Centuries upon centuries have passed when the first ever flute was invented. Tracing this buried history of flutes has captured interest of many. Europe has given birth to such and many other musical instruments. The place of the discovery of flutes has a controversial nature. Some say they were first discovered in the Swabia alb region of Germany others have a staunch believe that flute was discovered in Hohle Fels cave near Germany. The five holed flute have been made out of vulture wing bone and was discovered in Germany in August 2009. While a three holed flute, 18.7cm long made out of a mammoth tusk was discovered in 2004 and two other flutes made out of swan bones were excavated from Germany only recently. At some places in China, flutes have been discovered, alongside that flutes have also been an essential part of Indian culture and mythology since 1500 BCE.

A flute is an instrument which contains small holes on its surface. A flute produces sound when a stream of air which is directed across the small holes in the instrument that creates a vibration of air at the holes. As that air is siphoned in the cylindrical shaped flute the melody comes out.The flautist changes the pitch of the sound produced by opening and closing holes in the instruments through his finger ends. By changing the air pressure of the windblown in the flute the flautist can change the pitch of the note by causing the air in the flute to vibrate with the opening and closing of the holes.

To be louder, the large resonator is used by the flute. In pursuit of this, large air stream is required and with an increased air stream flow. Probably that is the reason your police man or watchman whistle to caution you. The larger the flute the more cubic air it can vibrate and can create a louder sound. For the flute to produce right sound the air stream has to be produced in the right angle.

The air stream in the flute is originated through the lips of the player known as embouchure this leaves large room for the player to vary the expression of the pitch, volume and timbre.

Some flutes also come with a duct at one end. The player blows directly against the mouthpiece. It gives player certain timbres which other flutes are not designed to give. Flutes can be close ended too like ocarina, pan pipes and xun.

The western flutes find their origin back in Germany. These are transverse tubes with closed top. A small hole is placed at the top to blow the wind across. The flute has the circular holes on its surface that is way larger than the finger top. It has three octave ranges starting from middle C.

Hindu god Krishna considered has mastered in playing this type of flute. These are made of bamboo and are deprived of keys.

Music is about passion, and the tunes you choose say a lot about who you are. Express yourself and discover great new artists with the music you choose when you listen to internet radio stations that fit your mood and style. Choose from an immense range of the top 80s music, 90s music, golden oldies and new alternative hits, and set up your own playlist of favorites that you control. Find out more about everything free online radio can do at http://www.977music.com/ now.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scotty_Henderson

Ever wondered how to make a flute? I’m not talking about something cut from a drinking straw with scissors, or put together using a cardboard paper towel tube… I mean make a flute that’s a genuine quality, professionally tuned musical instrument. Whether you use wood, PVC (flutes made from this material sound like blowing through glass – an excellent sound), or copper pipe (also sounds just as excellent) in flute making, there are a few mathematical things to keep in mind, but they all pretty much revolve around, and stem from, the one all-important mathematical formula involved in how to make flute type woodwind instruments, or even those of other types. Do you know what this mathematical formula is? Well, I’ll tell you…

If you want to know how to make a flute, you first need to know two numbers. The first one is the measurement of the speed of sound in inches (or centimeters, etc.) per second. In inches, that would be 13526.5, and in centimeters, that would be 34357.31 – this is how far in linear distance sound travels per second, at sea level, at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, or at about 21 degrees Celsius. The second number to know in flute making is how many Hertz (frequency of vibration) that a particular given note resonates at. For a brief and simple example, let’s say we use the note “A”. The frequency of “A”, in Hertz, is 440. Now we take the speed of sound in inches (or centimeters) per second and divide that number by the note’s frequency, in this case 440, and we will then have the measured length of the wavelength of the note “A”. This would end up to be 30.74 inches, or 70.08 centimeters long.

The next step in how to make a flute is simple. With an open ended flute, the body of the flute would actually need to be one half-wavelength long to play the fundamental note (the lowest note possible to play, with all finger holes closed) properly, in this case “A”. Due to other variable factors in flute making such as bore diameter, wall thickness and etc., the flute will actually need to be a tiny bit shorter – depending upon the thickness of the flute wall factoring in as well, this is generally about 1/3 of the bore diameter. Shorten the length little by little until the correct note is achieved. How to make flute embouchures, or the blowing edge hole, is to make it half of the flute’s bore diameter wide, measuring the center point of the hole to be a bore diameter’s distance from the inner face of the closed end.

