Flute Trivia

1. Who composed the piece "Density 21.5" for unaccompanied flute?

From Quiz The Flute in Music Literature

Answer: Edgard Varese

Most listeners enjoy music with accompaniment: music where some voices supply the melodic tune, while others provide rhythm and harmony. Instruments like the piano and guitar have their own built-in accompaniment, but the monophonic melody played by a lone flutist can be difficult for the listener to follow and appreciate, especially if the composition is inferior or the player is insensitive. Despite the challenges for composer, listener, and performer, a number of excellent pieces exist for flute alone, and are widely performed today. Edgard Varèse (1883-1965) was a pioneer in the field of electronic music, but also composed for traditional instruments. "Density 21.5" (1936) was written with flutist Georges Barrère and his platinum flute in mind - the title refers to the specific gravity of platinum. Hindemith's Acht Stücke (1927) and flutist-composer Robert Dick's "Lookout" (1989) are also good examples of pieces for unaccompanied flute. Bach's flute sonatas present a fruitful area of research for musicologists. "The Sonata in A Minor BWV 1013" (probably composed in 1718) is very popular with flutists today, despite the uncertainty regarding its origins and Bach's intentions for it.

From Quiz Flutes, Flutes, and More Flutes

Answer: Closed-hole C Flute

There are many types of flutes. These four types are only a select few, not to mention the different makes of flutes.

From Quiz The Flute Series: The shrill piccolo

Answer: 2

The piccolo's foot joint is integrated into the body joint, however the headjoint is still separated. The compactness of the piccolo ensures comfortability when playing, and the pitch of the instrument.

From Quiz The Flute in Music Literature

Answer: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune

I hope you didn't choose the string quartet! France is home to a rich tradition of flute music and flute-playing, and Claude Debussy (1862-1918) is just one in a long line of French composers who understood and appreciated the expressive power of the instrument. The "fawn" solo makes great demands on the player's stamina, lung power, and sensitivity to tone color, vibrato, and phrasing. Sinuous, flowing, simultaneously serene and intense, this melody has been adopted by flutists as a tone, breathing, and melodic study and warm-up exercise. In addition to the fawn solo, flutists who are preparing for auditions study numerous solos from the orchestral literature. Excerpts from works by these composers and many others often appear in lists of required audition pieces: Beethoven, Brahms, Hindemith, Prokofiev, Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky. (I'll leave it to the flutists among you match the solos to the composers, and fill out the list as you see fit.)

From Quiz Flutes, Flutes, and More Flutes

Answer: Woodwinds

The different categories differentiate between the different types of instruments. Woodwinds are instruments that generally use a reed, with the exception of the flute.

From Quiz The Flute Series: The shrill piccolo

Answer: Cylindrical and conical

The bore in a piccolo is the shape of the tube in the piccolo. The conical bore is a bit fatter towards the headjoint, while the cylindrical is straight from head to foot.

From Quiz The Flute in Music Literature

Answer: Carl Reinecke

Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) was not only a prolific composer (with about 300 works to his credit), but he was a poet, painter, conductor, pianist, and teacher as well. He wrote his Op. 167 "Undine" sonata for flute and piano in 1882. Generally accepted by flutists as the most significant flute sonata of the Romantic era, this programmatic work is based on the fairy tale of Undine, a sea nymph who bears a suspicious resemblance to the Little Mermaid. So why did none of the "big name" Romantic composers write flute sonatas (or concertos, for that matter)? As a rule, they felt that the flute was less expressive than the other popular instruments of the day: piano, violin, cello, clarinet, and horn. While the flute was an important member of the orchestra for the symphonic and operatic works of these composers, its sweet and delicate tone just wasn't suited to the melodic and emotional ideals of the Romantic movement, especially in the concerto and chamber idioms. Many flute pieces were written during the Romantic Era, but precious few are concertos or true sonatas, and almost all are by "lesser" composers. What non-flutist would recognize any of these names: Andersen, Doppler, Bourne, Donjon, Popp, Kuhlau, Demersseman, Fürstenau, Tulou, or Boehm? Flutists who wish to perform higher quality pieces by more famous 19th century composers must turn to transcriptions of works for voice or other instruments.

From Quiz The Flute Series: The shrill piccolo

Answer: 1

The piccolo can read the same music and finger the same notes, but they will always sound exactly one octave higher.

From Quiz Flutes, Flutes, and More Flutes

Answer: 30, 000 to 37, 000 years

The discovery made in 2004 determined that perhaps the last of the Neanderthals constructed this incredible flute.

From Quiz The Flute in Music Literature

Answer: Joaquin Rodrigo

One of my teachers once told me the story of flute virtuoso James Galway approaching Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo and asking him to write a flute concerto for him. Galway asked Rodrigo to make it so difficult that nobody but him (Galway) would be able to play it. While it is true that Galway did indeed commission and subsequently premier the work (the Concierto Pastoral of 1978), I'm not sure about Galway's exact specifications regarding the difficulty level. Regardless of what Galway may have requested or not requested, the solo flute part of the concerto is indeed extremely challenging. As for the other concertos from the question: Mercadante's (1795-1870) Concerto in E Minor" also falls into the difficult-to-play category, at least for me. A virtuoso cellist, Boccherini (1743-1805) wrote many fine works, but never a flute concerto. The lovely "Concerto in D Major" that is customarily attributed to him was actually penned by Franz Xaver Pokorny (1729-1794). Finally, Johann Joaquim Quantz (1697-1773) is a respected member of the modern flutists' pantheon. He wrote around 500 works for the flute, as well as a treatise on playing the instrument, which flutists still consult today. He was another musician associated with Frederick the Great.

From Quiz Flutes, Flutes, and More Flutes

Answer: French technique

The French technique, derived from the Paris Conservatory, dominated the 20th century with the use of the offset G key.

From Quiz Flutes, Flutes, and More Flutes

Answer: Concerto in D and Concerto in G

Typically, G and D are requested and many flautists have worked up and know these pieces very well.

From Quiz The Flute Series: The shrill piccolo

Answer: D5 to C8

All this means it that the piccolo can play the lowest D, ( the note right under the bottom line) to the high C ( five ledger lines).

From Quiz Flutes, Flutes, and More Flutes

Answer: Boehm

Boehm constructed the flute in the mid-1800's and can now be see as a French metal model.

From Quiz Flutes, Flutes, and More Flutes

Answer: Progressive Studies

This is the title of an exercise book for flute etude studies. Students should own a copy of these books, as they progress along with the student's progress.

From Quiz The Flute in Music Literature

Answer: In a Baroque music concert

The modern alto flute dates from about 1854, and was developed by Theobald Boehm (1794-1881), a genius inventor and musician to whom modern flutists owe many thanks. Pitched in G (a perfect fourth lower than the concert flute) and somewhat larger than the concert flute, the alto flute is valued by contemporary composers, jazz musicians, and flute choirs for its rich and evocative tone. The Baroque Era happened before Boehm helped make the alto flute a more practical and common instrument, so it would be very unusual indeed for one to hear an alto flute in a performance of music from this time period. I hope this quiz was educational and entertaining, and I hope you have been inspired to explore the music for the flute on your own. Thanks for playing!

From Quiz Flutes, Flutes, and More Flutes

Answer: 10

A student should begin at the age of 10, or what is usually the fifth grade. Typically, a 10-year old will enter a music class in elementary school and learn basic music through instrumental emphasis and individual lessons during school. However, many musicians can begin earlier or much later in life and still acquire an excellent education.

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