Play the flute and piccolo
The flute and its small relative the piccolo play the highest notes of all the woodwind instruments. Flutes are ancient instruments – the first flutes were made of bone and are up to 43,000 years old. Nearly all the different world cultures have a flute, which looks similar to our modern flute but can be made from jade, bone, wood or even iron.
Our orchestral flutes, known as traverse flutes or cross flutes, are held sideways and are made of metal, sometimes from solid silver or even gold. The earliest cross flutes we know of were made in India around 1,500 years ago. Flutes have a very wide repertoire of music to choose from and play a key role in orchestras, wind bands and folk music. Like all instruments in the woodwind family, the flutes come in different sizes.
Which Rochdale ensembles can I join?
- Training Wind Band
- Youth Wind Band
- Community Wind Band
- Sinfonia
- That's All Folk
- Little Folk
Join one of our music ensembles
How does the flute sound?