The flute is one of mankind’s oldest instruments, and in one form or another it’s been known to virtually every culture around the world. The modern flute used in Western classical music is known technically as a “transverse” flute because the player holds it out to one side and blows across a hole in the side of the instrument. Other flutes, such as the recorder, are “end blown”—the player blows directly into an opening in one end of the instrument.