baroque flute

C6

Impedance

Acoustic and Fingering Schematic a covered tone hole or key pressed an uncovered tone hole or key not pressed a partly covered hole Details in fingering legend. Non-specialist introduction to acoustic impedance Non-specialist introduction to flute acoustics

This can be considered as a complicated cross fingering. Closing LH2 alone flattens the first two minima of the C#5/6 fingering, but not enough to play C5 or C6. Closing the second hole (LH3) flattens the first minimum enough for C5, but too much for C6, because cross fingering is more effective at high frequencies. So, instead of closing LH3, the cross fingering itself is cross fingered. A fraction of the resonant wave is transmitted past LH1, and a fraction of that past LH3 into the second cross fingering. This increases the effective length beyond that of the simple cross fingering.

Sound

Sound spectrum of a baroque flute played using fingering for C6.

Sound Clip

You can hear C6 played by Matthew Ridley.