A flute is a woodwind instrument that is made of metal and shaped into a tube. To play it, you blow air across the “embouchure,” which is an opening with a specific shape. The stream of air passing over this opening causes the air inside the flute’s long tube to resonate, creating a pleasant tone. The pitch of this tone is controlled by fingering valves along its length. The flute differs from other woodwind instruments in that it does not contain a reed. Rather, the embouchure is entirely responsible for creating the vibrations necessary to produce sound. Because the embouchure is located on the side of the tube, the modern flute is sometimes referred to as a transverse flute — named so because air passes across the tube rather than directly into it.

Learning flute can be slightly more complicated than learning guitar — however, if you love the instrument, it will always be easier to learn. Enjoying your instrument makes you more inclined to seek out new challenges and work through them. Initially, there is slightly more technique required to get a good tone out of a flute. You need to develop lip technique and breath control for the flute, whereas learning guitar requires only keeping your fingers pressed down in the right location and out of the way of resonating strings. As it is a melodic instrument, the flute is also unable to produce chords. This means you’ll need to learn scales to play melodies. However, if the flute is appealing to you, these challenges will only serve as exciting growth opportunities. In other words, concern yourself with which instrument you love, and the challenges will not seem so daunting.

Beginner flutes carry specific features that make them easier to learn. One of the most important features is an offset G-key. The left ring finger plays this key, and having this key lower on the instrument makes it easier to finger the lever. The key design is another feature of beginner flutes to make it easier to navigate the instrument without using expert fingering techniques. Look for a flute with closed-hole keys, as these make it possible to play without having to plug open holes on the keys. You can also plug these holes if you purchase an open-hole flute. Y-arms are another feature of beginner flutes and allow for lower-cost construction than pointed key arms. Buying a flute with a 2-key footjoint is perfectly acceptable for beginners, while a 3-key footjoint is more common for advanced players.