bass flute

Its soft dynamic range means in large ensembles it is easily obscured unless amplified or lightly scored; however its unique timbre in the low register can be very effective, especially in solo works, small ensembles, and flute choirs. The "bass flute in F" produced by Kotato & Fukushima is a contra-alto flute.

• Name — Bass Flute • Background — woodwind • Classification — * Woodwind • Wind • Aerophone • Hornbostel Sachs — 421.121.12-71 • Hornbostel Sachs Desc — Side-blown Aerophone with tone holes and keys • Range — { \new Staff \with { \remove "Time_signature_engraver" } \clef treble \key c \major \cadenzaOn c'1 ^ \markup "written" \glissando a1

Prior to the mid-20th century, the term "bass flute" was sometimes used, especially in Great Britain, to refer to the alto flute; for example, the part for "bass flute in G" in Holst's The Planets, and many works by Britten. In 1910, Abelardo Albisi invented a bass flute known as the albisiphone which was used in scores by Mascagni and Zandonai among other composers during the first half of the 20th century.

The instrument's sounding range is from C 3 (or B 2 if a B Foot Joint), one octave below middle C, to C 6, two octaves above middle C. Bass flute music sounds an octave lower than it is written, which is the typical concert flute range (C 4 to C 7). Notes written above A 6 are not often used as they are difficult to produce and have inferior tone unless the instrument is tapered through the curve. Because manufacturers do not taper the flute body through the curve, intonation of all notes beginning with written D 6 and higher tends to be sharp. The player can bend them in tune with the embouchure, or use alternative fingerings. Bass flutes often have a C foot rather than the B foot common to other flutes. The shorter tube reduces acoustic resistance, which quickens the response and makes the tone brighter, livelier, and more resonant. The shorter tube also makes the instrument somewhat lighter and less fatiguing for the player to hold. Bass flutes are most often made with silver-plated bodies and head joints. Most basses come with trill keys which allow the player to stabilize some otherwise unstable middle register notes as well as trill between otherwise impossible notes. Kotato basses have addressed the weight problem of bass flutes by designing a graphite rod that screws onto the underside of the instrument and then rests on the chair seat between the player's legs. Adjustable rods have also been developed by Jeff Amos. Other manufacturers have added a left hand thumb support called a crutch, which helps some players with physical control of the instrument. Dutch flute maker Eva Kingma has created a vertical design for the bass flute which allows the weight of the instrument to be supported by the floor.

A handful of jazz musicians have used the bass flute, including flutist Jeremy Steig, beginning with his 1975 album Temple of Birth, saxophonists Henry Threadgill, Brian Landrus, and James Carter, and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson who occasionally played bass flute as a second instrument. Hubert Laws features the bass flute on his recording of "Amazing Grace", in which he plays the first verse on bass flute, the second on alto, and the third on soprano. Steig later took up the Kotato & Fukushima bass flute in F. In electronic music, Jack Dangers has sometimes used bass flute as the leader of the Meat Beat Manifesto. A bass flute is heard throughout George Bruns' score for The Jungle Book and the original Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Perhaps the best-known work to feature the bass flute is the album Wave by Antônio Carlos Jobim. The soundtrack of Guerrilla Games' Horizon Forbidden West features bass flute prominently, such as in "By The Cold Light of Stars", "As Certain as Stone" and "These Stones Unturned".