California

 State  University,  Northridge  

 

 
 
 
The  Development  of  the  Boehm  System  on  the  Virtuosic  Flute  and  its  Impact  on    

 Modern  Flute  Music  

 
 

 
A  thesis  submitted  in  partial  fulfillment  of  the  requirements  
 For  the  degree  of  Master  of  Music  in,  
Music  Performance  

 
 
 

 
 
By    
Nathan  Davis  

 
 
 

 
 
 

May  2014

 
  
 

The  thesis  of  Nathan  Davis  is  approved:  

 
 
 

 
________________________________________________________       _________________________  
David  Shostac                                        Date  

 
________________________________________________________       __________________________  
Dr.  Liviu  Marinescu                                Date  
 
________________________________________________________       __________________________  
Dr.  Alexandra  Monchick,  Chair                                Date  
 

California  State  University,  Northridge

  ii  
 Table  of  Contents  

Signature  Page                                          ii  

Abstract                                          iv  
Introduction                                            1  
Before  the  Boehm  System                                        3    
 
The  Ancient  Flute                                        3  
The  Medieval  Period                                                            4  
The  Baroque  Period                                        6  

The  Classical  Period                                  10  

Theobald  Boehm                                    18  
Boehm’s  Patents                                                    21  
1831  Patent                                            21  

1832  Patent                                              23  

Other  Flute  Makers  Contributions                                                                26  
Boehm’s  Return  to  Flute  Construction                            27  

1847  Patent                                    31  

Modern  Flute  Developments                              32  
Impact  on  Music                                    36  
Conclusion                                      43  

Bibliography                                        44  
 
 

  iii  
  
ABSTRACT  

 
 
The  Development  of  the  Boehm  System  on  the  Virtuosic  Flute  and  its  Impact  on    
 Modern  Flute  Music  

By
Nathan Davis
Master of Music in Performance

This  thesis  will  examine  the  modern  flute  starting  in  the  early  Romantic  

period  with  the  advent  of  new  techniques  and  flute  designs  such  as  the  Boehm  

system  and  moving  through  the  developments  made  to  the  flute,  ending  with  the  

impact  made  on  today’s  music.  I  will  explain  how  the  Boehm  system  and  other  

developments  have  impacted  flute  repertoire  and  works.  The  evolution  of  the  

modern  flute  in  the  nineteenth  century  along  with  the  romantic  musical  style  of  the  

time  gave  rise  to  the  romantic  virtuosic  flute.  Moving  forward  through  the  

development  of  the  flute,  I  will  end  with  today’s  modern  flute,  which  along  with  a  

progressive  compositional  style,  gave  rise  to  new  flute  techniques  such  as  

harmonics  and  alternative  flute  styles  such  as  singing  and  playing  at  the  same  time.  I  

will  show  the  correlation  of  instrument  design  and  the  impact  it  has  had  on  the  

composition  of  musical  works  for  the  flute.    

 
iv  
 Introduction  

  Throughout  the  centuries  the  flute  did  not  change  its  overall  design.  It  was  

not  until  the  nineteenth  century  that  the  flute  made  most  of  its  design  changes.  

Leading  up  to  the  romantic  period,  the  flute  had  various  problems  including  tuning,  

sound  production  and  equality  amongst  the  entire  range  of  the  instrument.  During  

the  nineteenth  century,  many  of  these  problems  were  solved  through  the  invention  

of  the  Boehm  system.  Compared  to  earlier  flute  designs,  the  new  qualities  of  the  

newer  flute  design  allowed  for  flute  players  to  develop  and  adapt  to  new  music  

techniques  from  other  musical  styles.  Also,  it  allowed  for  different  methods  and  

trends  of  performance  techniques  based  on  the  different  styles  of  music.  

Furthermore,  these  changes  lead  to  composers  being  able  to  write  more  technical  

and  virtuosic  music  for  the  flute.    

  The  earliest  flute  can  be  traced  to  the  prehistoric  times.  These  early  flutes  

were  crude  and  generally  made  from  the  materials  at  hand,  such  as  animal  bone  or  

plant  material.  These  early  flutes  were  used  for  ceremonial  and  religious  purposes.  

The  early  flute  can  be  put  into  two  separate  categories;  an  instrument  that  consisted  

of  multiple  sound  chambers  and  one  consisting  of  a  singular  tube.  An  example  of  an  

instrument  consisting  of  multiple  tubes  tied  together  would  be  the  pan  flute.  The  

other  type  of  flute  consisting  of  one  main  tubular  body  can  further  be  separated  into  

two  sub-­‐categories.  These  categories  are  based  on  the  method  of  how  the  

instrument  was  held,  either  vertically  or  horizontally.  The  vertical  flute  includes  

modern  instruments,  such  as  the  recorder.  An  example  of  a  horizontal  flute  includes  

1    
what  people  consider  the  modern  flute  today,  which  is  also  known  as  a  transverse  

flute.  Although  the  multiple  sound  chamber  flute  (pan  flute)  and  vertical  flute  

(recorder)  both  have  had  impacts  on  the  flute  development,  the  focus  of  this  paper  

will  be  on  the  transverse  flute,  which  has  been  developed  into  the  modern  flute  

design  that  most  people  think  of  today.    

  The  modern  flute  consists  of  a  main  tubular  body,  through  which  the  

musician  pushes  air  across  a  sound  hole.  This  forces  the  air  to  circulate  through  and  

vibrate  down  the  main  body  of  the  flute.  The  length  and  width  of  the  main  flute  body  

will  determine  the  range  and  key  of  the  instrument,  based  on  how  long  the  

vibrations  are  throughout  the  flute  body.  To  produce  different  notes  other  than  the  

main  key  of  the  tubular  body,  the  flute  also  consists  of  holes  that  are  drilled  along  

the  main  tubular  body.  This  adjusts  the  vibrating  sound  lengths  down  the  flute  body  

to  alter  pitch  and  sound.  By  covering  different  hole  combinations,  one  can  alter  and  

change  the  various  notes  within  the  range  and  key  of  the  instrument.  

2  
 Before  the  Boehm  System  

The  Ancient  Flute  

The  first  documented  evidence  of  flutes  with  multiple  holes  to  change  the  

pitch  was  found  in  paintings  of  ancient  Greece,  around  eighth  century  BC.1  This  type  

of  flute  consisted  of  six  holes  along  the  body  that  allowed  it  to  play  all  the  notes  in  a  

specific  modal  scale  to  which  the  flute  was  constructed  for.  During  the  eighth  

century  BC,  the  most  popular  instrument  was  not  the  flute,  but  rather  the  Aulos.  The  

Aulos  consisted  of  a  double  reed  instrument  with  two  separate  chambers,  one  for  a  

base  tuning  and  one  for  melody.  At  this  time,  to  be  an  Aulos  player  was  held  with  

great  prestige,  which  included  fame  and  fortune.  For  this  reason  the  flute  was  most  

often  performed  by  commoners,  such  as  shepherds,  who  simply  played  the  

instrument  for  pure  entertainment  value.2  

  The  earliest  ancient  flutes  were  most  often  constructed  out  of  bone.  

However,  every  region  and  culture  tended  to  use  whatever  materials  they  had  on  

hand.  For  instance,  in  Africa,  most  flutes  were  created  out  of  ostrich  quills.3  Native  

American  flutes  were  often  made  of  wood  or  bone.  Asian  cultures  created  their  

flutes  through  construction  of  bamboo.  Throughout  the  world,  different  cultures  

used  their  own  methods  to  create  flutes,  and  they  were  not  restricted  to  utilizing  

only  one  building  material.  Throughout  the  continued  evolution  of  the  flute,  the  

                                                                                                               
1  James Galway, Flute (New York: Schirmer Books, 1982), 5.  
2  Ibid  
3  Ibid  

3  
building  designs  and  techniques  used  for  flute  construction  became  more  exotic  and  

interesting.    

  The  ancient  flute  was  used  for  a  multitude  of  different  purposes,  including  

cultural  events,  religious  ceremonies,  and  pure  entertainment  value.  As  stated  

previously,  the  ancient  Greek  commoners  used  the  flute  for  pure  entertainment  

value.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Native  American  tribes,  such  as  the  Apache,  utilized  

the  flute  as  a  cultural  tool  for  courtship  and  a  rite  of  passage  amongst  male  tribal  

members  to  attract  their  mates.  These  diverse  uses  were  as  varied  as  the  cultures  

and  materials  from  which  flute  was  created.4    

The  Medieval  Period  

The  medieval  flute  design  and  construction  was  in  essence  a  continuation  of  

previous  flute  designs.  These  medieval  flutes  were  constructed  from  a  single  piece  

of  wood  and  had  six  open  holes,  which  were  approximately  arranged  on  the  body.  

These  military  flutes,  or  fifes,  were  composed  of  a  “narrow  tube  with  six  close  finger  

holes.”5  This  allowed  for  the  approximate  pitches  of  the  different  notes  within  one  

specific  modal  scale.  These  flutes,  known  as  the  Zwerchpfeiff  by  Sebastian  Virdung,  

were  used  in  a  military  role  along  with  a  small  drum,  which  would  be  used  in  

military  march  cadences  and  orders.  It  was  not  until  the  Renaissance  period  that  the  

                                                                                                               
4  Galway,  Flute,  6.  
5  Nancy Toff, The Development of the Modern Flute (New York: Taplinger Pub., 1979),
11.  

4  
flute  design  started  to  expand  so  that  it  could  be  used  in  other  areas,  such  as  music  

entertainment.  

  During  the  Renaissance,  the  flute  construction  really  started  to  change  and  

improve,  although  the  flutes  were  still  mostly  based  off  of  the  previous  design  of  the  

Zwerchpfeiff.  The  improvement  on  flute  design  may  have  occurred  due  to  the  change  

in  musical  style  and  composition  during  the  renaissance  period.  During  the  

medieval  time  period,  flute  compositions  were  composed  of  simple  tunes,  usually  a  

flute  accompanying  the  vocal  melody  or  a  small  drum.  However,  in  the  1600s,  music  

compositions  started  to  become  dedicated  to  the  flute,  which  during  this  time  

period  was  known  as  the  Schweitzer  Pfeiffen  as  described  by  Martin  Agriola  in  his  

work  Musica  instrumentalis  deudsch.6  These  newer  flutes  had  better  design  and  

proportions  than  their  earlier  predecessors,  including  the  Zwerchpfeiff,  which  

allowed  for  better  finger  positions.  The  newer  flutes,  known  as  Querpfeiffen  as  

described  by  Michael  Praetorius’s  Syntangma  Musicum  in  1619-­‐20,  illustrates  a  

three  flute  or  Querpfeiffen  consort.7    This  consort  consisted  of  a  discant  flute,  

alto/tenor  flute,  and  a  bass  flute.  A  musician  would  often  have  all  three  flutes  in  

order  to  accommodate  the  different  keys  and  octaves  required.  The  discant  

Querpfeiffe  produced  the  highest  notes  and  was  composed  of  a  fourteen-­‐inch  body  

and  designed  for  the  natural  key  of  A  major.  The  alto/tenor  Querpfeiffen  was  

constructed  in  the  key  of  D  major  with  a  length  of  22  inches.  The  Bass  Querpfeiffe  

                                                                                                               
6  Toff,  Development  of  the  Modern  Flute,  12  
7  Ibid,  11-­‐13.  

5  
was  constructed  in  the  key  of  G  major  with  a  length  of  32  inches.  Depending  on  the  

piece  being  played,  the  musician  would  utilize  one  of  the  three  flutes.    

