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Transverse flutes
Among edge blown flutes there is a division between side-blown (or transverse) flutes, such as the Western concert flute, piccolo, fife, dizi, and bansuri; and end-blown flutes, such as the ney, kaval, quena, shakuhachi and xiao. The player of a side-blown flute uses a hole on the side of the tube to produce a tone, instead of blowing on an end of the tube. The earliest transverse flute is a chi flute discovered in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng at the Suizhou site, Hubei province, China. It dates from 433 BC, of the later Zhou Dynasty. It is of lacquered bamboo with closed ends. It has five stops that are at the flute's side instead of top. Chi flutes are mentioned in Shi Jing, compiled and edited by Confucius.
Tacana man playing transverse flute
Americas: Bolivia, Tacana
I have memories of a Tacana man playing a transverse flute outside our house in Ixiamas early in the mornings. I have two samples of this type of Tacana transverse flute in my collection.
India
The bansuri (Hindi: बांसुरी) is a transverse alto flute of India and Pakistan, made of a single length of bamboo with six or seven open finger holes. An ancient musical instrument associated with cowherds and the pastoral tradition, it is intimately linked to the love story of Krishna and Radha, and is depicted in Buddhist paintings from around 100 AD. The North Indian bansuri, typically about 14 inches long, was traditionally used as a soprano instrument primarily for accompaniment in lighter compositions including film music. Its introduction for serious Hindustani Classical Music is credited to Pandit Pannalal Ghosh.
The venu is a bamboo transverse flute used in the Carnatic music of South India. Although it is often called Carnatic flute or simply flute in English, venu (properly transliterated with a dot under the "n") is the instrument's ancient Sanskrit name. It is also called by various other names in the languages of South India, including kuzhal or pullanguzhal (in both Tamil and Malayalam). The instrument is keyless and the fingers of both hands are used to close and open the holes. It has a blowing hole near one end, and eight closely placed finger holes. The instrument comes in various sizes.
Bangladesh
In days gone by, young rakhals (cowherds) playing banshi (bamboo flute) under banyan trees was a common sight in rural Bengal. Today the scene has changed. One exception, however, is city dweller Labu Mian who 30 years ago embarked on his mission to acquaint urbanites with the instrument of the rakhals. I have a set of banshi I picked up in Dhaka in 2008. The largest is 34.5 inches long (27.5 inches acoustic length) and plays a lo F# root note.
Korea
The daegeum (also spelled taegum or taegŭm) is a large bamboo transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. It has a buzzing membrane that gives it a special timbre. It is used in court, aristocratic, and folk music, as well as in contemporary classical music, popular music, and film scores. Smaller flutes in the same family include the junggeum and sogeum, neither of which have a buzzing membrane.
China
The dizi (pinyin: dízi), is a Chinese transverse flute. It is also sometimes known as the di or hengdi, and has varieties including the qudi  and bangdi . These names are likely to have multiple spellings, too, depending on the transliteration used to convert from Chinese names. Nonetheless, dizi seems to be the most common name (and written form) used in the West. The dizi is a major Chinese musical instrument, popular not only in Chinese folk music, Chinese operas, and Chinese orchestras, but also used in music exported to the west. The dizi has a deep, rich history, and a lasting appeal. Traditionally, the dizi has also been popular among the Chinese common people, since it is simple to make, easy to carry, and beautiful when played.
Most dizi are made of bamboo, which explains why dizi are sometimes known by simple names such as "Chinese bamboo flute." However, "bamboo" is perhaps more of a Chinese instrument classification like "woodwind" in the West.
Japan
The ryūteki is a Japanese transverse flute made of bamboo. It is used in gagaku, the Shinto classical music associated with Japan's imperial court. The instrument's name means "dragon flute." The sound of the ryūteki is said to represent the dragons which ascend the skies between the heavenly lights (represented by the shō) and the people of the earth (represented by the hichiriki). The ryūteki is one of the three flutes used in gagaku, in particular to play songs of Chinese style. The pitch is lower than that of the komabue and higher than that of the kagurabue. Nokan is very similar but is an unpitched flute. Each flute has diffferent tunings. Approx. 39cm.
Shinobue (also called takebue) is a Japanese transverse flute that has a high-pitched sound. It is found in hayashi and nagauta ensembles, and plays important roles in noh and kabuki theatre music. It is heard in Shinto music such as kagura-den, as well as in traditional Japanese folk songs.This thin bamboo transverse flute is often used in Japanese festival music, accompanied by drums and gongs and also in Kabuki Theatre. In a style known as nagauta, where the voice and shamisen provide the basic melody, the shinobue plays an obbligato. This instrument is available in twelve different sizes.
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