Old Keys. GX1, Leitz Elmarit 90mm, Bellows II.

This Blip shows some of the keywork on the 1780 6-keyed Potter flute which I Blipped here.  The three sterling silver keys are all operated by the 5th finger of the right hand, while the open hole in the boxwood is covered by the 4th.  The right-most key is held closed by a leaf spring (soldered to the back of its key) and yields the note D.  If the key is pressed, the pitch is changed to D-Sharp (or E-Flat).  D is the lowest note of the one-keyed "Baroque" flute and D Major is the "home key" of that instrument.  By the late 18th century, composers were writing music for the flute which descended to C, and instrument makers responded by extending the tail piece and adding keywork so the player wouldn't have to make an unnatural stretch of the fingers.  It's a bit of a "chicken and egg" situation though...  Mozart's concerto for flute and harp in C-Major composed in Paris in April of 1778 is the perfect example, requiring the flute to descend first to low C Sharp and then to C, just what the old Potter instrument was designed to do.  Wiki refreshed my memory on the date but also added that poor Wolfie was never paid for this commission...