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Traverso Fingerings – From Historical Sources to Practice

Apprentices of European historical flutes learn from the very beginning to work with authentic fingering charts from the 18th century. There are countless such charts. Particularly important are the instructions on fingerings by Hotteterre [1], Quantz [2], and Tromlitz [3]. In the 19th century, the fingering charts of Berbiguier [4], Tulou [5], and many others became popular. Exceptional in its extent is the work of Fürstenau [6]. Even though authors of the 19th century refer mainly to the, then modern, flutes with 5 to 13 keys, they take for granted that the one-keyed flute was still in use and their advice for that earlier type of instrument is of great help.

In the 18th century, unequal temperament is a central topic. Consequently, authors of flute treatises emphasize this point in their fingering charts, although to a different extent that depends on time, place, and approach. This is reflected in the charts themselves, and many methods clearly distinguish between flat and sharp accidentals.

Of note, 18th century methods were written mainly for amateurs. Sources are therefore often kept fairly simple and schematic where fingerings are concerned. How professional musicians dealt with the topic is poorly documented. A glimpse into their approach is given by the Solfeggi, kept at the Royal Library in Copenhagen and attributed to Quantz [7]. In the 19th century, equal temperament increasingly permeated musical thinking and feeling. In particular, the idea of high leading tones is new. Correspondingly, fingering instructions sometimes differ considerably from older methods.

Today, we mostly use modern copies of historical flutes, built by makers from around the world. These copies are considerably more standardized than in earlier times. Although there are a substantial variety of models on offer, historically informed performance is in fact practiced on only a very small number of flute types.

First of all, there are the genuine Baroque flutes — low-pitched instruments with A1 around 400 Hz from before 1730, either with three or four joints. Most modern copies are pitched higher (A1 = 415 Hz) and do not represent genuine Baroque flutes anymore. They correspond rather to the galant flute type that Quantz assumes in his main treatise [2], even though most of Quantz's own original flutes are pitched considerably lower. Following the galant flute type, classical flutes were developed according to yet another tonal ideal: a higher pitch and a tendency toward a higher tessitura, regardless the number of keys.

It is therefore not possible to regard any single traverso model as universal. This reflects the stylistic diversity of the 18th century. By historical comparison, the range of flutes played and built today is narrow. Contemporary local, national, and personal variants and traditions of sound were enormous. Modern copies, for all their differences, also share a great deal in common. Otherwise, the constant switching between different models would hardly be possible.

The tendency toward standardization in flute making today is probably because practice demands mastery of historical instruments ranging from the Hotteterre type to late-Romantic flute types. By contrast, Hotteterre's reality was his own three-piece, low-pitched flute; Quantz, of course, played the flute type he invented; Fürstenau played a Liebel flute; Tulou played his own Tulou flute. If today's traverso players are expected to meet hugely different requirements on very different instruments, then the various models they play should at least share a certain degree of consistency. Excessive differences are hardly manageable on equal terms. The difference between a one-keyed and a multi-keyed flute is already great enough, quite apart from the corresponding repertoire. Flute making today responds to this need. This is sometimes regretted, but also, for practical reasons, often welcomed.

It follows that many instructions from the numerous fingering charts produced between 1700 and 1850 are valid regarding basic information, but many special fingerings and tricks from De Lusse [8], Quantz [2], Berbiguier [4], and Drouet [9] are only partially transferable to the modern copies of historical flutes in common use today.

This app attempts to provide practical fingering charts for daily use that are informed by historical sources but also include "modern" solutions. They should work well on most modern copies of historical flutes.

In order not to overwhelm users with too much information right from the start, fingerings are sorted into Basics, Alternatives, and Specials — and trills likewise. Starting from the lowest note of the Baroque flute, D1, the fingerings are arranged into octaves 1, 2, and 3 (in scientific pitch notation: octaves 4, 5 and 6). The keyboard symbol used for selecting notes and trills has split accidentals for raised and lowered pitches, corresponding to the fingering technique of the traverso. The notes E and B are likewise split. When the Basics do not work well in a particular passage, or when intonation or tone color warrant adjustment, the Alternatives and Specials are often a valuable aid. Historical flute types have the great advantage of being able to play a note, a trill, or even an entire passage in very different colors using different fingerings.

For some notes, use of the D# key is optional. This can be approached differently, and this was evidently already the case in the 18th century. Here, the D# key is also understood as a means of stabilizing the grip on the instrument, which is why it is often notated even though the note can also be fingered without that key.

The app is not meant to be a finished, closed work. It was developed following discussions at a master class, held in Tübingen in 2025 and is based on fingering tables that evolved over many years. Input and corrections are heartily welcome. The app is free and under a copyleft license.

Karl Kaiser

About the app: The Baroque one-keyed traverso fingering chart app by Karl Kaiser and Benjamin Mordmüller is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. The app is hosted at Codeberg Pages and can be downloaded from its public repository.

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