MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS:(CONTINUES)

FLUTE:
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or Reedles

wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening. According to the instrument classification of Hornobostel-sachs, flutes are categorized as edge blown aerophone.A musician who plays the flute can be referred to as a flute player, a flautist a flutist,or, less commonly, a fluter. The term flutenist, found in English up to the 18th century, is no longer used.

Aside from the voice, flutes are the earliest known musical instrument. A number of flutes dating to about 43,000 to 35,000 years ago have been found in the Swabian Alb region of Germany. These flutes demonstrate that a developed musical tradition existed from the earliest period of modern human presence in Europe.The oldest flute ever discovered may be a fragment of the femur of a juvenile cave bear, with two to four holes, found at Divje Babe in Slovenia and dated to about 43,000 years ago. However, this has been disputed.

 In 2008 another flute dated back to at least 35,000 years ago was discovered in Hohle Fels cave near Ulm, Germany. The five-holed flute has a V-shaped mouthpiece and is made from a vulture wing bone. The researchers involved in the discovery officially published their findings in the journal Nature, in August 2009.The discovery was also the oldest confirmed find of any musical instrument in history,until a redating of flutes found in Geißenklösterle cave revealed them to be even older with an age of 42.000 to 43.000 years.