  These  Querpfeiffen  consort  was  superior  to  the  previous  flute  design  for  

several  reasons.  The  holes  were  more  precisely  made  to  fit  in  the  key  for  which  it  

was  constructed  for,  instead  of  the  approximant  hole  placements  of  the  earlier  

military  Pfeiffen.  Furthermore,  an  innovation  arose  with  the  alto/tenor  and  bass  

Querpfeiffen.  Instead  of  one  single  wooded  tube,  as  the  discant  Querpfeiffen  

continued  to  be  made  from,  the  alto/tenor  and  bass  Querpfeiffen  were  constructed  

out  of  two  wooden  pieces.8  These  two  wooden  pieces  would  fit  together  and  allowed  

for  better  tuning  of  the  Querpfeiffen  by  adjusting  the  length  of  the  flute.  

  These  early  Querpfeiffen  were  most  often  made  of  materials  that  were  easy  to  

work  with  such  as  plum  and  cherry  wood.  These  woods  were  chosen  for  several  

reasons,  including  their  aesthetic  characteristics,  including  wood  finishing  and  grain  

patterns.  However,  during  this  time,  flutes  started  to  become  created  out  of  more  

exotic  materials,  such  as  ebony,  glass,  and  crystal  (according  to  Mersenne  in  his  

Harmonincorum  of  1648.9  These  exotic  flute  materials,  although  attractive  looking,  

were  made  from  materials  which  were  very  difficult  to  work  with.  Because  of  the  

difficulty  of  construction,  these  alternative  flute  materials  fell  out  of  favor  quickly.    

                                                                                                               
8  Toff,  Development  of  the  Modern  Flute,  14.  
9  Ibid,  15.  

6  
The  Baroque  Period  
During  the  baroque  period,  music  came  much  further  than  the  early  

madrigals  and  folk  music  of  the  past  medieval  musical  period.  The  evolving  music  

that  composers  were  producing  called  for  a  complexity  of  dynamics  and  quality  of  

tone  that  the  vertical  flute,  or  recorder,  simply  could  not  match.  The  transverse  flute,  

on  the  other  hand,  was  perfect  choice  to  obtain  the  musical  expression  needed  for  

the  more  complex  musical  works.  Furthermore,  the  transverse  flute  offered  a  better  

clarity  of  sound  and  a  third  octave  range.  However,  the  transverse  flute  at  this  time  

was  far  from  ideal  for  the  composers  for  this  time.  The  transverse  flute  still  needed  

to  evolve  further  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  baroque  music,  but  it  was  a  good  place  

to  start.  

  During  the  baroque  period,  the  transverse  flute  still  was  not  completely  

controllable  when  it  came  to  tuning  and  pitch.  At  this  time,  the  transverse  flute  was  

still  constructed  for  one  specific  key,  in  this  case,  the  D  mode.10  However,  with  

proper  techniques  and  cross  fingerings  such  as  forked  fingerings,  a  flute  player  had  

the  ability  to  play  a  chromatic  scale  with  some  degree  of  relative  pitch.  One  of  the  

techniques  used  to  play  half  steps  includes  partially  covering  the  finger  holes.  

However,  this  was  not  ideal  as  it  degraded  the  sound  quality  and  tuning  ability.    

Pitches  amongst  many  of  the  notes  throughout  the  chromatic  scale  were  far  from  

clear  and  were  many  cents  out  of  tune.  To  further  make  tuning  a  problem,  a  

limitation  of  the  baroque  transverse  flute  was  still  the  human  hand’s  range  of  

                                                                                                               
10  Toff,  Development  of  the  Modern  Flute,  15.  

7  
movement.  To  accommodate  for  the  reach  of  the  human  hand,  The  A  and  E  hole,  

which  are  the  first  and  last  finger  holes  on  the  flute,  would  be  cut  above  true  center  

pitch.  Thus  caused  intonation  problems  with  many  notes  on  the  flute.  To  

compensate  the  for  the  wrong  positioning  of  the  A  and  E  holes,  those  two  finger  

holes  would  be  cut  smaller  than  the  rest  of  the  finger  holes  to  account  for  not  being  

in  the  true  position.  Regardless  of  the  shortcomings,  the  ability  to  play  chromatics  

opened  opportunities  for  the  baroque  transverse  flute,  including  consideration  for  

words  and  compositions  of  the  new  musical  period,  which  was  a  major  

accomplishment  for  flute  players.    

  The  baroque  transverse  flute  continued  to  be  developed  through  the  baroque  

period.  Around  the  1660’s,  according  to  Galway’s  book  entitle  Flute,  The  advent  of  

the  D-­‐sharp  key  was  invented  and  added  to  the  design  of  the  flute.  Never  before  had  

a  key  been  added  to  the  construction  of  the  flute.  This  simple,  yet  effective  design  of  

adding  a  metal  key  would  lead  further  innovation  later.  This  simple  design  created  a  

way  to  play  D-­‐sharp  on  the  flute  with  ease  and  clarity  by  the  use  of  one’s  pinky  

finger  instead  of  using  a  poor  sounding  cross  fingering,  which  was  previously  used  

to  create  the  note.  The  D-­‐sharp  mechanism  consisted  of  a  simple  piece  of  metal,  

often  constructed  from  silver  due  to  its  easy  manipulation.  This  metal  piece  was  

attached  to  a  spring  and  metal  support  system  placed  at  the  very  end  of  the  flute  on  

the  bottom  section  of  the  flute,  known  as  the  foot  joint.  With  this  D-­‐sharp  key,  one  

could  play  the  D-­‐sharp  with  a  much  better  quality  of  sound,  and  this  creation  lead  to  

8  
more  innovative  cross  fingerings  that  could  produce  better  intonation  across  the  

entire  flute  range.  11  

  Several  other  innovations  were  established  during  the  same  time  period  that  

helped  the  flute  become  a  better  instrument.  These  innovations  were  required  in  

order  to  keep  up  with  the  demand  from  the  music  of  the  baroque  period.  One  such  

innovation  contributed  to  balancing  the  quality  of  sound  and  equality  of  tone  

amongst  the  flute  range.  A  conical  bore  was  invented  for  a  better  lower  register.  The  

internal  bore  of  the  flute,  starting  at  the  head  joint  and  continuing  all  the  way  to  the  

foot  joint  decreased  in  size.  The  head  joint,  as  stated  in  Galway’s  book,  started  at  

zero  point  seventy-­‐two  inches  from  where  the  head  joined  the  body  joint  to  zero  

point  forty-­‐five  from  the  end  of  the  foot  joint.12  Another  design  innovation  that  also  

contributed  to  better  intonation  for  the  flute  was  smaller  finger  holes  across  the  

entire  flute  body.  These  smaller  finger  holes  were  previously  cut  like  recorder  finger  

hole  for  comfortably  fit  the  human  finger.  However,  with  the  decrease  in  finger  hole  

size,  the  chromatic  notes  performed  by  cross  fingering  were  more  true  to  correct  

intonation.  However,  the  quality  of  pitch  and  sound  were  not  perfect;  it  still  fell  

upon  the  player  to  correct  for  intonation  through  different  techniques  to  

accommodate  for  pitch.      

  The  materials  in  which  the  flute  was  constructed  also  had  a  factor  in  

contributing  in  the  flute’s  poor  intonation.  Most  baroque  flutes  of  this  time  were  

                                                                                                               
11  Toff,  Development  of  the  Modern  Flute,  16-­‐19  
12  Galway,  Flute,  21.  

9  
constructed  from  Boxwood  for  the  body  and  Ivory  to  support  the  joints.  The  

Boxwood  was  selected  for  two  reasons;  the  first  is  that  it  produced  a  rich  mellow  

sound  and  second  is  that  the  Boxwood  grain  pattern  was  very  attractive  to  the  eye.  

However,  the  Boxwood  would  adsorb  moisture  from  playing  and  would  swell  and  

warp  while  playing.  This  severely  affected  the  intonation  of  the  flute  during  each  

piece.  Other  materials  were  experimented  with  including  Ivory  and  other  metals.  

Ivory  was  found  to  be  unattractive  to  the  touch  and  feel  of  the  player.  Also,  Ivory  

often  resulted  in  problems  with  lip  placement  and  slipping  due  to  the  slickness  of  

Ivory  when  wet.  Metal  was  found  to  have  a  clear  bright  sound,  but  still  feel  victim  to  

environments  change  of  hot  to  cold  thus  continuing  the  problem  of  intonation.    

  The  problems  that  plagued  the  early  baroque’s  flute  were  all  addressed  over  

the  course  of  the  baroque  period.  The  early  problem  of  limited  range  and  intonation  

and  quality  throughout  the  flute  range  was  being  improved  by  the  innovation  of  the  

addition  of  the  D-­‐sharp  key  and  improved  finger  hole  placement  and  size.  These  

improved  sound  and  quality  innovations  lead  to  new  finger  techniques  on  the  flute.  

According  to  Galway,  “Better  flutes  led  to  better  players,  whose  performances  

encouraged  composers  to  write  more  pieces,  and  more  testing  pieces.  And  in  turn  

prompted  further  improvements  in  the  instrument.”13  This  turn  of  events  

foreshadows  the  impact  of  further  innovations  on  the  flute  that  in  turn  affected  the  

music  and  virtuosity  for  the  flute.  However,  at  this  time,  the  flute  still  had  a  long  way  

to  evolve  in  order  to  reach  its  full  potential.    

                                                                                                               
13  Galway,  Flute,  25.  

10  
  

The  Classical  Period  

Continuing  into  the  Classical  period,  the  same  problems  of  intonations  

occurred,  and  the  limitations  of  the  baroque  transverse  flute  were  still  present.  Even  

though  the  baroque  flute  had  evolved  and  addressed  many  of  the  main  issues  of  the  

flute,  composers  continued  to  feel  that  the  flute  was  inadequate  as  an  instrument  for  

many  types  of  pieces.  This  was  largely  because  the  flute  still  could  not  keep  proper  

intonation  across  the  entire  range  of  the  flute.  Several  attempts  at  innovation  arose  

to  try  to  fix  this  major  problem  of  intonation.  One  such  way  was  in  the  flute  head  

joint.  The  flute  head  joint  at  this  time  was  stopped  by  a  cork  and  cap.  The  player  

could  adjust  this  cork  and  cap  in  and  out  of  the  flute  head  joint  to  adjust  for  

intonation  and  tuning.  However,  this  adjustment  would  only  adjust  the  tuning  in  

small  amounts.  For  this  reason,  flautists  often  attempted  to  fix  this  problem  by  

creating  new  ideas  for  the  flute.  Two  such  flautists  were  Jacques  Hotteterre  and  

Johann  Quantz.    

