Lizzo is a chart-topping singer, rapper, and classically trained flute player. This past October, she was in Washington, D.C., on tour. During her visit, the Library of Congress invited Lizzo to view its collection of more than 1,700 antique flutes. The singer was even able to try out some of the instruments, including a 200-year-old glass flute that once belonged to the fourth U.S. president, James Madison.
To play a flute, a musician blows across a narrow opening at the end of the instrument. This causes air molecules to vibrate inside the flute, creating a sound wave, or vibration that travels along the length of the tube, explains Shubha Tewari, a physicist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Flutes today are made of metal. Glass flutes, which produce a clear, bright tone, were popular in the 19th century.
The next night, Lizzo played Madison’s glass flute to a stadium packed with fans. “Thank you to the Library of Congress for preserving our history,” she exclaimed.