MUSI €. 
pitch. This conftru&ion is common to many other Ger¬ 
man flutes ; but, in this, the three joints, uniting the 
lengths, have alfo correfponding marks upon them, to 
fliow how much they are to be drawn out, to correfpond 
with the alteration of the cork ; and they alfo completely 
fupply the place of the ordinary thread-joints, (o very in¬ 
convenient in ufe.” For a more minute delcription, with 
figures of the feveral parts, we muff refer to the volume 
of the Society’s Tranfaftions for the year 1813. 
Wood’s patent-flute appears to us to be formed ex¬ 
actly upon the fame principle, .though perhaps improved 
in tome particulars. But it is underflood, that thofe 
who claim a reward from the Society of Arts are bound 
to give up their invention for the ufe of the public, and 
not to take out a patent. Mr. Wood, however, defcribes 
liis flute as being “ conftrudfed on an entirely new prin¬ 
ciple ; and fo contrived, by means of tubes fixed to the 
feveral joints, that it is capable of being tuned to any 
pitch, whether (harp or flat, without the ufe of any extra 
joints, and the inftrument ftill remains perfectly in tune, 
however the pitch may be altered, a perfe&ion hitherto 
found unattainable. Another advantage is, that it is 
perfedfly air-tight at the joints, fo that the trouble of 
ufing thread, or any other preparation, is entirely done 
away with. The inftrument is alfo preferved from the 
decay ufually occafioned by the water relting on the joints, 
and is always ready for ufe.” Thefe improvements, (whe¬ 
ther appertaining to M'Gregor or to Wood,) with the 
rich, full, and fine, body-tone they produce, and the 
great freedom with which every note may be produced, 
from the lovveft note to the highefl: in altiflhno, added to 
their portability, and the neatnefs and elegance with 
which they are finifhed, have gained this kind of flute a 
great degree of reputation. 
The compafs of the' German flute at prefent extends 
to three odfaves, from the lowelt D in the treble to the 
odlave above what ufed to be the highefl: D. But C* 
or Db below the D^, has lately been acquired by blowing 
very foftly, and turning the inftrument inward ; and the 
more recent improvements have carried it down to C t l. 
It is to be obferved that, the higher the notes on this in¬ 
ftrument are, the wind muff be increafed, and the orifice 
of the lips fomewhat more doled. Molt of the notes are 
broken into oftaves by a little additional force in blow¬ 
ing. The B, C, D, of the third oftave, cannot be pro¬ 
duced upon all flutes : with middle-pieces, which lower 
the tone of the whole inftrument, they are eafier to be 
produced. There are fometimes feven middle-pieces in 
ufe for flattening the pitch. Thefe amount to about a 
tone; fo that by their afliftance a flute may accommodate 
itfelf to any pitch. 
The flauto piccolo is a flirill flute, ufed by Handel to 
imitate the finging of birds, and by Gluck for the howl¬ 
ing and whiffling of the wind. 
The Fife is alio a fmall flirill flute, blown at the fide, 
like a German flute. It is in almoft every mufical band ; 
and, as the tabor and pipe enliven the dance, the fife and 
drum animate the foldier, particularly in the quick ftep. 
The fife has fix holes, and furnilhes two oftaves, from the 
loweft D in the treble to D in alt. The Swifs firlt brought 
this inftrument into France, after the battle of Marignan, 
under Francis I. fince which time it has been admitted 
into regimental mufic, in preference to the common oftave 
flute, being made lefs falfe (fays Laborde) from its hav¬ 
ing a key, which the fife a bee has not. 
The fife is an inftrument particularly intended for the 
ufe of regiments ; and forms, in conjunction with the 
drum, the only mufic with which many corps are pro¬ 
vided. This little flirill tube is ufually about fourteen 
inches in length, and of one piece, though fome are made 
to take to pieces; but fuch are not fuited to military ufe. 
