The ‘Western Concert Flute‘ is the type of flute played in an orchestra.

When one pictures the word ‘flute,’ in their mind, one of the pictures that may come to mind is this: a long silver tube with many thin rods, openings of different sizes, and an embouchere hole (this is the place that the flautist blows to create a sound). This is more or less what the average Western Concert Flute looks like, although some are made of silver-plated brass, gold, nickel silver, and wood. The Western Concert Flute has a cylindrical bore (as apposed to conical), which means that the inside part of the flute is even. In a conical bore, the inside is slightly tapered.

The Western Concert Flute is a keyed flute with sixteen finger holes. On some flutes, all sixteen holes are covered (closed hole). These flutes are usually used by students, as the keys will not leak air, while untrained fingers may. Closed hole flutes also allow a more convenient hand position for some musicians. Many professional flute players have flutes with some of the holes open. This simplifies alternate fingerings, and also allows easier multiphonics, quarter-tones, and glissando.

The Western Concert Flute is capable of roughly three and a half octaves, and is generally in the key of C.