Jacques  Hotteterre,  a  famous  flautist  and  composer  and  flute  maker  who  

lived  from  1674  to  1763,  is  contributed  to  the  idea  of  the  flute  being  set  into  three  

major  pieces,  the  head  joint,  body,  and  foot  joint.  However,  Hotteterre  did  not  stop  

there.  Instead  of  containing  the  flute  to  three  pieces,  Hotteterre  took  the  idea  further  

and  created  a  fourth  interchangeable  section.  This  was  created  to  try  to  control  the  

tuning  and  intonation  of  the  flute.  This  system  was  called  corps  de  réchange,  or  body  

parts.  To  create  the  corps  de  réchange,  Hotteterre  adjusted  the  tuning  by  taking  the  

11  
three  sections  flute  body  and  creating  a  fourth  interchangeable  section.  This  fourth  

section  was  created  by  taking  the  main  body  section  and  cutting  it  along  the  division  

between  the  left  and  right  hand  finger  holes.  Then,  the  left  hand  finger  hole  section  

was  created  in  four  different  lengths,  known  as  an  upper,  upper  middle,  middle  

lower,  and  lower  sections.  These  section  names  refer  to  the  intonation  of  each  

section,  moving  from  sharper  to  flatter  sections,  respectively.    These  changeable  

bodies  were  changed  out  depending  on  the  specific  intonation  required  for  each  

piece.  With  the  increase  or  decrease  of  the  flute  length,  Hotteterre’s  corps  de  

réchange  could  change  the  tuning  dramatically.  However,  this  continued  to  leave  the  

flute  player  with  limited  options,  as  they  only  had  four  tuning  options  and  fine  

adjusting  was  still  a  major  problem  across  the  range  of  the  flute.14  Johann  Quantz,  

another  well  known  flautist,  who  lived  from  1697  to  1773,  wrote  hundreds  of  flute  

works  on  the  flute.  Quantz  also  created  three  different  flute  fingerings,  a  flat  

fingering,  natural  fingering,  and  sharp  fingering  system.  These  systems  played  into  

his  particular  innovations.  Furthermore,  Quantz  also  tried  to  fix  the  intonation  

problems  of  the  transverse  flute  during  his  own  lifetime.    However,  Quantz  made  a  

simple  innovation  for  adjusting  the  pitch  and  tuning  by  including  a  telescoping  

metal  tube  to  the  flute,  which  was  built  into  the  interior  of  the  flute  bore  of  the  foot  

joint.  To  adjust  tuning,  he  would  pull  out  the  telescoping  tube  to  the  proper  length,  

which  brought  his  intonation  closer  to  what  is  was  supposed  to  be.  However,  this  

                                                                                                               
14  Toff,  Development  of  the  Modern  Flute,  21.  

12  
did  not  truly  fix  the  problem  and  Quantz  himself  felt  it  was  still  false  intonation.15  In  

addition  to  the  telescoping  tube,  Quantz  also  contributed  two  additional  keys  to  the  

flute.  These  flute  keys  were  placed  on  the  foot  joint,  creating  a  D-­‐sharp  and  E-­‐flat  

keys.  The  flute  keys  created  better  intonation  for  cross  fingering  chromatic  notes  

and  helped  to  avoid  some  of  the  awkward  cross  fingerings  that  were  used  at  the  

time.  Having  two  keys  for  the  same  chromatic  note  made  sense  with  Quantz  

fingering  techniques,  as  the  fingerings  would  change  based  on  whether  the  piece  

was  sharp,  flat,  or  natural.  The  added  keys  did  not  do  much  for  the  difference  for  the  

D-­‐sharp  and  E-­‐flat,  but  the  addition  of  these  extra  keys,  coupled  with  the  new  finger  

techniques  created  by  Qauntz,  better  adjusted  the  intonation  for  my  many  notes  

thought  out  the  flute.    

The  music  composers  for  flute  as  this  time  based  their  pieces  off  of  the  

natural  abilities  of  the  flutes.  Many  works  were  composed  in  D  major,  the  natural  

key  of  most  transverse  flute.  As  music  continued  to  evolve,  composers  felt  reluctant  

to  compose  interesting  and  difficult  flute  music  because  they  were  not  sure  the  flute  

could  handle  the  increased  demands.  For  this  reason,  less  flute  music  was  created  at  

this  time  that  was  composed  in  the  musical  trend  of  the  time  period.  Luigi  Cherubini  

is  quoted  as  saying  “The  only  thing  worse  than  one  flute  is  two”.16  As  music  

continued  to  evolve  into  the  classical  period,  equal  temperament  tuning  amongst  

keyboard  instruments,  including  the  clavier  and  piano  forte,  became  the  accepted  

                                                                                                               
15  Nancy Toff, The Flute Book: A Complete Guide for Students and Performers (New
York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1985), 44.  
16  Toff,  The  Flute  Book,  44.  

13  
form  of  tuning,  rather  than  older  diatonic  styles,  such  as  what  Quantz’s  two  key  

system  followed.      

During  the  Classical  period,  individual  flute  makers  tended  to  devise  their  

own  solutions  to  the  chromatic  scale  fingerings  and  equal  intonation  throughout  the  

flute  range  by  the  addition  of  mechanical  keys  added  to  the  flute.  These  flute  designs  

were  not  shared  between  flute  makers,  which  resulted  in  a  multitude  of  different  

solutions  for  the  same  problem.  However,  the  trend  of  utilizing  mechanical  keys  to  

help  adjust  the  flute  intonation  began  to  expand  and  become  more  popular  all  

around.  This  trend  to  create  one’s  own  flute  design  based  on  mechanical  keys  

continued  until  the  late  eighteenth  century.        

In  the  late  eighteenth  century,  London  flute  makers  continued  to  create  their  

own  individual  flute  designs  with  mechanical  key  systems.  These  mechanical  key  

systems  were  attempts  to  improve  previous  intonation  problems  of  the  one-­‐  and  

two-­‐keyed  flute  predecessors.  Thus,  instead  of  using  a  different  section  of  flute,  such  

as  Hoteterre’s  corps  de  réchange,  or  the  telescoping  tuning  tube,  as  designed  by  

Quantz,  one  would  have  a  four  sectioned  flute  with  mechanical  keys  and  improved  

fingering  system  for  better  tuning  and  intonation.    In  the  1760’s,  London  flute  

makers  started  to  add  three  more  keys  to  their  flute  design.  The  three  new  keys  

were  G-­‐sharp,  B-­‐flat,  and  F.17  Looking  back,  it  is  evident  that  these  keys  are  early  

predecessors  to  the  same  key  mechanism  we  see  today  in  modern  flute  systems.  The  

G-­‐sharp  key  is  played  with  the  left  hand  pinky  as  it  is  today.  The  B-­‐flat  key  was  

                                                                                                               
17  Toff,  Development  of  the  Modern  Flute,  24.  

14  
positioned  in  a  similar  place  as  it  is  with  modern  flutes.  The  F  key  was  the  most  

different  than  today’s  modern  flutes,  being  that  it  was  placed  in  a  different  location.  

The  F  key  required  a  piece  of  metal  to  be  curved  around  the  flute  to  reach  the  

awkwardly  placed  tone  hole.  The  most  striking  improvement  of  these  additional  

keys  was  that  it  eliminated  the  need  for  cross  fingering  except  for  one.  This  meant  

that  the  intonation  increased  dramatically.  The  only  note  still  requiring  a  cross  

fingering  for  intonation  was  C  natural.  However,  this  sparked  a  revolution  of  easier  

technical  fingerings  and  was  a  clear  step  towards  better  and  equal  intonation  across  

the  flute  range.  With  the  easier  technical  fingerings  and  better  intonation  of  flute,  

composers  had  a  new  resurgence  of  flute  compositions.  Composers  created  new  

works  for  flute,  including  the  G  major  concerto  for  flute  and  orchestra  by  Mozart.  

These  new  pieces  challenged  the  flute  player  and  inspired  musicians  to  create  more  

virtuosic  flute  music.  

Along  with  the  new  key  system,  the  London  flute  makers  revisited  the  idea  of  

creating  the  C  flute.  Throughout  the  baroque  period  and  continuing  until  the  

classical  period,  the  flute  had  been  created  in  the  key  of  D  as  the  natural  note.  But  

the  London  flute  makers,  Florio,  Gedney,  and  Potter  created  a  longer  foot  joint  to  

accommodate  the  lower  C.  This  created  the  basic  flute  range  that  is  seen  today,  what  

is  considered  the  ‘C  flute.’  With  the  increased  length  required  to  create  the  broader  

range,  more  mechanical  keys  were  added  to  produce  the  new  C-­‐natural  and  C-­‐sharp  

keys.  These  keys  were  placed  on  the  foot  joint  and  played  with  the  right  hand  pinky.  

However,  as  innovation  arises,  new  problems  also  arise.  The  mechanical  key  system  

was  first  cautioned  against  by  most  flute  players,  as  the  mechanical  springs  were  

15  
faulty  and  would  wear  out  over  time  thus  allowing  the  keys  to  be  stuck  open  or  

closed.  However  the  drawbacks  of  this  new  designs  did  not  stop  the  new  flutes  from  

becoming  the  predominate  flute  by  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  This  flute  

would  later  become  known  as  the  six  to  eight  keyed  flutes.    

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  two  more  flute  designs  arose,  

which  set  the  tone  for  the  romantic  innovations  of  Theobald  Boehm.  Frederick  

Nolan,  a  British  flute  maker,  patented  a  system  where  mechanical  key  mechanisms  

could  be  linked  and  paired.  Nolan  did  this  by  creating  a  ring  that  was  positioned  

over  a  finger  hole  that  did  not  have  a  mechanical  key.  Thus,  when  the  player  had  

their  fingers  on  the  finger  hole,  they  would  push  down  on  the  ring  so  that  both  the  

hole  and  the  tone  hole  attached  to  the  ring,  would  close  simultaneously.  This  had  not  

be  created  before  on  the  flute  and  set  the  foundation  for  later  mechanical  systems.  

The  second  patent,  by  another  London  flute  maker  named  George  Miller,  created  the  

cylindrical  metal  bore.  This  metal  flute  body  was  originally  designed  for  military  

flutes,  however  his  patent  covered  all  flute  bodies,  including  orchestra  flutes.  Even  

though  metal  flute  bodies  had  been  created  in  the  past,  these  earlier  metal  flute  

bodies  had  very  unstable  intonation  and  tuning  due  to  the  poor  metals  used  and  the  

fundamental  design  followed  the  baroque  design,  which  was  severely  affected  by  

the  changing  environment.  With  the  new  six-­‐keyed  and  eight-­‐keyed  flute  system,  

this  allowed  for  far  improved  intonation  and  sound  resonance  due  to  the  metal  and  

design.  The  metal  body  flute,  which  would  continued  to  greatly  evolve  in  the  years  

to  come,  would  prove  to  be  the  most  popular  choice  for  the  modern  flutes.    

