Treble flute trill keys, and soldered keys. It is very similar to a piccolo, and plays in the same range, although, because it is a slightly larger instrument, it has a different quality at the upper end of its register, and it has an extended lower register, as compared with the piccolo. The instrument should not be confused with the Alto Flute, also in G, which is a larger instrument that transposing down by a fourth to the octave below the treble flute. Since the demise of the Renaissance flute consorts, the use of this treble flute in G seems to have
Double contrabass flute large flutes. Despite the tendency of the larger sizes of flute to be softer than their higher pitched relatives, the double contrabass flute has a relatively powerful tone, although it usually benefits from amplification in ensembles. The Japanese firm of Kotato & Fukushima sell their double contrabass flutes for US$38,000. Their main use has been in large flute choirs and occasionally in film scores. A double contrabass flute constructed of PVC, called a subcontrabass flute by its maker, the Dutch instrument maker Jelle Hogenhuis, has the tubing in a notably different arrangement from its metal counterpart. Although the PVC instrument