What Is It Like To Play The Flute?

Or, static vs dynamic.

When I play my red bamboo suling flute from Bali, I am doing several things simultaneously. I am creating longitudinal waves in the air around me, pressure waves, that receive their energy from the air I force across the bamboo strap mouthpiece at the top of the flute, which is played vertically. That is a purely physical description of the event.

If I a…