History

You will find references to the frequency of the note A interspersed in the following timeline. These are included because understanding how the reference frequency has changed over time allows a greater understanding of modifications to the flute scale.

Year Milestone Contributor
1340 Early one-piece wooden flutes appear in drawings. webmaster
1500 Medieval and Renaissance flute have cylindrical bore design. webmaster
1650 A=392-415 Hz (Baroque instruments) webmaster
1670 Baroque three-piece 1-key conical bore flute becomes popular. webmaster
1722 Tuning cork added. webmaster
1751 A=422.5 Hz (Handel's tuning fork). webmaster
1760 Multiple keys added. webmaster
1780 A=421.6 Hz (Mozart). webmaster
1780 Classical 4 to 8-key flutes become popular. webmaster
1810 Bhm experiments with early modern flute models. webmaster
1820 A=433 Hz (London Philharmonic). webmaster
1821 Rudall & Rose start making 8-keyed flutes. webmaster
1822 Nicholson flutes with larger finger holes for greater projection. webmaster
1831 Bhm system flute appears with keys, springs, and pads. webmaster
1834 A=440.2 Hz (Congress of Physicists, Stuttgart). webmaster
1850 Bhm flute becomes popular. webmaster
1852 A=452.5 Hz (London Philharmonic). webmaster
1879 A=454.7 Hz (Steinway & Sons Tuning Fork). webmaster
1937 A=440 Hz (International Conference, Standard Pitch). webmaster
1987 A=440 Hz (Confirmed as International Standard). webmaster


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