However,  at  the  turn  of  the  nineteenth  century,  wood  flutes  continued  to  be  the  

16  
most  popular  flute  material.  But  with  the  creation  of  the  linked  mechanic  key  system  

of  Nolan,  and  the  cylindrical  metal  flute  body,  gave  a  glimpse  of  the  flute  of  the  

future  and  set  the  stage  for  creation  of  the  modern  flute  in  the  romantic  period.  

At  the  turn  of  the  ninetieth  century,  the  flute  was  still  not  considered  by  

many  composers  to  be  a  practicable  instrument  to  have  wide  use  in  the  orchestra  or  

solo  works.  Composers  in  the  romantic  period  were  exploring  all  different  keys  and  

modulation  combinations.  Furthermore,  the  expression  of  the  music  was  of  great  

importance  with  new  music.    For  this  reason,  the  poor  intonation  and  drawbacks  of  

the  older  flute  system  could  not  keep  up  with  the  evolution  of  music.  Thus,  

composers  would  write  less  interesting  flute  parts,  where  the  flute  would  be  by  

itself  in  small  solo  role  or  as  small  addition  of  sound  texture  to  the  chord  or  melody.  

Even  though  the  older  flute  systems  had  come  very  far,  the  instrument  did  not  have  

perfect  equal  temperament  throughout  the  flute  range.  For  this  reason,  it  required  a  

great  flutist  to  adjust  according  to  the  intonation  required,  of  which  there  were  few  

to  come  by  who  could  adjust  accurately.  Because  of  this  drawback,  the  newer  flute  

designs,  including  the  six-­‐keyed  and  eight-­‐keyed  flutes,  became  much  more  popular  

during  this  time  period.  The  eight-­‐keyed  flute,  for  instance,  became  popular  because  

the  system  was  meeting  the  demand  of  the  music  being  composed  at  this  time.  The  

eight-­‐keyed  flute  system  would  later  be  coined  as  the  old  system  or  the  German  

system,  since  the  major  manufacture  for  this  style  of  flute  was  Meyer  Flute,  based  in  

Hannover,  Germany.  Regardless  of  the  improvements  and  modifications  of  the  old  

German  system,  it  later  took  a  completely  new  flute  design  to  fix  all  of  the  problems  

that  arose  from  the  German  flute  system  –  the  Boehm  system.  

17  
 Theobald  Boehm  

Theobald  Boehm  lived  from  1794  to  1881,  and  worked  as  a  goldsmith,    
 
jeweler,  virtuosic  flute  player,  composer,  and  inventor.  During  this  time,  he  created    
 
an  entirely  new  flute  design  through  experimentation  and  innovation.  Boehm  was  a    
 
very  virtuosic  flute  player  and  felt  the  problems  of  the  older  flute  system  was  a    
 
failure  and  could  not  be  improved  on.  In  his  essay  on  flute  construction,  Boehm    
 
states,    
“There  is  no  doubt  that  many  artists  have  carried  perfection  to  its  last  limits  
on  the  old  flute,  but  there  are  also  unavoidable  difficulties,  originating  in  the  
construction  of  these  flutes,  which  can  neither  be  conquered  by  talent  nor  by  
the  most  persevering  practice.”18  

Thus  Boehm,  like  the  early  London  flute  makers,  decided  to  create  his  own  flute  

system.  He  would  later  become  well  established  in  the  music  and  science  

community,  when  he  received  honors  from  the  Academy  of  Science  in  Paris  for  his  

work  on  the  new  flute  system  and  acoustics  of  the  flute.  The  Boehm  system  grew  

and  evolved  and  set  the  tone  for  modern  flute  construction  that  is  still  used  today.    

When  Boehm  first  attempted  to  change  the  flute  design,  he  first  turned  to  

other  flute  makers  to  construct  his  flute  design  to  his  specifications.  However,  these  

earlier  flute  constructions  by  other  flute  makers  were  not  sufficient  enough  to  meet  

Boehm’s  demand.  Boehm’s  earlier  flutes  were  made  with  lack  of  precision  and  

knowledge,  and  were  thus  destined  for  failure.  Boehm  felt  that  he  was  the  only  one  

                                                                                                               
18  Theobald
Böhm, On the construction of flutes = Über den Flötenbau, Buren (The
Netherlands: Frits Knuf, 1982), 6.  

18  
who  could  make  the  flute  to  his  specifications  accurately.  Luckily,  Boehm  had  a  

history  of  metallurgy.    

In  his  younger  years,  Boehm  worked  for  his  father,  who  was  a  jeweler  and  

goldsmith.  Because  of  this  job  experience,  he  had  extensive  knowledge  of  how  to  

work  with  various  metals.  Thus  by  1810,  Boehm  taught  himself  the  principals  of  

flute  construction.  After  teaching  himself  the  construction  of  the  flute,  Boehm  

opened  his  own  shop  to  construct  his  new  flute  designs.  Boehm  felt  that  the  first  

step  to  a  more  perfect  flute  was  quality  flute  construction  and  design.  Boehm  states  

in  his  essay  on  flute  construction:  

“Spend  time  and  care  for  the  construction  and  practising  of  a  completely  new  
flute,  which  with  the  purest  intonation  possible,  consonance  and  fullness  of  
tone  and  together  with  an  expedient  mechanism  makes  possible  the  
performance  of  every  musical  figure.”19  

Throughout  his  lifetime,  Boehm  strived  for  the  perfect  flute  that  could  play  any  

figure  with  ease  and  proper  intonation.  Boehm  wanted  to  create  a  flute  that  didn’t  

need  cross  fingering  for  intonation  on  any  note  or  a  second  invention  to  fix  tuning  

problems  such  as  telescoping  tubes.  Boehm  also  wanted  a  clean  and  clear  sound  that  

included  an  easier  fingering  system  throughout  the  range  of  the  flute.  Because  other  

flute  makers  did  not  create  the  flute,  which  could  meet  his  expectations,  he  started  

creating  his  own  flutes  and  designs.    

Boehm  finished  his  first  flute  in  October  of  1828.  This  first  flute  became  a  

success  in  its  sound  and  quality  of  tone.  This  flute  design  was  a  re-­‐modification  of  

                                                                                                               
19  Böhm, On the Construction of Flutes, 3.  

19  
the  known  key  system  from  previous  flute  designs,  however,  he  included  some  

major  modifications,  including  a  tuning  slide,  hardened  gold  springs,  and  mounting  

of  keys  on  screwed  in  pillars.20  All  of  this  was  part  of  his  introduction  to  testing  of  

his  theories.  Even  though  this  flute  was  only  a  test  flute,  it  became  his  professional  

flute  of  choice.  Boehm  is  quoted  as  stating,  “I  began  to  construct…  a  better  sort  of  

key  mechanism  than  was  in  use  previously;  and  before  the  year  was  over,  I  had  

finished  a  flute  which  met  with  general  approbation  for  quality  of  tone  and  

intonation,  as  well  for  elegance  and  solidity.”21  Boehm  continued  to  innovate  and  

perform  on  his  own  self  produced  flute  system.  In  1831,  while  he  was  performing,  

Boehm  observed  another  contemporary  virtuosic  flute  player  in  London,  Charles  

Nicholson.  Boehm  was  impressed  by  Nicholson’s  quality  of  tone  and  sound,  but  

analyzed  the  reasons  behind  it,  saying,  

“I  was  struck  with  the  powerful  tone  which  Charles  Nicholson  played…  This  
was  owing  to  the  uncommon  largeness  of  the  holes  of  his  flute,  and  the  
consequent  freer  development  of  the  notes,  but  it  required  Nicholson’s  
extraordinary  talents  and  excellent  embouchure  to  conceal  the  defects  of  his  
flute  in  regards  to  intonation  and  equality  of  tone-­‐  defects  which  were  
owning  to  the  incorrect  position  of  the  wholes.”22  
Boehm  realized  that  the  reason  that  Nicholson’s  tone  was  better,  despite  the  old  

flute  system,  was  because  of  the  modifications  Nicholson  made  to  the  flute  himself.  

By  enlarging  the  flute  holes,  it  allowed  for  greater  tone  resonance.  However,  

Nicholson  still  had  to  compensate  for  the  poor  flute  design  with  technique  and  skill.  

This  showed  a  deeper  underlying  problem  that  the  old  flute  design  had;  that  even  a  

                                                                                                               
20  Toff,  Development  of  the  Modern  Flute,  46.  
21  Böhm, On the Construction of Flutes, 2.  
22  Ibid,  7.  

20  
masterful  flute  player  had  to  compensate  in  order  to  get  close  to  the  proper  

intonation,  and  even  then,  they  had  to  make  their  own  modifications.    

Boehm  Patents  

The  Boehm  system  evolved  approximately  three  times  through  his  three  

different  patents  on  the  flute  construction.  The  three  main  patents  on  his  

construction  of  flute  were  the  patent  of  1831,  the  patent  of  1832,  and  the  patent  of  

1847.  The  first  patent  was  a  mere  improvement  of  the  older  system,  as  he  was  still  

learning  and  understanding  flute  acoustics.  The  second  patent  fixed  the  problems  

within  the  sound  production  and  tuning  through  the  use  of  larger  tone  holes,  a  silver  

ring  system  for  tuning,  and  most  importantly,  the  creation  of  a  rod  system  for  

controlling  multiple  mechanisms  at  once.  The  third  patent  of  1847  was  a  vast  

improvement  of  all  of  the  systems  that  came  before.  Before  the  third  patent,  Boehm  

did  fast  experiments  on  acoustics  of  the  flute  and  founded  many  principals  that  

changed  the  flute  design  dramatically.  These  changes  produced  many  innovations  

and  created  the  basis  of  modern  flute  construction  today.  

1831  Patent  

The  1831  patent  was  composed  of  two  simple  fixes  to  the  older  flute  system.  

This  included  altering  the  A  key  position  and  changing  the  spacing  of  the  left  hand  

tone  holes.  Essentially,  Boehm  took  the  older  flute  system  and  altered  it  a  bit  to  

bring  better  qualities  to  the  flute.  Thus,  this  flute  still  struggled  with  the  same  

21  
problems  as  before  but  with  less  awkward  fingerings  for  the  A,  F,  and  F-­‐sharp  

fingerings.    

