Edge-blown aerophones is one of the categories of musical instruments found in the Hornbostel–Sachs system of musical instrument classification. In order to produce sound with these aerophones, the player makes a ribbon-shaped flow of air with their lips (421.1), or their breath is directed through a duct against an edge (421.2).
421.1 Flutes without duct – The player creates a ribbon-shaped stream of air with their lips.
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, flutes are edge-blown aerophones. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist or flutist.
Paleolithic flutes with hand-bored holes are the earliest known identifiable musical instruments. A number of flutes dating to about 53,000 to 45,000 years ago have been found in the Swabian Jura region of present-day Germany, indicating a developed musical tradition from the earliest period of modern human presence in Europe. While the oldest flutes currently known were found in Europe, Asia also has a long history with the instrument. A playable bone flute discovered in China is dated to about 9,000 years ago. The Americas also had an ancient flute culture, with instruments found in Caral, Peru, dating back 5,000 years and in Labrador dating back about 7,500 years.
The woodwind section, which consists of woodwind instruments, is one of the main sections of an orchestra or concert band.Woodwind sections contain instruments given Hornbostel-Sachs classifications of 421 (edge-blown aerophones, commonly known as flutes) and 422 (reed aerophones), but exclude 423 (brass instruments, which have their own section.)