Five-key flute Five-key flute The five-key flute is a musical instrument once common in school marching bands, and composed of wood with metal keys. It is a transposing instrument, most commonly in Bb, this variant being known as the Bb flute and sounding one tone below the orchestral piccolo. The next most common variant is the Eb flute, sounding a fifth below the Bb flute and used as its bass instrument in band harmonies. It is now often found in British military corps of drums, often playing various regimental marches. As the name suggests, the five-key flute most commonly has five keys,
Members of the western concert flute family range of just over three octaves starting from the musical note C (corresponding to middle C on the piano), however, some experienced flautists are able to reach C. Many professional flutes have a longer B-foot joint, which can reach B. The "flûte d'amour" or "flauto d'amore" is pitched in either A or B and is intermediate in size between the modern C concert flute and the alto flute in G. It is the mezzo-soprano member of the flute family. It is sometimes referred to as a tenor flute. The range of the instrument is from A to E. The B