Overview and History of the Flute

The flute is the instrument that serves as the soprano voice in most bands, orchestras, and woodwind groups. Most flutes are made of metal and consist chiefly of a tube with a mouthpiece near one end. The musician holds the flute horizontally and blows across an oval shaped hole in the mouthpiece. At the same time, the musician presses levers on the flute, called keys. The keys, when depressed and released, open and close tone holes on the flute to produce different notes. The concert flute, which is tuned in the key of C, is the most popular flute and has a three octave range. Other members of the flute family include the piccolo, the alto flute, and the bass flute.

     The transverse flute, the flute that is most commonly used in Western music, was known to have existed in China about 900 BCE. The flute reached Europe during the 12th century where it became most used as a military instrument in German speaking areas. This led to its formal name, the German flute. The flute then evolved into a chamber music instrument during the 16th and 17th centuries. These early flutes were often made in one piece with six fingerholes. During the 1600s, however, the flute was redesigned and was built in three sections with joints which connected them together. Gradually, more keys were added to the flute, and it began to replace the recorder in orchestral pieces. By 1800, a four-keyed flute was most common, but during that century, an eight-keyed flute was also developed. Currently, the cylindrical Bohem flute is the most commonly used with thirteen or more tone holes controlled by a system of padded keys.
 

Age to Begin Flute Lessons

Developing The Necessary Skills


A child is most prone to developing "bad habits" in music between the early ages of 4 through 12, that is why we take great care in how we introduce to our students to music. At the Royal Academy each child will explore music in its entirety, developing all the skills necessary in being a well rounded and creative musician.  The Royal Academy ensures that all of its students are taught sight-reading skills, counting and rhythmic skills, technical skills, basic music theory and most of all, to be creativity. We do not teach our students to "play by ear" nor do we subscribe to ridiculous notions that a child can learn to play an instrument online or in a month from a "learn it yourself book or CD ".  Music is accumulative and the only way to progress and become a good little musician is to instill  healthy and productive practice habits.  It is equally important the teacher presents the material in an enjoyable  and encouraging way, carefully listening to your child and understanding how they register the material along with being  attentive to your child's problems in a particular area is key to their music development.

Finding an Instrument

If you do not already have a flute there are several options that you have. The first and least expensive option is to rent a flute.   The reason it is important to rent a flute as opposed to purchasing one at first for two main reasons. First, flutes can be very costly and second, you may want to see how your child does in his.her lessons before you invest in purchasing one. The Royal Academy rents a variety of instruments, if you are looking for a flute, please call us at 508-792-1221.

The Benefit of Flute Lessons

There is no question that learning to play flute will improve upon a student's coordination skills as well.  What is most notable and nothing short of amazing are the long-term positive effects music has on the brain. To elaborate, music can improve a child's " spatial ability", the ability to comprehend other related materials or subjects such as mathematics and science. It is no coincidence that most scientists, physicians and immortal genius' such as "Einstein" were all musicians.  Below is an article we thought our students might find interesting.

Interesting Article on "Music and the Brain"

Music enters the brain through the ears. Pitch, melody, and intensity of notes are processed in several areas of the brain such as the cerebral cortex, the brain stem, and the frontal lobes. Both the right-brain and left-brain auditory cortex interprets sound.  Feza Sancar (1999) writes that the right-brain auditory cortex specializes in determining hierarchies of harmonic relations and rich overtones and the left-brain auditory cortex deciphers the sequencing of sound and perception of rhythm.
Many studies have been performed to examine the affect of musical instruction on the brain. For example, researchers at the University of Munster, Germany, (1998) reported that music lessons in childhood actually enlarge the brain. The auditory cortex is enlarged by 25% in musicians compared to those who have never played an instrument. According to the study by Frances Rauscher of the University of California, Irvine, (1997) links between neurons in the brain are strengthened with music lessons. Dr. Frank Wilson’s study (1989) involving instrumental music learning to play an instrument refines the development of the brain and the entire neurological system and the brain reveal that evidence, it is clear that music instruction is essential to children’s education because it improves their academic performance. Curriculum areas that music instruction affects most include language development, reading, mathematics, and science. Music itself is a kind of language full of patterns that can be used to form notes, chords, and rhythms. Exposure to music helps a child analyze the harmonic vowel sounds of language as well as sequence words and ideas. Another curriculum area enhanced by music participation is reading. A child who participates in music activities experiences sensory integration, a crucial factor in reading readiness. Wilson’s study (1989) reveals that music instruction enhances a student’s ability to perform skills necessary for reading including listening, anticipating, forecasting, memory training, recall skills, and concentration techniques. Mathematics is the academic subject most closely connected with music. Music helps students count, recognize geometric shapes, understand ratios and proportions, and the frameworks of time. Researcher Gordon Shaw (1993) found that piano instruction enhances the brain’s ability for spatial-temporal reasoning, or the ability to visualize and transform information.