A very convenient part about knowing how to make a flute is in the fact that the above mathematical formula is also how you would find the positions for the finger holes’ center points, according to the notes they are to play. How to make flute finger holes is to start small, slowly making them bigger as you “creep” them up the length of the flute towards the closed end until the right note is achieved. Finding the correct hole placements along the length of the flute’s body is important, but anywhere around the body at that point along the length is fine for hole placements… this allows for the reach of different sized fingers and hands.

If you’d like to learn more about how to make a flute, flutes of many types, or any homemade instruments of types such as woodwinds, percussion instruments or strings with precision, feel free visit my website on how to make your own music with homemade musical instruments you make yourself, at http://rockfreakinsolid.com – these aren’t your kids’ paper plate tambourines, plastic butter bowl drums or shoebox and rubber band guitars!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jesse_Robinson

Woodwinds instruments are those instruments which are made from wood and produce tones as a result of air, or “wind” directed through them.  Obviously, modern woodwinds instruments are made out of metal and other materials.  Saxophones are brass, flutes can be nickel, silver or gold, and clarinets can even be plastic.  These instruments are still considered “woodwinds instruments” because of their origins.

Flutes differ from the rest of the family members as they are not played with a reed.  Though being they were originally made of wood they are considered to be woodwinds.

Woodwinds instruments include:

• flute
• oboe
• alto sax
• tenor sax
• bari sax
• clarinet
• bass clarinet
• bassoon
• whistles
• harp
• crumhorn
• bagpipes

Woodwinds are the oldest family of musical instruments and produce a warm tone in the orchestra or band.

An orchestra, traditionally, is made up of the following: strings (violins, violas, cellos, bass), brass (trumpets, trombones, french horns), woodwinds  instruments (clarinet, oboe, bassoon, flutes, piccolos), and percussion (snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, misc. percussion instruments). Although there are exceptions, an orchestra plays mostly symphonic music (Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, etc.) and most often performs in a concert setting. Most orchestras are seated the same way with the violins and violas on the conductor’s left, cellos to his right, woodwinds behind the strings, brass in back to the conductor’s right, and percussion, back center. Its quite common that a piano is included to the conductor’s immediate left. A soloist usually takes this position as well. The average size of an orchestra is 75 to 100 players. Smaller groups of 50 or less are often called chamber orchestras.

The word orchestra is sometimes used in a less informal way such as the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. The Boston Pops orchestra is known for playing popular songs of the day.

A concert band, unlike an orchestra, has no stringed instruments such as violin or cello. And where an orchestra usually has three trumpets, a band can have as many as twelve (as well as that many trombones and clarinets). Although concert band music can range from symphonic to popular to Jazz, many bands are known for playing marches such as The Stars and Stripes Forever and The Washington Post March. Some bands play both in a concert setting and perform as a marching band (such as in parades or as part of the entertainment at a football game).

The word band, of course, can also be used to describe a rock band, Dixieland band, or hip hop band. Personnel and instrumentation varies widely in these kind of groups as well as does the music being played.

A choir is made up entirely of singers (and often a piano accompanist) and most often takes the form of male and female vocalists divided into five voices (vocal ranges): soprano and alto (women) and tenor, baritone, and bass (men). Music written for choirs utilizes the five voices to create the parts that might otherwise be played by musical instruments. Choirs can be all male or female and there are many specialty choirs such as singers that perform only certain styles of music. Jazz choirs are quite common as are barbershop quartets.

An ensemble is a “catch all” phrase for a group of musicians. The term is mostly used to describe string ensembles. The term is sometimes used when describing a group of singers (e.g., a vocal ensemble). Typically, an ensemble contains four to twenty members. It is derived from the word “assembly.”

The word combo (from the word “combination”) is sometimes used when describing an ensemble, but for the most part, it means a four-or five-piece group, typically with guitar, bass and drums. You’ll see the term most often when describing jazz musicians (i.e., a jazz combo).

