pipes and flutes

[greenflute]

Forgive me if I sound stupid, but I know nothing about flutes. I was wondering what it means if someone played a pipe. Is a pipe the same thing as flute? Is a pitch pipe the same instrument as a pipe? Do a flute and pipe have similar tones?

[JButky]

Pipe...Probably pipes as in Bagpipes. Not related to the flute

[Zevang]

Also as in pipe organ, those played at big churches.

[pied_piper]

Joe is extremely knowledgeable about the flute, but I have to disagree with him a bit on this one. Yes, pipe often refers to bagpipes, but the answer to the OP's question really depends on context. In the Irish tradition, flutes and/or tin whistles are also often referred to as pipes. The tin whistle especially looks like a piece of pipe. Similarly, Irish flutists and tin whistlers are frequently referred to as pipers.

And, since I use the name Pied Piper, I can speak with some authority on this matter!

(sorry Joe, but I couldn't resist...).

[greenflute]

It was in reference to someone playing a pipe on street.

[JButky]

(sorry Joe, but I couldn't resist...).

Could be Pan Pipes too..

[greenflute]

Is there a tone that sounds like humming hornets? Or which type of pipe could create that sound?

[pied_piper]

@Joe - Yep, that's certainly another pipe.

@greenflute - The Chinese Dizi flute has a very "buzzy" sound to it. It has an extra hole which is covered by a membrane to add the buzzy quality to the sound.

[Gordon]

Joe is extremely knowledgeable about the flute, but I have to disagree with him a bit on this one. Yes, pipe often refers to bagpipes, but the answer to the OP's question really depends on context. In the Irish tradition, flutes and/or tin whistles are also often referred to as pipes. The tin whistle especially looks like a piece of pipe. Similarly, Irish flutists and tin whistlers are frequently referred to as pipers.

And, since I use the name Pied Piper, I can speak with some authority on this matter!

(sorry Joe, but I couldn't resist...).

Sorry - but no one in the Irish tradition would refer to a flute or whistle as pipes. Pipes in ITM (Irish trad music) are Uilleann pipes, sometimes called Irish pipes. Flutes are (generally) conical wooden flutes, modern or antique, although some players do use Boehm system flutes.

Not sure where you got your sources, but I've played Irish flute (and whistle) for years, and played along with many pipers. It would be extremely confusing to all if anyone started calling flutes or whistles pipes....

[Gordon]

Oh - I was thinking some more about this...

Hamlin - as in the Pied Piper of - was German. There is, to my knowledge (German speakers, please correct me if I'm wrong), no word in German-based language for fife; the fife is called a pipe. That might explain part of the confusion. So the idea of a fifer being called a piper, and the most likely instrument for that tale, would be German-based.

Fifes, small cylindrical flutes usually in Bb, were used primarily for military music and calls, much like Highland bagpipes - in other words, leading rats and children away with either true pipes or a fife would fit, rather than a whistle or flute. Whistles were, and still are, folk dance instruments, and flutes, during medieval (Hamlin) times, were fairly quiet and uncommon to the lay person.

Uilleann (Irish) pipes, BTW, are not mouth blown pipes; they're blown by bellows under the elbow, and played seated. Mouth-blown pipes, like the Scottish Bagpipes come in (at least) two sizes - the Highland, or War, pipes - big guns that march in battle and parade - and the Highland small pipes, which are, well, smaller. There are also Northumbrian pipes, also smaller and quieter, and probably other types I'm not familiar with. As the OP was asking about pipes played on the street, it could really be any or all of the above - I used to busk (on flute) with pipers (Uilleann, seated, in parks and subways), but often saw (heard, too, and for blocks away!) a lone Highland piper, in full regalia, playing on the street (NYC, not Edinburgh).

[pied_piper]

Sorry - but no one in the Irish tradition would refer to a flute or whistle as pipes. Pipes in ITM (Irish trad music) are Uilleann pipes, sometimes called Irish pipes.

I'll concede on your Irish trad point (I was in a hurry when I responded), but in many other cultures, there is really no distinction between flutists and pipers. See this reference:
http://www.websters-online-dictionary.o ... Search#906

Flutes are (generally) conical wooden flutes, modern or antique, although some players do use Boehm system flutes.

Unless you limit your statement to the circle of folk flutists or piccolos, the reverse is true. Today, most Western civilization flutists play metal, cylindrical, Boehm flutes.

It would be extremely confusing to all if anyone started calling flutes or whistles pipes....

Agreed, but it is the reality in many cultures especially where bagpipes are not commonly in use. As shown in the link above, many languages seem to have a single word to represent flutist, piper, whistler, or even oboist. Confusing? Perhaps yes, but it really depends upon one's perspective. It's sort of like the old adage "When all you have is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail".

There is, to my knowledge (German speakers, please correct me if I'm wrong), no word in German-based language for fife; the fife is called a pipe.

Pfeife or Pfeifen are shown as the German words for fife.

[Gordon]

[quote="pied_piper

Flutes are (generally) conical wooden flutes, modern or antique, although some players do use Boehm system flutes.

Unless you limit your statement to the circle of folk flutists or piccolos, the reverse is true. Today, most Western civilization flutists play metal, cylindrical, Boehm flutes.

[quote[/quote]

I believed we were speaking about Irish trad music (folk) - in that world, conical wooden flutes are the main flute, with rare exceptions for players that choose to use modern (Boehm) flutes or other mutations. In Irish music (yes, folk, but what other music would be called Irish? Eg - Galway is Irish, but doesn't play Irish...) These flutes are either 19th/early 20th c. flutes, or modern flutes based on, or hybrid versions of, 19th c. flutes, keyed or unkeyed.
There is no question that metal Boehm-based flutes are more prevalent today - just not in Irish music.

Thanks for the German word for fife - I wasn't aware of that - most dictionaries I checked (don't speak the language) came up blank. Agreed about other non-English words for flute; even recorders are considered flutes in some languages.

[pied_piper]

I believed we were speaking about Irish trad music (folk) - in that world, conical wooden flutes are the main flute, with rare exceptions for players that choose to use modern (Boehm) flutes or other mutations.

Miscommunications are all too prevalent in online discussions. Although non-Boehm flutes sometimes come up in discussions here, this forum primarily focuses on Boehm flutes - so, I assumed that's what you were referring to. Now that we're in sync: