Flute acoustics: an introduction to how a flute works

11 nill0 1 7/7/2025, 6:40:50 AM newt.phys.unsw.edu.au ↗

Comments (1)

Mossly · 4h ago
Anybody wanting more should check out “The Flute and Flute Playing” (1871) by Theobald Boehm - an autodidact polymath who employed his talents in metalworking and physics to iteratively perfect the metal cylinder bored flute.

It contains detailed explanations of his development process, including a complete schema for determining optimal tonehole positions - developed after he first created a flute in which he could move them!

It helped me to more deeply appreciate the engineering marvel that is the modern western concert ‘Boehm’ flute. It’s an exceptionally pure instrument.