4. Anatomy of the Flute

The headjoint

In the usual flute, the headjoint is straight. But there are also curved headjoints used as a learning aid for kids or in the case of low flutes like alto and bass flutes. The headjoint can be made from various materials. In the upper third, there's the embouchure hole with a soldered-on chimney. This carries the lip plate with the actual embouchure hole. You rest your lower lip on the lip plate and blow into the flute by directing the airflow against the opposite edge, similar to blowing into a bottle neck. The end of the headjoint is open and is inserted into the body. At the other end is the crown. Inside this crown sits the cork, which isn't visible from the outside. For the flute to be properly tuned, the cork must be positioned correctly.

The sound of a flute mainly depends on the headjoint. That's why you can buy headjoints separately. A good silver headjoint significantly improves the sound and responsiveness of your flute. The higher the quality of your instrument, the more choices you have when selecting a headjoint. The nobler the material, like silver or gold, the fuller and rounder your tone will sound. However, not every headjoint sounds equally good on every flute; there are also different sizes. You might want to seek advice in the specialized department if needed.

The body

The body section, also called the corpus, is equipped with numerous keys. These keys control the column of air in the instrument and are responsible for the pitch.

Regarding key systems, there are:

Two construction types:

• Keys arranged in a line, referred to as an inline configuration.
• If the G key is shifted toward the left ring finger, it's an offset model (also known as Inline/Offset).

And two key types:

• Closed hole keys: Fingers operate these, but the key itself closes the tone hole.
• Open hole keys, also called ring keys flute (more on that later in this guide).

The footjoint

The footjoint, with keys for the lowest tones, is the smallest part of the flute. Here, there are distinctions between C foot and H foot.