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,
Bass flute 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. Many composers are beginning to write more pieces for the bass flute. These include Katherine Hoover's "Two for Two", Bill Douglas's "Karuna", Sophie Lacaze's "Archelogos II", Mike Mower's "Obstinato" and "Scareso", Gary Schocker's "A Small Sonata for a Large Flute", Lorenzo Ferrero's "Ellipse" and "Shadow Lines", Sonny Burnett's "Stone Suite", Catherine McMichael's "Baikal Journey" and Ennio Morricone's "Secrets of the Sahara". Other important works include Tristan Murail's "Ethers" for solo bass flute and