On  the  older  system,  the  A  tone  hole  had  to  compromised  due  to  the  

constraints  of  reach  for  the  human  hand.  Thus,  the  A  tone  hole  was  moved  up  on  the  

flute  body.  This  however  raised  intonation  problems  for  the  A  note  and  all  of  the  

tone  holes  thereafter.  In  the  older  flute  systems,  to  adjust  for  intonation  instability,  

one  would  cut  the  A  tone  hole  smaller  to  help  improve  intonation.  However,  this  

was  met  with  only  marginal  success.  With  the  1831  patent,  Boehm  moved  the  A  hole  

back  to  its  true  position,  while  creating  a  key  mechanism  to  accommodate  the  reach  

of  the  human  hand.  Thus  the  intonation  was  greatly  improved  with  A  note,  along  

with  better  stability  for  the  rest  of  the  flute.      

The  second  improvement  included  adjusting  the  spacing  of  the  lower  tone  

holes  on  the  right  hand.  This  brought  better  balance  and  control  to  the  flute’s  

intonation.  Boehm  created  a  new  double  joint  right  key  for  the  E  and  F-­‐sharp  key.  

This  mechanism  allowed  the  player  to  close  two  tone  holes  simultaneously  with  his  

first  finger  on  the  right  hand.  This  eliminated  both  the  awkward  forked  fingering  in  

the  right  hand  for  F-­‐natural  and  allowed  for  the  F-­‐sharp  to  be  played  with  just  the  

right  hand  third  finger.  These  improvements  were  small  in  compared  to  later  

innovations,  but  according  to  Gerock  and  Wolf  prospectus,  created  a  flute  that  had,  

 “Firmness,  Equality,  and  Richness  of  tone,  which  have  never  been  altogether  
combined  in  any  other  description  of  flute.  Simplicity  of  mechanism  in  
regards  the  fingering.  Facility  in  filling;  producing  sweetness  and  freedom  up  

22  
 to  the  highest  C;  and  unexampled  capabilities  for  the  more  delicate  graces  of  
expression  which  belong  to  a  finished  style  of  execution.”23  
This  supports  the  idea  the  Boehm  was  on  the  right  track  for  his  flute  construction  

and  that  others  during  this  time  period  supported  his  innovations  and  techniques.    

1832  Patent  

The  patent  of  1832  broke  away  from  the  old  German  flute  design  completely  

with  a  new  adjustment  in  tone  holes,  tuning,  and  mechanism  design.  The  only  major  

similarity  that  was  carried  on  from  the  older  flute  system  was  the  use  of  wood  for  

the  main  body.  In  this  flute  design,  Boehm  found  the  exact  natural  pitch  of  each  note  

through  personal  experimentation  of  cutting  wooded  tubes  to  specific  lengths.  

Through  trail  and  error,  he  discovered  that  the  tone  holes  would  needed  three  

things;  to  be  more  spaced  out,  for  the  holes  to  be  moved  closer  to  the  embouchure,  

and  for  the  tone  holes  to  be  expanded  as  much  as  possible.  The  expanded  tone  hole  

idea  came  directly  from  observing  Nicholson  and  seeing  his  improved  flute  design,  

which  included  larger  tone  holes.  Boehm  applied  this  to  his  new  flute  design  and  

created  firmness  and  quality  of  sound  in  the  first  two  octaves  of  the  flute  with  much  

success.  However,  he  also  discovered  that  the  third  octave  was  unstable.    

Through  experiments,  he  discovered  the  harmonics  of  the  vibrating  sound  in  

the  flute  required  the  fundamental  tone  hole  needed  to  be  open.  Furthermore,  the  

fifth  note  above  each  note  needed  to  be  open  in  order  to  allow  for  venting  and  

                                                                                                               
23  Toff,  Development  of  the  Modern  Flute,  53.  

23  
proper  intonation.  This  created  a  major  flaw  in  the  design  of  the  1832  patent.  

Although  the  patent  stabilized  the  first  two  octaves,  the  use  of  larger  tone  holes  

created  a  problem  of  keeping  the  fifth  above  hole  open.  In  essence,  Boehm  created  a  

flute  consisting  of  fourteen  tone  holes  but  only  had  nine  fingers  to  cover  the  holes.  

Because  of  this  flaw,  Boehm  created  a  new  mechanical  system  for  the  flute  using  

rods  and  axles.  This  flute  design  is  the  basis  for  flutes  created  today.  With  this  new  

rod  and  axles  mechanism,  multiple  mechanisms  could  be  utilized  at  once,  thus  

allowing  for  all  the  fourteen  tone  holes  to  open  and  close  properly  to  fulfill  the  

acoustic  requirements  of  proper  intonation.  These  rods  and  axles  ran  the  length  of  

flute  attaching  to  many  of  the  different  key  rings  and  mechanisms.  Boehm  then  

created  a  new  fingering  system  to  best  accommodate  the  new  flute,  which  will  lead  

to  today  modern  fingering  system.  This  created  a  simpler  fingering  system  and  a  

more  in-­‐tune  flute.    

Another  interesting  design  aspect  of  the  patent  flute  of  1832  was  the  use  of  

tuning  rings  on  the  newer  flute.  Boehm  felt  that  the  tuning  slide  of  the  early  flute  

design  left  the  sound  quality  lacking  due  to  the  friction  caused  by  the  gap  in  the  

internal  tube  needed  to  shorten  or  lengthen  the  tuning  slide  of  the  head  joint  to  the  

main  body.  For  true  tuning,  Boehm  felt  that  the  inner  tube  had  to  be  as  smooth  as  

possible.  For  this  reason,  the  head  joint  was  required  to  be  pushed  all  the  way  for  a  

flush  fitting.  However,  it  was  not  guaranteed  that  the  flute  would  be  in  tune  when  

pushed  all  the  way  in.  For  this  reason,  Boehm  created  silver  rings  that  attached  

between  the  head  joint  and  flute  body.  To  adjust  for  pitch,  one  would  add  more  rings  

between  the  flute  head  joint  and  body  to  lengthen  the  flute  to  lower  the  pitch,  and  

24  
alternatively  remove  rings,  thus  shortening  the  flute  body  to  raise  the  pitch.  This  

tuning  system  was  adequate,  but  was  insufficient  for  fine-­‐tuning.  This  system  of  

tuning,  which  is  an  example  of  Hotteterre  corps  de  réchange,  fell  out  of  favor,  

especially  after  the  next  flute  patent  was  created  in  1847,  due  to  better  construction  

techniques  and  materials.      

Boehm  often  demonstrated  his  new  flute  designs  through  his  own  personal  

performances,  and  the  flute  design  of  1832  was  no  different.  He  first  demonstrated  

this  new  flute  design  during  his  performances  in  Munich  in  November  of  1832.  He  

continued  to  perform,  utilizing  his  new  flute  design  for  three  more  years.  In  1835,  

Boehm  traveled  to  London  to  demonstrate  his  new  flute  design.  Throughout  the  

three  years,  he  had  only  sold  one  flute.  Although  flutists  of  the  time  were  amazed  

and  appreciative  of  the  quality  of  sound  and  stability  throughout  the  flute  range,  

they  felt  it  was  unpractical  to  learn  a  new  instrument  with  an  entirely  new  fingering  

system  from  that  of  the  older  already  established  flute  system.  Furthermore,  flute  

makers  found  that  his  design  was  not  profitable  enough  and  was  very  inconvenient,  

as  it  required  a  very  new  style  of  key  mechanisms,  which  until  this  time  was  

contained  to  only  a  few  keys.  Boehm  himself  stated,    

“Many  flute  players  and  instrument  makers  examined  it,  but  most  of  them  
were  discouraged  by  the  new  system  of  fingering.  Flautists  of  old  standing  
decided  against  it  because  they  could  not  resolve  upon  studying  an  entirely  
new  instrument;  and  possibly,  the  sometimes  saw  with  displeasure  that  
young  artists,  by  adopting  it,  acquired  an  accession  of  means  for  producing  
greater  effects  in  their  performance.  Most  of  the  instrument  makers  were  

25  
 against  it,  because  they  found  it  inconvenient  or  un-­‐profitable  to  imitate  a  
sort  of  key-­‐mechanism  quite  new  to  them.”24    
This  was  incredibly  disheartening  to  Boehm,  and  he  would  forever  look  at  his  patent  

of  1832  as  a  failure.  Most  likely  because  of  this  failure,  Boehm  left  music  to  study  

iron  and  steel  production  more  thoroughly.  He  would  not  return  to  music  for  some  

time.    

Other  Flute  Makers’  Contributions  

While  Boehm  studied  other  subjects,  other  flute  makers  took  Boehm’s  design  

and  set  out  to  improve  upon  it,  seeing  the  great  potential  it  held.  The  biggest  

problem  with  the  1832  patent  flute  design  was  the  fingering  system  associated  with  

it  and  the  rod  mechanism  that  attached  to  the  flute.  Boehm  designed  the  rod  

mechanism  to  run  along  both  sides  of  the  flute  body.  However,  this  seemed  crowed  

and  uncomfortable  in  the  flute  player’s  hands.  Furthermore,  some  of  the  fingering  of  

Boehm’s  new  flute  system  could  be  characterized  as  awkward  in  comparison  with  

older  flute  fingerings.  Thus,  three  flute  makers,  Auguste  Buffet,  Victor  Coche,  and  

Vincent  Dorus  added  simple  but  important  modifications  to  simplify  the  rod  and  

axle  system  and  help  with  hand  conformability  and  fingering  system.  These  three  

flute  makers  created  a  rod  system  composed  of  rods  and  sleeves.  A  rod  could  run  

down  the  body  of  the  flute  and  could  run  multiple  mechanisms  and  keys  at  once.  

However,  for  better  placement,  all  of  the  rods  were  placed  on  one  side  of  the  flute  

                                                                                                               
24  Toff,  Development  of  the  Modern  Flute,  61.  

26  
body.  This  lead  to  complications,  as  one  rod  would  be  in  the  way  of  another,  which  

hindered  the  use  of  multiple  key  mechanisms.  For  this  reason  a  sleeve  was  placed  

around  the  rods.  By  using  a  sleeve,  both  the  inner  and  outer  rods  could  work  

separate  mechanisms  without  blocking  each  other.  This  allowed  for  a  more  

comfortable  flute  and  simplification  of  fingerings.    

 
Boehm’s  Return  to  Flute  Construction  
  In  1846,  Boehm  returned  to  the  music  community  and  flute  construction  

after  he  studied  acoustics  at  the  University  of  Munich  in  Germany.  Through  many  

experiments,  Boehm  discovered  the  exact  mathematics  required  for  the  flute  

proportions.  He  also  understood  the  science  behind  sound  production,  affect  by  

materials  used  in  construction,  the  difference  between  conical  and  cylindrical  flute  

body  designs,  and  the  affect  of  different  head  joint  designs.    During  this  period  of  

testing  and  experimentation,  Boehm  refined  the  design  of  the  flute  using  a  scientific  

method,  which  lead  him  to  discover  how  to  create  a  proper,  well-­‐balanced,  modern  

flute.      

