Orchestras usually have two or more flutes. They sometimes play the same notes as the first violins, making the string sound a little clearer. The flute is often featured as a solo instrument, especially in fast passages. Its highest notes carry over the whole orchestra, and because flutes have so many keys they are very good for playing quick scales and other fast passages.

Look at this picture of the flute to see how it is put together.

A flutist produces sound by blowing air across the blowhole.

The lip-plate provides a rest for the lower lip.

The flute has thirteen keys, each covering a hole. The flutist produces different pitches by playing on the keys to cover and uncover the holes.

The head joint holds the lip-plate and blowhole.

The foot joint forms the flute's opposite end.

The body of the flute is the center portion, joining the head and foot joints and containing most of the keys.

When a flutist plays, the shape of the mouth or embouchure [say AHM-boo-shoor] is extremely important. By varying the embouchure, the player can adjust the tone of a phrase so that it sounds bright and clear or haunting and mysterious.

The head joint can be used to tune the overall pitch of the flute slightly lower or higher. This is most important when a flutist is playing in hot conditions, because the pitch of a metal flute rises quickly as it warms up. To lower the flute's pitch, you can pull out this joint slightly from the body to increase the overall length of the tube.

Here's a picture of a piccolo.



It's half the length of a flute, and has only two parts instead of three: the head joint and the body (no foot joint).