The contra-alto flute is one of the largest instruments in the flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

 family.

It is in the key of G (or sometimes F), pitched one octave below the alto flute

Alto flute

The alto flute is a type of Western concert flute, a musical instrument in the woodwind family. It is the next extension downward of the C flute after the flûte d'amour. It is characterized by its distinct, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range...

, and a fourth below the bass flute

Bass flute

The bass flute is the bass member of the flute family. It is in the key of C, pitched one octave below the concert flute. Because of the length of its tube , it is usually made with a "J" shaped head joint, which brings the embouchure hole within reach of the player...

. It is so large that the instrument's body is held vertically, with an adjustable floor peg similar to that of the bass clarinet

Bass clarinet

The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...

.

The instrument maker Eva Kingma calls her contra-alto flute a "contr'alto flute in G," and Kotato & Fukushima call their instrument "bass flute in F." Kotato & Fukushima's instrument sells for US$17,500.

For an extensive list of repertoire for bass flute and contrabass flute see: Peter van Munster, Repertoire Catalogue for Piccolo, Alto Flute and Bass Flute, Roma: Riverberi Sonori, 2004.

External links

• Eva Kingma contr'alto flute in G