Members of the western concert flute family or private collections. This distinctive sounding instrument is rarely found at present. A few American publications for flute choir currently include a part for an E (soprano) flute, an instrument pitched a minor third higher than the standard C flute. In these publications, an alternative part is provided either for the C flute or for the piccolo. The standard concert flute is by far the most common member of the flute family. The flute is used in many ensembles including concert bands, orchestras, flute ensembles, occasionally jazz bands and big bands. The instrument is pitched in C and has a
Contrabass flute Phyllis Avidan Louke, and Judy Nishimura, among others. One is a "contrabass flute in G," pitched a fourth below the bass flute and an octave lower than the alto flute; thus, this is technically, a contra-alto flute. The other instrument is a "subcontrabass flute in G" pitched one octave below the contra-alto flute, or two octaves below the alto flute in G. Kotato & Fukushima also produce a "subcontrabass flute in C", a large, deep instrument pitched a full octave below the contrabass flute in C. Contrabass flute The contrabass flute is one of the rarer members of the flute