Overtone flute refers to a type of a flute that is designed to play in the upper harmonics, typically well above the two or three harmonics that are the practical limit for most woodwind instruments. Overtone flutes either lack tone holes or have significantly fewer tone holes that most woodwind instruments. They rely on their ability to play high into the harmonic overtone series in order to play melodies. This means that most overtone flutes are limited to producing only those notes from a natural scale.
Overtone flutes typically have relatively long resonating chamber compared it its diameter or cross sectional area, which encourages the instrument to resonate in the higher harmonics. This also makes it either difficult to play or very quiet when attempting to play the instrument in the first harmonic.
Read more about Overtone Flute: Examples of Overtone Flutes
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