You say potato, I say potahto, you say flutist, I say flautist. Well, actually I don’t say flautist, and neither do any of the flute players I know. The Italian word for flute is flauto, and for flutist, flautista, and that’s where “flautist” comes from – although “flutist” is in fact an older term. Some sources say that “flautist” is more of a British usage, and “flutist” American. That may be true, but I think there’s something else going on: I think “flautist” is somehow a fancier-sounding term than “flutist” – a more “high-brow-sounding” term. And since classical music has long been saddled with too much unfortunate high-brow baggage, many non-musicians fear that they may sound ignorant and uncultured if they choose the simple “flutist” over the fancy “flautist.” The result is often the flutist-flautist paralysis syndrome – which can get very uncomfortable if a friendly flute player doesn’t arrive on the scene to clear things up. But wait… what about pianist—pee-anist? Well, that one’s up to you. But don’t worry – you’re safe either way.
A Minute with Miles - a production of ETV Radio made possible by the JM Smith Corporation .