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,
Native American flute controversy. Native American names for the flute include: Alternative English-language names include: "American Indian courting flute", "courting flute", "Grandfather's flute", "Indian flute", "love flute", "Native American courting flute", "Native American love flute", "Native American style flute" (see the Indian Arts And Crafts Act), "North American flute", "Plains flute", and "Plains Indian courting flute". Names in other languages include: By convention, English-language uses of the name of the instrument are capitalized as "Native American flute". This is in keeping with the English-language capitalization of other musical instruments that use a cultural name, such as "French horn". The use of abbreviations (e.g.