Treble flute trill keys, and soldered keys. It is very similar to a piccolo, and plays in the same range, although, because it is a slightly larger instrument, it has a different quality at the upper end of its register, and it has an extended lower register, as compared with the piccolo. The instrument should not be confused with the Alto Flute, also in G, which is a larger instrument that transposing down by a fourth to the octave below the treble flute. Since the demise of the Renaissance flute consorts, the use of this treble flute in G seems to have
The Old Orange Flute explanation but a facetious attribution to Edward Carson, the unionist politician. The song tells the story of Bob Williamson, a weaver of Dungannon, who is considered a "stout Orange blade" by his associates. However, "he married a Papist named Brigid McGinn. Turned Papish himself, he forsook the ould cause" and was compelled to flee to Connacht, taking with him his flute. Enrolled into a Catholic church choir, he finds that the flute will only play Protestant songs such as The Boyne Water. Eventually the priest buys him a new instrument and the flute is condemned to be burned for heresy,