How the voice flute makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the voice 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.
Players shape its sound through technique and materials; the resonating body filters the raw vibration, boosting some harmonics and damping others.
From Wikipedia
The voice flute (also the Italian flauto di voce and the French flûte de voix are found in English-language sources) is a recorder with the lowest note of D4, and is therefore intermediate in size between the alto and tenor recorders.
Although sometimes regarded as a small tenor, a tone higher than the usual one in C4,) it was treated historically and is most often in modern times described as a large alto.( Though it has been speculated that the name might refer to the instrument's range, which is roughly equivalent to that of the soprano voice, the origin of the term "voice flute" is obscure.)
Other flutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a voice 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 voice flute?
It is classified as flutes (edge-blown) (Hornbostel–Sachs 421.221.12).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q21010835 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Voice flute – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Óscar Romero – CC BY-SA 4.0