Western concert flute Western concert flute The Western concert flute is a transverse (side-blown) woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, flute player, or (rarely) fluter. This type of flute is used in many ensembles including concert bands, military bands, marching bands, orchestras, flute ensembles, and occasionally jazz bands and big bands. Other flutes in this family include the piccolo, alto flute, and the bass flute. A large repertory of works has been composed for flute. The flute is one of the oldest
Alto flute the bottom octave and a half of its range. It was the favourite flute variety of Theobald Boehm, who perfected its design, and is pitched in the key of G (sounding a perfect fourth lower than written). Its range is from G (the G below middle C) to G (4 ledger lines above the treble clef staff) plus an altissimo register stretching to D. The headjoint may be straight or curved. British music that uses this instrument often refers to it as a bass flute, which can be confusing since there is a distinct instrument known by that name. This