baroque flute

D#6 and Eb6

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 fingering is comparable to that for D#4 except for the open register hole. This creates a pressure node (or flow antinode) about three quarters of the way along the pipe (one quarter from the downstream end), and thus allows D#6 but not D#4, D#5 or A#5. (It not only facilitates the 4th harmonic of D#4, it makes the lower harmonics difficult.) Comparing this with the D#4 impedance spectrum, we see that the third minimum is little changed. The second is shallower and unplayable.

Sound

Sound spectrum of a baroque flute played using fingering for D#6.

Sound Clip

You can hear D#6 played by Matthew Ridley.