Research

Background on the baroque traverso

The most popular flute during the 17 c. was the model I used for this assignment: the seven-holed (one covered by the footjoint) baroque traverso, circa 1720. Before this existed the three-part traverso, which went out of fashion shortly after the four-part traverso was introduced. It is interesting to note that the pitch of these instruments got higher with each advancement; the three-part traverso was pitched at A392 while the first four-part traverso was pitched at A405. This was furthered raised when movable four-part traversos (similar to the one I played out) came about. The ability to push or pull the head from the body, or the footjoint from the keys, opened up a realm of temperaments, from A415, A400, or A392.

Covering the holes one by one produces a scale in the key of D Major; covering the first three holes and the first hole of the right hand produces an F# instead of F natural as is on the modern flute (this is one of the fingering changes that I found particularly challenging). Until the Boehm flute, circa 1810, the only way to produce chromatic tones was through cross-fingerings. One of the most unusual and counterintuitive fingerings I encountered was C natural, which is fingers 2 and 3, instead of the index finger; of course, given the absence of a thumb B/Bflat key, the index finger produces a B natural instead of C on the traverso.

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Development of the Boehm Flute

Theobald Boehm (1794–1881) was a man of many trades. He was an engineer, goldsmith, and musician, and the developer of a keyed flute known as the Boehm flute. This rose out of a dissatisfaction with the unevenness of tone and generally cumbersome experience of playing the baroque traverso. In its first models (circa 1832), the flute had fourteen holes total; twelve for the chromatic notes start at D, one for trilling, and one for the low C#. The advancement he is most known for is the use of rings on keys, which were metal rods that connected multiple keys. It was Boehm that discovered that pressing one key could close another, a revolutionary design that changed flute mechanisms forever. As someone who is accustomed to a highly advanced Boehm flute, I can speak to the incomparable ease of which these mechanisms add for the musician. I find it interesting that one of the primary reasons Boehm created the keyed flute was because he wanted a consistency of tone, which is arguably one of the most important aspects of any flute player today; and yet, the baroque traverso offers a characteristic and emotional quality. It is less pristine in regards to sound, but it is distinct. The tone colors that players strive for on the modern flute, while attainable certainly, do not come as naturally as does the baroque traverso. 

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Works Cited

Smith, John and Joe Wolfe. “Tone holes and cross fingering in wood wind instruments.” International Congress on Acoustics Session 8.09 (2001) 14-15 Print.

Wilson, Rick. “Baroque Flutes.” Wilson Rick’s Historical Flutes Page, n.p, n.d, http://www.oldflutes.com/baroq.htm.

Wilson, Rick. “19th century Boehm flutes.” Wilson Rick’s Historical Flutes Page, n.p, n.d, http://www.oldflutes.com/boehm.htm

Photos credited to Wilson Rick.