Western concert flute Western concert flute The Western concert flute is a transverse (side-blown) woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, flute player, or (rarely) fluter. This type of flute is used in many ensembles including concert bands, military bands, marching bands, orchestras, flute ensembles, and occasionally jazz bands and big bands. Other flutes in this family include the piccolo, alto flute, and the bass flute. A large repertory of works has been composed for flute. The flute is one of the oldest
Flute ends of the chimney and any designed restriction in the "throat" of the instrument, such as that in the Japanese Nohkan Flute. A study in which professional flutists were blindfolded could find no significant differences between flutes made from a variety of metals. In two different sets of blind listening, no flute was correctly identified in a first listening, and in a second, only the silver flute was identified. The study concluded that there was "no evidence that the wall material has any appreciable effect on the sound color or dynamic range". In its most basic form, a flute is