In The Middle Ages and the Renaissance

• circa 1320 - One-piece wooden flute, 2' long, key of "D"

• 1511 - Zwerchpfeiff, narrower, 6 finger-holes

• 1529 - Descant, alto, tenor and bass versions appear

• Around the turn of the 16th century - "fifes" became very popular!

• 1619 - 20 - Praetorius' SYNTAGMA MUSICUM portrays three Querflotten, with 2-octave ranges

• 1636 - Flutes Allemands appear, keys of "D" and "G", with new cylindrical bore, made of wood

In The 17th and 18th Centuries

• 1670 - Three-piece, 1-keyed flute in "D" appears in Jean Baptiste Lully's famous orchestra in France. More changes: conical bore (tapers down to middle, placing the holes closer together) and smaller finger-holes

• 1720 - Middle joint is divided in half, called corps de recharge, and 2 keys added

• 1722 - Famous flutist (and writer) Quantz adds tuning cork in headjoint and C# key on footjoint

• 1726 - E-flat key added on footjoint

• 1760 - G#, B-flat, and F keys added by London makers Florio, Gedney, and Potter

• 1774 - Florio, Gedney, and Potter remove C# from footjoint

• circa 1780 - 4 and 6-keyed flutes appearing in the symphonic music of Mozart and Haydn, Meyer-system flute with 8 keys appears

• 1782 - Maker J.H. Ribock adds closed C key

19th Century

• 1800 - B-flat lever and left-hand lever added

• 1806 - 44 - Claude Laurent makes 3, 4, and 7-keyed GLASS flutes

• 1808 - Rev. Frederick Nolan invents open holes (rim only, finger-pad covers holes) and links the keys to one another

• 1810 - George Miller in London, starts making metal bores

• 1812 - Tebaldo Monzani puts knobs on the mouth-hole

• 1814 - James Wood in London makes three tuning slides

• 1822 - The Nicholsons (father and son) make a thinner flute and adjust keys

• 1824 - Maker Pottgiessen invents the ring and crescent key

• 1827 - Rudall & Rose start making 8-keyed flutes, which become very popular

• circa 1830 - Beethoven uses the flute in his symphonies

The Boehm Era

Boehm's Developments

• circa 1810 - Boehm builds his first model and tinkers with keys, springs (to control key tension), and pads

• circa 1829 - Finger-holes are still too far apart, so Boehm develops completely new fingering system, even building his own machine for boring holes, pillars, posts, and flat gold springs (new system uses rods to connect all the keys, thus the need for posts, springs, etc.)

• 1830 - Boehm's new model was finished

• 1831 - Boehm presents new model, in performance, in Paris and London

• 1832 - Boehm is inspired by hearing flute virtuoso Charles Nicholson's clear and brilliant tone; changes from standard covered holes to ring keys (see Rev. Nolan above) or "open holes", producing clearer tone and better intonation. He also aided finger action by adding a thumb crutch for the left hand.

Boehm and Others

• 1833 - Gordon's Diatonic Flute comes out with crescent-shaped touchpieces

• 1834 - The Boehm Flute gains popularity with French and German professional flutists, as well as being widely adopted in many other areas

• 1837 - Auguste Buffet (Paris instrument maker) improves on Boehm - changing axles, hole placements, lugs, rods, and sleeves (the latter hold the rods and axles together)

• 1838 - Buffet and collaborator Coche, add D# trill key and "Dorus" G# key (Paris Conservatory influence)

• 1839 - Flute maker Ward manufactures the Boehm flute in London

• circa 1841 - Rudall & Rose begin manufacturing Boehm flutes (also in London) along with Clair Godfroy in Paris

• 1846-47 - Boehm experiments with cylindrical bore based on a "parabolic curve" (17 mm. in diameter at top of instrument to 19 mm. in the middle of the body). Also, enlarges embouchure to a quadrangular shape, producing a fuller, clearer tone, compiles his Schema for fingering, Pads - starts covering inside of closed keys with felt and the rims of open keys with skins, held together with screws and washers.

• 1846 - Boehm experiments with use of metals. Decides on silver - best tone quality and least fatiguing to play

• 1847 - Boehm sells rights of manufacture to Rudall & Rose and Clair Godfroy/Louis Lot in Paris. Publishes famous tome, The Flute and Flute Playing: In Acoustical, Technical and Artistic Aspects.

• 1847 - Boehm Flutes imported to New York City and adopted as official instrument of the Paris Conservatory

• 1849 - Composer Briccialdi adds the thumb B-flat key

• 1855 - Boehm Flute wins gold medal at Paris Exhibition, to general acclaim. New players are making great technical advances thanks to Boehm's mechanical breakthroughs

• 1878 - Boehm perfects his "modern silver flute"

• End of 19th Century - Flute appears in orchestral scores of Brahms, Strauss, and Tchaikovsky. Solo literature expands rapidly, with virtuosic, showpieces becoming the fashion.

Post-Boehm - Into The 20th Century - Some modern developments

• 1948 - Alexander Murray, well-known flutist and teacher, collaborates with makers Albert Cooper and Elmer Cole, on the "Murray" flute - based on the "Cooper experimental" scale, and with a "corrected" C# key

• 1961 - 62 - Murray's next model, the "Mark I" appears

• 1967 - Murray collaborates with Jack Moore, a well-known maker with the Armstrong Company

• 1972 - Murray and Moore bring out production model flutes and piccolos

• Other helpful changes - duplicate G# lever, "gizmo" key, cork in headjoint to stabilize tuning.

• In the new Millennium, Lenny Lopatin of Lopatin Flutes reveals his square keyed Flute.

• And in 2005 James Johnson invents the RingFlute - have a look http://www.ringflute.com/about.htm