  Boehm  first  experimented  with  resonance  and  vibration  patterns,  which  

created  different  pitches  through  the  flute  body.  He  discovered  that  the  proportions  

of  the  flute  and  precise  locations  of  the  tone  holes  significantly  impacted  the  speed  

and  vibrations  of  the  air  resonating  through  the  flute  body.  He  discovered  this  

though  experimenting  on  multiple  pieces  of  wooden  tube  cut  to  different  lengths.  

Boehm  found  that  although  one  octave  could  be  tuned  through  shifting  the  holes  

positions,  larger  holes  were  necessary  for  many  reasons,  as  he  already  discovered  

27  
previously.  It  was  through  his  scientific  method  however,  that  Boehm  determined  

the  reasoning  behind  the  larger  tone  holes.  There  were  several  reasons  that  Boehm  

discovered.  The  first  was  that  the  larger  holes  created  more  power,  thus  leading  to  a  

more  stable  sound.  The  second  was  that  smaller  holes  lead  to  an  unstable  sound,  

which  loses  clarity.  Also,  when  drilled  as  close  to  the  correct  positions,  the  power  

behind  each  note  grows  substantially.    Also,  according  to  Boehm,  with  small  holes,  

“the  undulations  of  air  often  come  to  near  nodes  of  vibration;  and  their  formation  

being  disturbed  or  rendered  uncertain,  the  ton  sounds  with  difficulty,  or  easily  

breaks  into  notes  answering  to  the  aliquot  parts”25  Furthermore,  the  third  octave  

relies  greatly  on  the  correct  positioning  of  the  tone  holes,  as  the  third  octave  was  

unstable  in  general,  so  requires  greater  precision  to  keep  the  stability  functional.  

With  his  theory  proportions,  Boehm  also  learned  the  appropriate  length  the  flute,  

the  ratio  of  size  of  the  flute  bore  to  the  size  of  the  tone  holes,  and  the  distance  of  

cork  placement  in  the  head  joint.  These  new  adjustments  to  the  flute  created  a  

perfectly  balanced  flute  that  had  good  tone  and  quality  of  sound  that  contributes  to  

proper  intonation  through  out  the  flute  range.  

  Furthermore,  Boehm  experimented  with  the  shape  of  the  main  body.  He  

compared  a  conical  tube  versus  a  cylindrical  tube.  Boehm  noticed  that  most  other  

instruments  had  one  of  two  different  designs,  conical  or  cylindrical.  Most  

instruments,  such  as  the  oboe  and  clarinet  were  narrower  at  the  mouthpiece  of  the  

instrument  and  expanded  toward  the  end  of  the  instrument.  Organ  pipes  on  the  

                                                                                                               
25  Böhm, On the Construction of Flutes, 26.  

28  
other  hand  were  cylindrical  in  design.  However,  no  other  instrument  had  a  counter-­‐

conical  design,  which  was  seen  in  previous  flute  design.  With  the  flute  design,  the  

head  joint  was  the  largest  area  and  then  the  flute  body  tapering  down  all  the  way  to  

the  foot  of  the  flute.  Boehm  found  that  this  design  was  largely  counter  productive,  

which  further  contributed  to  the  instability  of  the  flute  throughout  the  flute  range.    

This  is  because  the  counter-­‐conical  shape  of  the  flute  fundamentally  threw  off  the  

intonation  and  stability  of  the  entire  range  of  the  flute.  For  this  reason,  Boehm  

suggested  that  the  flute  should  only  have  one  slightly  conical  section,  which  was  the  

head  joint.  He  suggested  that  the  head  joint  be  slightly  smaller  than  the  body,  but  

that  this  difference  should  be  very  slight,  and  the  rest  of  the  body  should  be  

cylindrical  in  shape,  rather  than  tapering  down.  As  Boehm  was  adapting  the  

mouthpiece  to  slightly  get  larger  towards  the  body  of  the  flute,  he  also  included  a  

mouthpiece  called  a  lip  plate.  This  device  helped  the  player  focus  the  air  across  the  

embouchure  hole  at  a  specific  angle  of  nine  degrees,  which  in  turn  eliminated  the  

sound  hiss  of  the  air  as  it  expanded  across  the  head  joint,  creating  a  much  more  

clean  pronounced  sound.  

  Another  innovation  was  the  use  of  metal  as  the  main  material  for  the  

construction  of  the  flute.  Boehm  examined  different  woods  during  his  experiments  

of  sound  proportion  and  found  he  received  and  clearer  results  when  he  used  brass  

tubes  instead  wood.  Boehm  continued  to  experiment  with  different  metals  to  see  

their  different  effects  on  sound  quality.  After  experimenting  with  several  metals,  

Boehm  came  to  the  conclusion  that  different  metals  created  different  timbres  and  

sonorities.  For  example,  softer  metals  tended  to  yield  a  soft,  weak  tone.  On  the  other  

29  
hand,  harder  metals,  such  as  German  silver,  provided  a  bright,  shrill  tone.  Boehm  

discovered  that  silver  and  brass  tended  to  yield  the  best  results.  Furthermore,  metal  

was  not  subject  to  the  same  problems  as  wood  due  to  the  environment  and  

humidity.  Metal  would  not  split  or  break,  or  be  affected  by  a  change  of  temperature  

as  much  as  wood  was  at  this  time.  Silver  was  a  lighter,  more  durable,  better  

sounding  material  than  wood,  and  superior  in  many  ways.  Boehm  stated  that,  “The  

superior  excellences  in  regards  to  tone  and  intonation  of  my  flute,  made  entirely  of  

sliver,  when  compared  even  with  my  newly  constructed  one  of  1832,  was  so  striking  

that  it  was  remarked  by  everyone  immediately.”26  In  continuing  with  these  

discoveries,  Boehm  compiled  a  list  of  principles  to  be  utilized  in  flute  construction.  

These  principles  included:    

“1.  That  the  strength,  as  well  as  the  full  and  clear  tone  of  the  fundamental  
notes,  is  proportional  to  the  volume  of  air  put  in  motion.  
2.  That  simple  vibrations  can  be  most  perfectly  excited  in  large  tubes  having  
a  contraction  at  the  embouchure.  
3.  That  every  modification  in  the  diameter  or  length  of  the  contraction  has  a  
great  influence  on  the  emission  and  intonation  of  the  aliquot  (harmonics)  
parts.  

4.  That  this  contraction  must  not  be  made  in  straight  lines,  but  in  curves.  

5.  That,  moreover,  the  divisions  of  the  column  of  air  into  the  aliquot  parts,  or  
the  formation  of  vibrational  nodes-­‐in  short,  all  phenomena  which  appear  in  a  
vibrating  column  of  air-­‐  are  exhibited  in  a  cylindrical  tube  is  the  best  adapted  
for  the  construction  of  a  flute.  
6.  That  cylindrical  tubes  with  the  cone,  as  applied  by  me,  at  the  upper  end  
may  be  considered  as  entirely  cylindrical;  since  the  influence  of  the  con  on  

                                                                                                               
26  Böhm, On the Construction of Flutes, 34.  

30  
 the  pitch  is  so  insignificant,  that  in  a  tube  with  the  fundamental  note  C  it  
scarcely  occasions  a  difference  in  length  of  0.00492  ft.“27  
With  these  principles  in  mind,  Boehm  would  go  on  to  produce  a  patented  flute  

which  would  surpass  the  previous  flute  design  in  every  aspect.  

1847  PATENT  

  Boehm  utilized  all  of  the  scientific  findings  he  discovered  during  his  time  as  a  

acoustics  major  at  the  University  of  Munich  to  develop  his  new  flute  design.  For  this  

improved  design,  he  created  a  flute  with  a  cylindrical  body,  which  was  made  entirely  

of  silver.  The  head  joint  consisted  of  properly  placed  cork  to  help  with  ease  of  sound  

production  throughout  the  flute  range.  Furthermore,  the  head  joint  featured  a  lip  

plate  to  help  the  player  focus  the  airstream  at  the  right  angle  for  best  sound  quality.  

  Boehm  built  his  new  key  mechanism  off  of  the  improvements  made  by  Buffet,  

Coche,  and  Dorus.  Boehm  took  the  sleeve  and  rod  system  of  these  flute  makers  and  

added  it  to  his  own  new  flute  patent.  Furthermore,  Boehm  made  slight  

improvements  and  modifications  to  better  fit  the  proportions  of  his  new  flute  design  

to  fit  with  his  improved  tone  hole  placement.  Boehm  also  made  the  flute  more  

responsive  by  giving  each  key  mechanism  its  own  individual  needle  spring,  which  

was  a  much  stronger,  more  reliable  spring  system  that  kept  the  key  off  of  the  tone  

hole  until  pushed  manually.  Also,  Boehm  invented  new  pads  that  consisted  of  felt  

                                                                                                               
27  Böhm, On the Construction of Flutes, 26.  

31  
that  were  wrapped  in  a  fine  membrane  (skin)  for  proper  closure  of  the  enlarged  

tone  holes.  This  membrane  gave  a  consistent  seal  and  mimicked  the  human  hand.    

  The  flute  of  1847  was  very  well  received  by  the  entire  flute  community,  and  

quickly  became  the  flute  of  choice  for  both  professionals  and  amateurs  alike.  This  

new  flute  came  with  an  entirely  new  fingering  system  that  required  flutists  to  learn  

in  order  to  operate  the  new  flute.  Even  so,  individuals  clamored  to  buy  the  new  flute,  

as  the  vastly  better  quality  in  music  production  far  surpassed  the  requirement  of  

learning  new  finger  techniques.  Boehm  had  finally  created  the  perfect  flute  that  he  

was  looking  for;  a  flute  with  brilliant  sound  and  pitch  that  had  evenly  balanced  

intonation  throughout  the  flute  range.  Boehm  stated  that  by  utilizing  the  new  

patented  flute  construction,  “  The  acoustical  proportions  for  a  flute  being  now  

exactly  ascertained,  and  given  in  numbers,  it  is  not  difficult  to  make  perfectly  tuned  

flutes,  be  it  flute  d’amour,  concert  flute,  or  octave  flute  of  any  given  pitch.”28  This  

new  flute  of  1847  opened  new  horizons  for  flute  composition  in  its  ability  to  play  

any  music  available.    

Modern  Flute  Developments  

  After  the  Boehm  system  and  the  arrival  of  the  modern  flute,  there  have  been  

many  attempts  at  improving  the  Boehm  system.  In  the  1800s,  many  modifications  

arose  by  different  flute  manufactures,  such  as  Armstrong,  Murray,  and  the  Borne-­‐

                                                                                                               
28  Böhm, On the Construction of Flutes, 35.  

32  
Julliot.  Some  of  these  modifications  continue  to  be  used  today,  however  many  of  the  

modifications  created  fell  into  oblivion  due  to  the  over-­‐complication  of  

manufacturing  and  fingering  techniques.  For  example,  the  auxiliary  G  sharp  lever  

was  used  to  trill  between  F  and  A,  but  was  unnecessary  due  to  developing  fingering  

techniques.  By  the  mid-­‐twentieth  century,  the  modern  flute  design  returned  to  a  

simplified  Boehm  system  that  resembled  Boehm’s  original  design,  but  with  some  

key  changes.  

