Flutes are classified into two groups: fipple flutes and transverse flutes. A fipple flute is one held perpendicular to the floor and with the mouthpiece or blow hole at the very end of the instrument. Transverse flutes are held parallel to the floor to one side of the player's body. The mouthpiece or blow hole is near one end of the instrument.

Regardless of type, both kinds of flutes are tubes with a blow hole and tone holes. Sound is produced by blowing into the blow hole. Air, then, passes through the body and out of the tone holes.

The difference is in the way air reaches the tone holes. With a fipple flute, air is blown into the mouthpiece and is split by a piece of wood, bone, plastic or metal (the fipple) located inside the body, thus being forced out of the tone holes and producing sound. Transverse flutes have a breath hole which is not inserted into the mouth, but instead is blown across. The far edge of the breath hole cuts the air stream, forcing a portion of it into the body and out of the tone holes.

FIPPLE FLUTES

Fipple Flutes - (from left to right) Angel Soprano, Susato Tabor Pipe, Thin Weasel D tin whistle, Clark C Penny Whistle, Moeck ondo Tenor Recorder, Howard low D Tin whistle

RECORDER
Typically used for Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music, the recorder is best suited to chamber music and solo pieces. Its volume was not loud enough for the concert halls being built during the nineteenth century and hence it fell out of favor. Well-known composers of recorder music include Bach, Telemann and Purcell.

The recorder comes in six sizes: sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, bass and contrabass. The soprano, tenor and contrabass are in the key of C, while the sopranino, alto and bass are in the key of F.

When choosing a recorder, material will have a significant impact on pricing. Plastic is suitable for an inexpensive instrument that is easy to play and care for. It clogs with moisture more than a wooden instrument but is much more durable. The sound is brighter than wood. Wooden recorders require more care in construction as well as in maintenance than plastic recorders. The choice of the wood does influence the tone to a certain extent. A softer wood, such as pear wood, olivewood or cherry wood, is usually less expensive and produces a warmer tone. Boxwood, rosewood or Blackwood are also commonly used but produce a stronger tone and are more expensive.

Some tenor recorders have a single or double key to help close the lowest tone hole. All bass and contrabass recorders will have this feature as well. Tenor recorders also come in either short or long bore models. The smaller bore models are usually keyless, while the longer bore models need the single or double key in order to reach the lowest tone hole. The smaller bore are also lighter and less expensive. Bass recorders may have a bocal (blowpipe) that allows the instrument to be held higher so that the right hand does not have to stretch as far to reach the lower keys.

WHISTLES
The tin whistle is most commonly used for Irish traditional music and English country-dances. Tin, also called pennywhistles, and low whistles are another type of fipple flute that are commonly made of plastic, brass, aluminum, nickel and various woods. Wood is more expensive but great whistles do not necessarily have to be expensive. They are easier to care for and more durable than wood.