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 is sometimes referred to as a "contrabass flute in G". An instrument in the key of G, pitched a fourth below the contrabass flute in C and two octaves below the alto flute in G; it is sometimes also called a double contra-alto flute. The double contrabass flute (sometimes also called octobass flute) is pitched in the key of C, three octaves below the concert flute (two octaves below the bass flute, and one octave below the contrabass flute). Its lowest note is C, one octave below the cello's lowest C. Despite the tendency of the larger sizes of flute