The alto flute is an instrument in the Western concert flute family, pitched below the standard C flute and the uncommon flûte d'amour. It is the third most common member of its family after the standard C flute and the piccolo. It is characterized by its rich, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range. The bore of the alto flute is considerably larger in diameter and longer than the C flute[1] and requires a larger column of air (volume of air) from the player, though it also requires a slower airspeed. This gives it a greater dynamic presence in the bottom octave and a half of its range. Its range is from G3 (the G below middle C) to G6 (4 ledger lines above the treble clef staff) plus an altissimo register stretching to D♭7. It uses the same fingerings as the C flute and piccolo, but is a transposing instrument in G (sounding a perfect fourth lower than written).
British music that uses this instrument often refers to it as a bass flute, which can be confusing since there is a distinct instrument known by that name. This naming confusion originated in the fact that the modern flute in C is pitched in the same range as the Renaissance tenor flute; therefore, a lower pitched instrument would be called a bass.
^"The Kingma System Alto Flute: A Practical Guide for Composers and Performers". www.altoflute.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
The altoflute is an instrument in the Western concert flute family, pitched below the standard C flute and the uncommon flûte d'amour. It is the third...
orchestras, flute ensembles, and occasionally jazz bands and big bands. Other flutes in this family include the piccolo, the altoflute, and the bass flute. A...
and flute choirs. The "bass flute in F" produced by Kotato & Fukushima is a contra-altoflute. Prior to the mid-20th century, the term "bass flute" was...
hyperbass flute. Subcontrabass flutes are made either in the key of G (pitched a fourth below the contrabass flute in C and two octaves below the altoflute in...
"contrabass flute in G," or a contra-altoflute technically, as it is pitched a fourth below the bass flute and an octave lower than the altoflute. Another...
D♭ piccolo, E♭ soprano flute (Keyed a minor 3rd above the standard C flute), F altoflute, and B♭ bass flute. The bamboo flute is an important instrument...
Another is George Crumb's Madrigals, Book II for soprano, flute (doubling piccolo/altoflute), and percussion. Other examples include a trio for piccolo...
confused with the altoflute, also in G, which is a larger instrument that transposes down a fourth to the octave below the treble flute. Since the demise...
concert flute is commonly used in jazz playing; other members of the same family are used, such as the altoflute in G. Ethnic and other flutes, such as...
1, for altoflute, piano, violin, and cello (1960) Durations 2, for cello and piano (1960) Piece for Seven Instruments, for flute, altoflute, trumpet...
was also released by Posi-Tone. On it, she plays alto and soprano saxophones, flute, and altoflute. Tarantino's debut album as leader, Winds of Change...
2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations...
Michael Finnissy. World (1968/74), for 6 voices, 2 flutes (both doubling piccolo and the second altoflute), 2 oboes (one doubling oboe d'amore, the other...
clarinet Contrabass flute, two octaves below the C concert flute Subcontrabass flute, two octaves below the altoflute Double contrabass flute, three octaves...
altoflute and basset-horn; Ave (1984-85), for basset horn and altoflute; In Freundschaft (1977) for solo instrument, exists in a version for alto clarinet...
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