It may be confidered as a fmall kind of flute, efpecially if 
provided, as fome are, with a key ; but fuch are rare, the 
generality being confined to only fix finger-holes, and an 
embouchure, or mouth-hole. The want of a key necef- 
387 
farily occafions a difference in the fingering of many notes; 
but the compafs, or extent, is about the fame as that of 
the old German flute ; namely, from D below the treble 
ftaff to D in alt; but all beyond B in alt are more or lefs 
harfh, and cruelly piercing to a fen Able ear. Fifes are 
made of three feveral fizes, denominated A, B, and C, 
refpeCfively ; A being the largeft and deepeft toned, and 
one minor third below concert-pitch. The next fize is 
made to correfpond with the Bb of the mufical fcale, and 
is generally ufed when playing with fuch military bands as 
ufe what are called Bb clarionets. The C fifes are thofe 
at concert-pitch, and are chiefly ufed for the ordinary fer- 
vice of thefe inftruments. 
The Oboe, or Hautboy.—This inftrument is blown 
with a reed. It is the natural treble to the balloon, as 
their feveral names imply : haut-bois, high wood ; bus fon, 
low found. The hautbois confifts of four pieces, or joints ; 
of which the upper piece, to which the reed is fixed, is the 
narroweft. The tube increafes in diameter to the end, 
which terminates with a wide mouth like the trumpet. 
See the Plate, fig. 3. 
The hautbois goes as low as the improved German 
flute ; that is, down to middle C ; and feldom, in full 
pieces, mounts higher than D in alt. Its principal key 
is that of C major: keys which have many fliarps or flats 
fhould therefore be avoided in folos ; but, in full mufic, 
this inftrument is ufed in almoft all keys. 
This l'eems to have been an inftrument in common ufe 
in the time of Shakefpeare, and to have had a companion 
or baffoon for its bafs. Falftaff, in deferibing the lank and 
meagre figure ofijuftice Shallow in his juvenile days, fays : 
C£ The cafe of a treble hautbois was a manlion for him, a 
court.” Henry IV. Part 2. 
Yriarte, in the notes to his Spanifli poem, <£ La Mufic,” 
regards its tone as nearer that of a human voice than any 
other wind-inftrument; and there a kind of hautbois, 
which is called the grand oboe, or vox hurnana; and it 
takes in all the half-notes up to G in altifllmo. 
There is a fpirit and hilarity in the tone of the haut¬ 
bois, which is gay and enlivening in allegros, and yet is 
not without exprelfion and complaint in pathetic ftrains. 
The moft celebrated performers upon this inftrument in 
this country during the laft century, who are now no 
more, were San Martini, who arrived in England in 1723 ; 
his fcholar Tommy Vincent, Fifcher, and Simplon. Mar¬ 
tini and Fifcher were not only exquifite performers on 
their inftrument, but admirable compofers. The con¬ 
certos which Vincent ufed to play fifty years ago, which 
were known to be Martini’s, were admirable, full of fire, 
tafte, and genius. They were never printed, nor do 
we know what became of them. The concertos which 
Simpfon played were generally pafticcios, one movement 
from one compofer, and one from another; but Fifcher’s, 
without being capricious, were fo much his own, that 
neither the compolition nor performance refembled any 
other. 
The Clarionet. —As the baffoon is called the bafs to 
the hautbois, the clarionet might very well be'called the 
tenor to it, being a kind ofintermediate inftrument played 
with a reed, but of a different and larger kind ; and hav¬ 
ing the general afpedl of a hautbois on a larger fcale. 
The clarionet is, however, by profelfors, called a treble in¬ 
ftrument, and the mufic for it is written in the treble 
clef; but (ftrangely enough) the notation is always a 
note higher than the mufic is to be played : thus the key 
of Bb (the moft common for this inftrument) is written 
C^. The natural fcale of this inftrument is from Bb (or 
the middle C) to C (or D) in alt; notes, indeed, are pro¬ 
duced as low as E; but Dr. Crotch fays, that below Bb 
they are not in tune : an imputation againft the inftru¬ 
ment, which is indignantly repelled by a forty-years’ 
player, now at our elbow. But the truth is, that wind- 
inftruments are more out of tune than the profelfors of 
them are willing to allow, or than they can be fenlible of 
tliemfelves. A leader or condu&or of a band is, however, 
fully 
