How the hyperbass flute makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the hyperbass flute belongs to the flutes (edge-blown): an air jet is split on a sharp edge, setting the air column vibrating – flutes, recorders, whistles and panpipes.
More broadly it is one of the aerophones (wind instruments), where sound comes from vibrating air.
Its timbre – the colour that lets you tell it apart from other instruments playing the same note – comes from the mix of overtones its body and resonator emphasise.
From Wikipedia
The hyperbass flute is conceptually the largest and lowest-pitched instrument in the flute family, although it is extremely rare. It first appeared at the turn of the 21st century, and only two are known to exist. With tubing reaching over 8 metres (26 ft) in length, it is pitched in C, four octaves below the concert flute (three octaves below the bass, two below the contrabass, and one octave below the double contrabass). Its lowest note is C0, one octave below the lowest C on a standard piano, which at 16 Hertz is considered below the threshold of human hearing. Humans hear from 20 to 20,000 Hz. Therefore, only the second and higher harmonics of the lowest notes are audible, but the entire range of the instrument can be heard.
The first playable example was built by Florentine craftsman Francesco Romei for Italian flutist Roberto Fabbriciani, inventor and first performer of the instrument. He called it the flauto iperbasso, or hyperbass flute.
Other flutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a hyperbass flute sound like?
As one of the flutes, its sound comes from the way an air jet is split on a sharp edge, setting the air column vibrating.
What type of instrument is the hyperbass flute?
It is classified as flutes (edge-blown) (Hornbostel–Sachs 421.121.12).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q1449548 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Hyperbass flute – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Sergio Canazza, Giovanni De Poli, Alvise Vidolin (photographer unknown) – CC BY 4.0