The highest member of the woodwind family is not, as the name might suggest, usually made of wood. You can probably spot these instruments shining out from the orchestra, since they’re most commonly made of highly polished metal – sometimes even silver or gold.

The flute has roots even more ancient than the violin, recently discovered ones being over 45,000 years old. The flute’s sound is produced by blowing air across the hole (similar to how you might play a bottle!) with the notes changed using the keys along its body. The flute has a bright and perky sound which means it can easily travel over the sound of the orchestra.

Orchestras usually have two or three flutes, and you might also see some of the flute’s cousins – the tiny shrill piccolo, the mellow and soulful alto flute, or if you’re really lucky, the frankly odd looking bass and contrabass flutes.

• The flute is pitched in the key of C, and has a range of approximately 3 octaves • George Washington and Leonardo da Vinci played the flute • Flutes were first held sideways in China about 3000 years ago • The world’s most expensive flute was made of platinum and was auctioned for $187,000