shaped touchpieces
1834 - The Boehm Flute gains popularity with French and German professional flutists, as well as being widely adopted in many other areas
1837 - Auguste Buffet (Paris instrument maker) improves on Boehm - changing axles, hole placements, lugs, rods, and sleeves (the latter hold the rods and axles together)
1838 - Buffet and collaborator Coche, add D# trill key and "Dorus" G# key (Paris Conservatory influence)
1839 - Flute maker Ward manufactures the Boehm flute in London
circa 1841 - Rudall & Rose begin manufacturing Boehm flutes (also in London) along with Clair Godfroy in Paris
1846-47 - Boehm experiments with cylindrical bore based on a "parabolic curve" (17 mm. in diameter at top of instrument to 19 mm. in the middle of the body). Also, enlarges embouchure to a quadrangular shape, producing a fuller, clearer tone, compiles his Schema for fingering, Pads - starts covering inside of closed keys with felt and the rims of open keys with skins, held together with screws and washers.
1846 - Boehm experiments with use of metals. Decides on silver - best tone quality and least fatiguing to play
1847 - Boehm sells rights of manufacture to Rudall & Rose and Clair Godfroy/Louis Lot in Paris. Publishes famous tome, The Flute and Flute Playing: In Acoustical, Technical and Artistic Aspects.
1847 - Boehm Flutes imported to New York City and adopted as official instrument of the Paris Conservatory
1849 - Composer Briccialdi adds the thumb B-flat key
1855 - Boehm Flute wins gold medal at Paris Exhibition, to general acclaim. New players are making great technical advances thanks to Boehm's mechanical breakthroughs
1878 - Boehm perfects his "modern silver flute"
End of 19th Century - Flute appears in orchestral scores of Brahms, Strauss, and Tchaikovsky. Solo literature expands rapidly, with virtuosic, showpieces becoming the fashion.
Post-Boehm - Into The 20th Century - Some modern developments
1948 - Alexander Murray, well-known flutist and teacher, collaborates with makers Albert Cooper and Elmer Cole, on the "Murray" flute - based on the "Cooper experimental" scale, and with a "corrected" C# key
1961 - 62 - Murray's next model, the "Mark I" appears
1967 - Murray collaborates with Jack Moore, a well-known maker with the Armstrong Company
1972 - Murray and Moore bring out production model flutes and piccolos
Other helpful changes - duplicate G# lever, "gizmo" key, cork in headjoint to stabilize tuning.
In the new Millennium, Lenny Lopatin of Lopatin Flutes reveals his square keyed Flute.
And in 2005 James Johnson invents the RingFlute - have a look http://www.ringflute.com/about.htm
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Carole B. Miller
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Revised: March 18, 2006