 During  the  1800s,  a  few  of  the  modifications  that  were  created  did  improve  

upon  the  Boehm  system,  and  continue  to  be  seen  in  the  creation  of  modern  flutes.  

The  Briccialdi  B-­‐flate  key  is  an  addition  to  the  modern  flute  that  has  improved  upon  

the  Boehm  system  and  remained  with  modern  flute  design.  The  Briccialdi  B-­‐flat  key  

was  invented  by  Giulio  Briccialdi(1818-­‐1881).  Briccialdi  was  Italian  virtuosic  flute  

player  who  wanted  to  have  an  alternative  way  of  playing  B-­‐flat  other  than  the  only  

way  presented  in  the  Boehm  system  by  use  the  left  hand  first  finger  and  thumb  and  

right  hand  first  finger.  Briccialdi  added  the  alternative  B-­‐flat  key  over  the  thumb  B  

key  and  linked  it  to  the  B-­‐flat  lever  in  the  right  hand  allow  for  B-­‐flat  to  be  played  by  

just  the  left  hand  first  finger  and  Thumb  B-­‐flat  key.  Boehm  later  designed  a  B-­‐flat  

thumb  key  after  Briccialdi  that  was  placed  below  the  regular  B  thumb  key  on  the  

flute  body.  Boehm  felt  that  his  key  was  superior  and  more  logical  in  placement  than  

Briccialdi’s  B-­‐flat  key.  However,  history  has  shown  with  modern  flutes  today  that  

the  Briccialdi  thumb  B-­‐flat  key  prevailed.29  Another  notable  addition  to  the  Boehm  

                                                                                                               
29  Toff,  Development  of  the  Modern  Flute,  73.  

33  
system  is  the  contribution  by  Djalma  Julliot  and  François  Borne(1840-­‐1920).  Julliot  

was  a  French  flute  manufacturer  and  Borne  was  virtuosic  flautist  and  professor  at  

the  Toulouse  Conservatory  in  France.  Julliot  and  Borne  contributed  to  the  split-­‐E  

and  split-­‐G  keys.(The  flute  book,  58)  These  key  modifications  fixed  the  sharp  

tonality  of  the  production  of  the  third  octave  E  by  rearranging  the  movement  of  

particular  key  mechanisms  when  linked  with  other  key  mechanisms.  This  created  a  

better  quality  of  sound  for  the  third  octave  E  without  drastically  changing  the  

fingering  required.30    

  Another  modern  development  is  the  C-­‐sharp  trill  key.  This  key  was  patented  

in  1902  by  J  Thibouville-­‐Lamy  &  Cie;  the  C-­‐sharp  trill  key  give  the  main  benefit  of  

allowing  an  easier  trill  from  C  to  C-­‐sharp,  B  to  C,  B-­‐flat  to  B  and  third  octave  G  to  A.  

The  fingering  with  the  trill  key  allows  for  greater  ease  of  trilling  between  these  

notes  by  using  one  finger  to  operate  the  trilling  action.  Previously,  this  trill  required  

a  long  fingering  between  the  two  notes,  which  incorporated  the  manipulation  of  

many  fingers  simultaneously.  Furthermore,  the  C-­‐sharp  key,  when  used  in  

conjunction  with  other  fingering,  results  in  a  better  tone  and  stable  note  in  the  

higher  register  notes.  

  A  more  recent  modification  to  the  modern  flute  is  the  creation  of  the  O-­‐ring  

within  the  headjoint.  The  modern  headjoint  has  seen  many  new  developments  in  

design  and  structure.  However,  the  most  notable  headjoint  modification  is  the  

incorporation  of  the  O-­‐ring  within  the  flute’s  headjoint.  Originally,  the  top  of  the  

                                                                                                               
30  Ibid,  134.  

34  
headjoint  was  plugged  using  a  cork.  Cork  is  prone  to  swelling  and  shrinking  over  

time  due  to  moisture.  Thus,  as  the  cork  shrinks,  it  does  not  create  an  air  tight  fit  to  

the  headjoint  tube  and  allows  for  an  airy  sound  and  unpredictable  intonation.  For  

this  reason,  the  cork  within  the  headjoint  has  to  be  replaced  from  time  to  time.  

However,  the  new  O-­‐ring  does  not  have  these  problems.  Instead,  it  is  created  using  a  

synthetic  rubber  that  creates  a  perfect  seal  in  the  headjoint  tube.  Also,  this  rubber  

does  not  expand  or  contract  with  moisture,  thus  not  needing  to  be  replaced  over  

time.  The  O-­‐ring  is  a  modern  solution  to  a  traditional  design  flaw  of  using  cork  

inside  the  headjoint.31  

  As  modern  flute  manufactures  developed  new  flute  designs,  the  material  in  

which  the  flute  was  produced  was  also  experimented  with.  The  flautists  found  that  

the  headjoint  material  dramatically  altered  the  flute’s  sound  overall.  Just  as  Boehm  

discovered  in  his  original  test  that  the  different  types  of  metal  created  different  

sounds  due  to  the  hardness  of  the  metals,  modern  flautists  discovered  that  exotic  

materials  could  produce  different  timbres.  Modern  flutes  are  constructed  of  many  

different  materials,  including  silver,  nickel,  gold,  platinum,  or  a  blend  of  these  

metals.  Gold  tends  to  produce  a  mellow,  rich  sound  due  to  its  density.  However,  

platinum,  because  it  is  far  more  dense  and  hard  than  gold,  produces  a  brilliant  clear  

sound.  Most  flutes  today  are  constructed  of  silver,  but  there  is  no  limit  to  the  

material  in  which  a  flute  can  be  made  of.  In  recent  years,  flutes  have  also  been  

constructed  out  of  acrylic  or  plastic  tubes,  and  can  even  include  led  lights.  These  

                                                                                                               
31  Toff,  Development  of  the  Modern  Flute,  128-­‐179.  

35  
flutes  produce  a  different  timbre  all  together,  and  demonstrate  the  vast  range  of  

materials  that  a  flute  can  be  made  from.32  

   

                                                                                                               
32  Toff,  Development  of  the  Modern  Flute,  184.  

36  
 Impact  on  Music  

The  new  flute  that  Boehm  created  in  1847  dramatically  affected  how  

composers  wrote  works  for  the  flute.  The  older  German  flute  system,  along  with  the  

inherent  inadequacies  associated  with  that  system,  left  composers  very  restricted  in  

what  was  possible  for  flute  performance.  As  stated  before,  music  in  the  romantic  

period  progressed  rapidly  to  fit  the  trends  of  the  musical  development.  As  music  

become  more  virtuosic  and  expressive,  the  older  flute  system  hindered  even  the  

best  flute  players,  leaving  them  to  only  play  simpler  pieces  from  the  classical  period.      

  According  to  Galway,  In  the  classical  period,  the  flute  was  seen  as  merely  a  

tone  color  for  orchestral  writings.33  Composers  such  as  Mozart  and  Hayden  did  not  

trust  the  flute’s  ability  to  maintain  pitch,  and  so  the  only  times  they  gave  the  flute  a  

major  section  of  music  was  when  they  played  with  another  instrument,  such  as  the  

oboe,  so  that  they  would  have  an  instrument  to  tune  to.    Furthermore,  Mozart  did  

not  always  write  the  flute  into  his  orchestral  pieces.  When  he  did,  it  was  often  a  

conservative  piece,  played  with  another  instrument,  or  written  for  a  double  flute  

part,  due  to  the  older  system’s  inability  to  reach  full  volume  in  an  orchestral  setting.  

All  of  these  considerations  were  probably  due  to  the  inherent  problems  that  went  

along  with  flute  techniques  and  instability.  But  even  with  all  of  these  problems,  the  

flute  continued  to  grow  in  popularity  and  ability  throughout  the  Classical  and  

Romantic  periods.      

                                                                                                               
33  Galway,  Flute,  38.  

37  
 Moving  forward  into  the  romantic  period,  the  Boehm  flute,  along  with  its  

ability  to  manage  intonation  and  pitch  with  more  control,  allowed  some  composers  

to  explore  the  color  tone  presented  by  the  silver  Boehm  flute.  This  includes  

composers  of  the  later  romantic  period,  who  were  more  willing  to  write  specifically  

for  the  flute.  For  example,  the  new  flute  abilities  allowed  Debussy  to  write  Prélude  

de  L’  Après-­midi  d’un  faune  and  Syrinx,  which  featured  the  flute  in  the  opening  motif  

of  the  work.  The  descending  chromatic  scale  utilized  by  the  flute  in  the  opening  

would  not  have  been  possible  while  utilizing  the  old  German  system.  Without  

Boehm  system’s  effect  on  modern  flute  tuning  and  control,  many  of  the  works  

during  this  time  period  would  have  been  impossible  without  the  correct  intonation  

and  stability  of  the  modern  flute.    

   The  music  of  the  early  romantic  period  was  growing  in  expression  and  

virtuosity.  One  can  observe  this  in  Paganini’s  24  Caprices  for  violin;  a  collection  of  

etudes  that  stretched  the  limits  of  what  was  considered  possible  to  play  on  the  

violin.  But  early  romantic  solo  flute  music  was  still  in  its  infancy  and  not  really  

explored.  Boehm  really  helped  establish  the  beginning  of  virtuosic  flute  

performance  with  repertoire.  As  Boehm  was  inventing  his  new  flute  system,  he  

composed  new  music  to  highlight  the  abilities  and  stability  of  the  new  flute  system.  

Boehm’s  works,  such  as  The  Grand  Polonaise  were  a  direct  effect  of  the  improved  

flute  design  and  exploration  of  flute  virtuosity.  The  piece  explores  the  entire  range  

of  the  flute.  Without  the  ability  to  control  intonation,  ease  of  technical  fingering,  and  

stability  throughout  the  entire  flute  range,  this  work  would  only  be  possible  for  the  

most  masterful  players  on  the  older  German  system  or  possibly,  impossible.    

38  
 The  Grand  Polonaise  pushed  the  flute’s  techniques  and  music  control  to  the  

edge  with  the  rapid  melodic  figures,  lightning  fast  scales,  and  technical  patterned  

phrases.  For  example,  Boehm  writes  in  a  small  cadenza  in  bar  218  that  is  an  

ascending  chromatic  triplet  sixteenth  figure.34  With  Boehm’s  improved  fingering  

system,  this  passage  is  technically  easier  and  the  player  has  more  control  over  

intonation  than  what  would  have  been  possible  with  the  older  German  system.  With  

the  older  system  and  the  use  of  cross  and  forked  fingers  to  adjust  for  pitch  amongst  

the  chromatic  range,  the  passage  would  be  in  tune  and  would  be  noticeable,  even  to  

the  untrained  ear.    

