ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the use and effect of the flute in the music of Genesis transcends that of a mere art music signifier, and focuses on the albums from Trespass to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. It aims to contextualize Peter Gabriel's flute-playing both within the music of the band and in relation to wider progressive rock practices and various musical traditions within which the flute is involved. The flute has had an interesting relationship with progressive rock; in a genre in which creative processes are dominated by ideals of eclecticism, experimentation and borrowing of elements from other musical styles, the flute appears to have multiple routes into the repertoire. Trespass forms the most extensive outing for the flute in the Genesis repertoire; the instrument is not used quite so frequently on later albums, but does make some significant appearances–most of which, as on Trespass, are restricted to gentler, less rock-oriented episodes.
