One of the questions that has cropped up in Covid-19 conversations amongst flute players and their friends is — how safe are we? As we begin to learn more about this aerosol-borne virus, singers and wind instrument players — flutes, whistles and bagpipes included — are being seen in a new light. Could a wind musician potentially spread the virus more widely than other musicians?

We don’t yet know the answer, but for flutes and whistles, splitting the airway through the far edge of the embouchure or the fipple is how the sound is generated. Air also escapes at the tone holes and at the end of the instrument. How fast is the air and how far is the air projected? Studies are ongoing but this is what is understood at present.

• Choirs have spread the virus, but through social contact, not voice projection techniques according to this report in The Guardian newspaper.
• A study of airflow in instruments reported in Wired, suggests however that “the flute is like a catapult”. Not good news there.

There is still much to be understood and my gut feeling is that the majority of the concerns at the moment relate to the flute and not necessarily the whistle. One speculated thought on the Facebook group is that blowing across the embouchure with force and direction may be an issue. If so, there may be a solution that has the added benefit of being a wind shield AND tone reflector. It’s the Win-D-Fender developed in the USA and carried in a few places in Europe and across the world.

Personally, I hope some additional thought goes into the name and the colour options as it seems functional and clinical (although in a world of PPE and face masks, maybe that is less of an issue). So here are a couple of videos endorsing the product (caveat: I’ve no idea if this works on wooden flutes).

Relating this to sessions, if this is helpful, then the airflow coming from out of the flute may then be the big issue. Sessions are often sight spaces and flutes tend to need more room than others. In a session with increased distancing, that may be a bigger issue. On the other hand, whistles are more self-contained and that may be an advantage.

Finally, on a more upbeat note, my own Lockdown tunes project on YouTube continues. Mostly Scottish repertoire, but not entirely. I hope you enjoy them.