  The  improved  finger  system,  control  of  notes,  and  improved  intonation,  gave  

all  flautists  equal  opportunity  to  explore  any  melodic  figure  they  could  imagine.  This  

includes  the  exploration  of  flute  arrangements,  which  were  taken  from  other  music  

genres.  Since  the  improvement  of  the  flute,  flautists  explored  various  genres  to  

expand  the  capabilities  of  the  new  flute.  One  such  flautist  was  François  Born(1840-­‐

1920).  Born  was  another  famous  flautist  who  sought  to  explore  his  own  abilities.  

Born  decided  to  sample  from  Bizet’s  opera,  “Carmen”.  With  this,  he  took  the  many  of  

the  themes  from  Carmen,  including  the  habanera  theme  that  the  character  Carmen  

sings  to  the  soldier,  and  arranged  an  entire  fantasy  for  flute  and  piano.  This  work  

not  only  explores  and  demonstrates  the  abilities  of  the  new  flute  system,  but  also  

shows  that  the  flute  can  take  on  the  characteristic  of  other  genres  and  can  even  

imitate  vocal  style.    

                                                                                                               
34  Theobald
Boehm, Grand Polonaise, in D Major, Opus 16 (New York: International
Music, 1977), 12.  

39  
   Flute  virtuosic  exploration  also  includes  other  arrangements  from  other  

instruments.  This  is  seen  in  the  arrangements  for  solo  flute  in  Paganini’s  24  Caprices.  

These  works  were  originally  written  for  violin,  and  expanded  the  boundaries  of  

what  was  considered  possible  for  the  violin.  The  same  effect  was  created  when  the  

piece  was  transcribed  for  the  flute.  Each  arrangement  interprets  Paganini’s  original  

violin  version  differently;  the  violin  can  perform  certain  musical  effects  that  the  flute  

cannot,  such  as  chords  and  possessing  a  very  wide  range.  Thus,  some  of  the  

individual  variations  lend  themselves  to  be  performed  by  violin.  However,  the  flute  

interpretation  created  a  very  difficult  interpretation  by  stretching  the  flute’s  range  

to  meet  the  violin’s.  Furthermore,  in  most  interpretations  of  the  24  Caprices,  the  

violin  is  often  playing  chords.  Since  the  flute  cannot  play  all  the  notes  in  the  chord  

simultaneously,  the  flute  interprets  the  chords  as  arpeggiated  figures.  The  faster  one  

can  play  the  notes  within  the  arpeggiated  figure,  the  more  the  resonance  of  the  

chord  comes  out.35  Thus,  arrangements  really  expanded  the  technical  abilities  of  the  

flute.  The  difficulty  of  such  music  is  extremely  hard,  even  when  played  on  the  

modern  flute  system,  but  would  have  been  impossible  for  the  older  German  flute  

system.    

  Another  romantic  work  that  demonstrates  the  newly  developed  flute  is  

Fantasie  by  Georges  Hüe  (1858-­‐1948).  Hüe  bridges  the  gap  from  the  romantic  to  

twentieth  century  musical  period.  Also,  Hüe  was  born  after  the  development  and  

establishment  of  Boehm  flute  system.  Thus,  Hüe  would  have  not  known  the  other  
                                                                                                               
35  Niccoló Paganini, 24 Caprices Opus 1 for Solo Flute (New York: International Music,
1975), 3.  

40  
system  except  through  education  about  the  flute.  Because  the  flute  had  a  clear  tone  

and  beautiful  sonority,  Hüe  choose  to  write  his  Fantasie  for  flute  instead  of  any  

other  instruments.  Hüe’s  Fantasy  explores  the  full  breath  of  the  flute  abilities  

including  intonation,  volume,  and  difficult  melodic  and  chromatic  figures.  As  stated  

before,  Mozart  often  would  not  write  for  a  singular  flute  in  his  orchestras  due  to  lack  

of  volume  and  power.  Furthermore,  the  flute  was  often  written  with  the  notion  that  

chromatics  would  always  play  a  part  in  poor  intonation  and  was  not  often  written  

for  flute.  These  pitfalls  of  the  flute  were  obvious,  as  seen  in  flute  music  in  the  early  

nineteenth  century.  However,  later  in  the  nineteenth  century,  the  flute  repertoire  

increased  dramatically  with  music  such  as  the  Hüe  Fantasy  that  regularly  explored  

the  areas  previously  untouched  by  composers  due  to  the  shortcoming  of  the  older  

flute  system.  

  The  impact  of  the  Boehm  system  continues  to  resonate  today.  The  expansion  

of  what  is  possible  still  penetrates  flute  compositions  in  the  twentieth  century.  Even  

modern  influences  have  added  to  flute  repertoire  to  do  the  flute’s  ability  to  perform  

almost  any  melodic  figure.  Jazz  has  impacted  the  flute  repertoire  and  inspired  

composers  to  write  new  interesting  flute  music  that  further  expands  the  repertoire  

of  the  of  the  modern  flute  system.  A  composition  that  demonstrates  the  modern  

interpretation  of  the  flute  is  Robert  Muczynski’s(1929-­‐2010)  Sonata  for  Flute  and  

Piano.  Muczynski  was  a  famous  pianist  and  wrote  for  many  different  instruments.  

Muczynski’s  flute  sonata  includes  the  influences  of  jazz  upon  the  flute  repertoire.  

The  Sonata  consists  of  four  movements,  each  with  their  own  individual  technical  

problems  and  ideas.  Over  the  course  of  the  four  movements,  the  player  must  

41  
overcome  intonation  and  tuning  from  leaping  from  the  bottom  of  the  flute  range  to  

the  top  of  the  flute  range  into  the  third  and  fourth  octaves.  Furthermore,  Muczynski  

explores  the  flutes  abilities  in  very  technical  passages  that  would  have  been  

impossible  with  the  older  German  system  due  to  the  complex  cross  fingerings  and  

intonation  difficulties.  The  Boehm  system  and  its  development  allowed  the  modern  

flautist  to  explore  the  abilities  of  the  Boehm  system,  branch  out  into  new  genres,  

and  to  incorporate  other  style,  such  as  jazz,  into  the  flute  repertoire.    

  The  Boehm  system  created  a  much  easier  technical  fingering  system  

throughout  the  range  of  the  flute.  Thus,  many  awkward  cross  fingerings  and  forked  

fingerings  were  eliminated.  Furthermore,  the  more  precise  placement  of  the  tone  

hole  allowed  for  flautists  to  devise  fake  fingerings  and  harmonic  fingerings  due  to  

the  stability  of  the  harmonic  design  for  the  Boehm  system.  Fake  fingerings  allowed  

for  easier  flute  passagework  in  higher  ranges  through  the  use  of  fingerings  of  notes  

that  are  and  octave  and  a  fifth  below  the  desired  note.  This  is  produced  by  

overblowing  the  lower  note,  to  which  one  would  produce  the  same  note  as  the  

higher,  desired  note.  Furthermore,  harmonic  fingerings  allowed  the  flute  to  produce  

hollow  sounds  or  multiple  pitches  at  once,  thus  a  fundamental  pitch  to  be  sounded  

with  the  other  relative  pitches  to  resonate  above  the  fundamental  pitch.  An  example  

of  a  composer  to  take  advantage  of  harmonic  is  Ian  Clarke.  Clarke  is  a  living  

composer  who  was  inspire  by  trains  to  write  the  musical  work  The  Great  Train  

Race.36  This  musical  work  uses  flute  harmonics  to  imitate  train  sounds  and  whistle  

                                                                                                               
36  Ian Clarke, The Great Train Race (London: I.C. Music, 2010), 1-7.  

42  
with  great  effect.  Without  and  well-­‐balanced  flute  system  such  as  the  Boehm  system,  

this  music  would  be  impossible  to  play.  Although  Boehm  mostly  did  not  forsee  these  

two  techniques  when  he  was  creating  the  Boehm  system,  it  was  only  through  the  

development  of  this  system  that  the  new  fingerings  are  possible.  These  abilities  

have  had  an  impact  on  today’s  composers,  allowing  for  new  interpretive  music  to  be  

created  for  the  flute,  as  the  flute  can  create  sounds  that  most  instruments  cannot.    

43  
 Conclusion  

  The  evolution  of  the  flute  expands  the  breadth  of  human  history,  from  

primitive  early  flutes  to  today’s  modern  metal  flute.  However,  compared  to  many  

other  instruments,  the  flute  has  a  central  point  in  time  where  evolution  affected  the  

course  of  flute  composition  and  development  forever.  Before  the  Boehm  system,  any  

improvements  on  the  flute  were  merely  small  fixes  to  a  larger  fundamental  problem.  

Thus,  the  music  repertoire  for  early  flutes  represented  the  limited  abilities  of  the  

early  baroque  flute  and  composers  cautiously  composed  for  the  flute,  if  at  all.  After  

the  advent  of  Boehm  system,  a  renaissance  in  flute  composition  and  exploration  can  

be  seen.  This  renaissance  has  continued  all  the  way  up  to  the  twenty-­‐first  century.  

Today’s  composers  and  flute  players  continue  to  push  the  limits  of  the  Boehm  

system  and  modern  flute,  and  are  constantly  improving  upon  the  design  and  

techniques.  Without  the  dramatic  improvements  made  to  the  flute,  the  world  would  

surely  be  lacking  in  the  vast  virtuosic  music  and  flute  performers  throughout  

history.    Some  of  the  most  recognized  music  of  our  time  hinges  on  modern  flute  

solos,  such  as  the  works  of  Debussy,  which  in  turn  inspired  the  composers,  which  

came  after  them,  such  as  Hüe  and  Clark.  The  development  and  establishment  of  the  

Boehm  system  not  only  affected  the  flute  repertoire,  but  all  music  composition.        

     
 
 
 

44  
 Bibliography  

Böhm, Theobald, and Karl Ventzke. On the construction of flutes = Über den Flötenbau.
Buren. The Netherlands: Frits Knuf, 1982.

Boehm, Theobald, Grand Polonaise, in D Major, Opus 16. New York: International
Music, 1977.

Borne, François, Fantaisie Brillante on Them from Bizet's Carmen. New York: G.
Schirmer, 1980.

Brown, Rachel. The Early Flute: a practical guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2002.

Clarke, Ian. The Great Train Race. London: I.C. Music, 2010.

Galway, James. Flute. New York: Schirmer Books, 1982.

Hüe, Georges. Fantasy. Paris: Costallat & C, 1913.

Mucznski, Robert. Sonata for Flute and Piano. New York: G. Schirmer, 1965.

Paganini, Niccoló. 24 Caprices Opus 1 for Solo Flute. New York: International Music,
1975.

Toff, Nancy. The Development of the Modern Flute. New York: Taplinger Pub., 1979.  

Toff, Nancy. The Flute Book: A Complete Guide for Students and Performers. New
York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1985.
 

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