Western Concert Flute - Members of The Concert Flute Family

Members of The Concert Flute Family

From high to low, the members of the concert flute family include:

• Piccolo in C or D♭
• Treble flute in G
• Soprano flute in E♭
• Concert flute (also called C flute, Boehm flute, silver flute, or simply flute)
• Flûte d'amour (also called tenor flute) in B♭ or A
• Alto flute in G
• Bass flute in C
• Contra-alto flute in G
• Contrabass flute in C (also called octobass flute)
• Subcontrabass flute in G (also called double contra-alto flute) or C (also called double contrabass flute)
• Double contrabass flute in C (also called octocontrabass flute or subcontrabass flute)
• Hyperbass flute in C

Each of the above instruments has its own range. The piccolo reads music in C like the concert flute but sounds one octave higher. The alto flute is in the key of G, and extends the low register range of the flute to the G below middle C. Its highest note is a high G (4 ledger lines above the treble clef staff). The bass flute is an octave lower than the concert flute, and the contrabass flute is an octave lower than the bass flute.

Less commonly seen flutes include the treble flute in G, pitched one octave higher than the alto flute; the soprano flute, between the treble and concert; and the tenor flute or flûte d'amour in B♭ or A, pitched between the concert and alto.

The lowest sizes (larger than the bass flute) have all been developed in the 20th century; these include the sub-bass flute, which is pitched in F, between the bass and contrabass; the subcontrabass flute (pitched in G or C), the contra-alto flute (pitched in G, one octave below the alto), and the double contrabass flute in C, one octave lower than the contrabass. The flute sizes other than the concert flute and piccolo are sometimes called harmony flutes.