A free email newsletter on exciting piano chords and chord progressions from author Duane Shinn is available free at “Piano Chords”

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Duane_Shinn

The world of musical instruments is as vast as it is old. Man has been making music since he first banged rocks together; and since that time music has become a large part of the human experience. It is the focal point of many human activities and the instruments used to create our music are continually evolving.

Drums are arguably the oldest of musical instruments. They the most primal of any existing group of instruments, but have continually been a staple of most genres of music. Their use can be documented all over the world, and in nearly every culture and in every era. Today, drums are the heart of most popular music, whether they be acoustic drums or electronic.

String instruments have been used by humans for millennia. Evidence of these musical instruments can be found dating as far back as Ancient Greece and earlier. This group of instruments has evolved to include a great many variations, ranging from the violin to the guitar, with each sub-category including even more variations. The guitar, for instance, can be found in acoustic, electric and hybrid configurations. The invention of electronic effects processors and other types of synthesizers have only served to increase the variety within this group.

Finally, there are the wind instruments. This group of musical instruments can be broken down into two main categories; brass and woodwind. Brass instruments get their name because they are almost always made from metal, and that metal is often brass. Sound is produced by vibrating the lips against a mouthpiece, and this vibration is amplified through the tubing of the instrument. Examples of brass instruments include trumpets, trombones and tubas; just to name a few.

Woodwinds are members of the wind group of musical instruments, but their name is a bit of a misnomer. Woodwinds aren’t always made from wood. Their name most often has to do with the fact that they require the use of a wooden reed in order to produce sound, but even this aspect is not universal to the group. Flutes, for example, are not only made from metal (although they can be made of wood, and most were for centuries) but they also do not use a reed of any kind. Saxophones are also made from metal, but they do require a wooden reed.

Jennifer R. Scott has been writing for over ten years on a broad range of topics. She has a background that includes such diverse areas as environmentalism, cooking, animal care, and technology. If you would like more information on music, please visit musical instruments, a supplier of quality instruments and accessories for the musician in your life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_R_Scott

Saxophones are not considered woodwinds by some as they are made of brass. However, a saxophone is played very much in the same way as most woodwinds. Flutes and piccolos, though made of metal, are often thought of as part of the woodwind family.

As for piano, the type of wood used to make the instrument has a great effect on the quality of sound produced. Certain woods resonate better than others and thus create a better tone. In fact, many lower-priced clarinets are made of plastic and although they provide a serviceable tone, it is not the rich, “wooden” tone coveted by professionals.

Woodwinds are most often found in orchestras and smaller ensembles (although the clarinet can be found in Dixieland or jazz groups). Instruments like the English horn can be found in popular music, while the bassoon may only be found in traditional and ensemble music. There are, however, composers and musicians who explore the use of these instruments in esoteric and unconventional ways. One way to think of the woodwind family is the various instruments mimicking (representing) the human voice such as a clarinet for an alto singer, or a bassoon for a baritone singer. Many modern composer look at this group of instruments in exactly that way.

Woodwinds are tuned by adjusting their length. This is done by repositioning single components of the instrument. The musician often has to twist different sections of the instrument to make these adjustments. The longer the instrument becomes, the lower in pitch a particular note. The intonation of a woodwind is ultimately the responsibility of the player and techniques must be learned to keep the instrument in tune as it is played.

The challenge for the pianist is the fact the some woodwinds play in a different key (a Bb clarinet for example). In order for the two players to play together and communicate, both have to be aware of this and be able to transpose the two parts. For example, when the Bb clarinet plays the note Bb, that note is actually the note C on piano.

Most pianists are used to reading music in a number of different octaves and this is very important when playing with woodwinds because as a group, the cover a wide range of tones. The piano is often chosen as the accompanying instrument of a solo woodwind player or a small ensemble of woodwind instruments. One reason for this is the pianist can easily rehearse each instrument, or easily and accurately play the chords created by the ensemble.

Duane Shinn is the author of a free newsletter on piano chords & chord progressions available at Duane Shinn is the author of a free newsletter on piano chords & chord progressions available at “Woodwinds”

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Duane_Shinn