Printable music for flute and piano
This page with flute and piano sheet music arranged by me is supposed to grow as I upload popular public domain melodies and my own compositions. The scores are in PDF format and can be downloaded and printed for free. The melody Canon In D is a very popular melody at this site and also on the Internet. This arrangement of the song is simplified and shortened to make it more accessible to new flute players.
Free music scores (PDF)
How on Earth Were Flute Fingerings Decided Upon?!
By Jane Cavanagh
The Science and History Of Flute Fingerings
One of
the first things that a beginner flutist must learn is flute fingerings.
While this can be confusing at first, for the most part these fingerings
follow a pretty logical progression. You lift up fingers to play higher,
and you put down fingers to play lower. Lots of times this involves lots
of memorization and referring to a good fingering chart. However, while
most flutists work hard to learn how to finger notes, they don't ever stop
to consider why that particular combination of keys produces a certain tone.
The answer to the question of why has both a scientific and a social component.
On the one hand, as a physical object, the flute is bound by the laws of
acoustics and physics, which control what is physically possible to do on
the flute. On the other hand, nothing is possible on the flute without the
minds of great instrument makers who develop systems of flute fingerings
that are based on the demands and technology of a particular time. Below,
you'll find some basic introductory information about flute fingerings.
We'll cover the acoustic aspects of playing the flute, as well as look at
some information about the 19th century flute maker whose fingering system
has dominated the concert flute world ever since.
The Acoustics
of the Flute
Before we get into the specific ways in which sound
is produced on the flute, it's important that you understand the concept
of sound waves. When vibrations travel through the air the resulting sound
waves oscillate between two points, which when graphed look very much like
actual waves in the water. The value of the two points that the sound wave
moves between and the speed at which it moves between these two points influences
the pitch of that sound wave.
On the flute, these vibrations are caused by blowing a fast stream of
air across the lip plate (sometimes called the embouchure plate). When the
stream of air reaches the other side of the hole on the plate, it is diverted
into two possible directions, due to it hitting the sharp edge of the hole.
Some air continues to flow across the top of the lip plate, while other
air is directed downward into the flute. However, this does not happen simultaneously.
Instead, the air stream is quickly moving back and forth between the two,
and this rapid alternation is what causes the sound producing vibrations
of the instrument. Like the graphed sound waves, the air oscillates down
the length of the flute. The rate at which this oscillation takes place
is determined by which flute fingerings are being used by the musician.
When fewer keys are pushed, the air vibrates at a higher frequency, which
causes the pitch of the note to be higher. When more keys are pressed, the
note will vibrate at a lower frequency and will consequently sound lower
in pitch.
While this is a good introduction to the acoustics of
the flute, it only touches the most basic points. Things get considerably
more complicated when it comes to producing different octaves on the flute
and when you reach the uppermost register of the instrument. However, don't
let this deter you. The physics of music are an important and fascinating
aspect of the music making experience.
Theobald Boehm - The Man Who Changed Flute Fingerings Forever
Before the Romantic era of Western classical music (roughly 1800-1900),
instrument manufacturing was not an organized affair. Instruments were constructed
in wildly different ways depending on where they were being built and who
was building them. However, in the 1800s, thanks largely in part to the
industrial revolution, instrument makers now had the technology to standardize
the manufacturing process.
It was during this time that Theobald
Boehm was looking to optimize flute fingering systems and invented what
is now commonly known as the Boehm flute. Boehm's new flute model spread
quickly in popularity and is still most commonly used by flutists worldwide
today (although several changes have been made to his original).
Before Boehm, the tone holes of the flute were placed based on how far
the human hand could comfortably reach on the instrument. However, this
system was not acoustically ideal for pitch accuracy. To work around this,
Boehm developed a quite complex system of keys that could operate tone holes
located on other areas of the flute. This meant that players could use flute
fingerings that were comfortable but still promoted a good, rich sound.
Similarly, Boehm discovered that the flute had its best sound when the tone
holes were too big for a player's fingers to cover. So, to work around this,
Boehm developed finger plates that could adequately cover the holes when
depressed by the musician's fingers.
Recent Flute Innovations
While the Boehm flute is still arguably the most popular model of flute
in the world, instrument makers are still finding new way to make improvements
to both the tone of the instrument and the ease of playing. For example,
Jim Schmidt, an instrument maker from California, has developed what he
calls a "linear chromatic flute." Unlike the Boehm flute, which is based
on the C major scale, Schmidt's flute is based on the chromatic scale, which
means that the instrument's pitches move up a half step for every finger
you raise. He argues that this system of flute fingerings is superior to
the Boehm when it comes to executing fast, technical passages in keys with
lots of sharps or flats and that the instrument's fingerings are much easier
to memorize since they follow such an intuitive progression.
Jane Cavanagh is a professional flutist and teacher with
18 years of experience in helping beginner flute students sound effortlessly
amazing when they play. She is known for her creative and encouraging teaching
style, and has many secret tips and tricks for getting the best out of a
student.
Get your FREE flute fingering chart here:
http://www.easyflute.com/more-great-stuff/flute-fingering-chart/