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,
Overtone flute Overtone flute An overtone flute is a type of a flute that is designed to play in the upper harmonics, typically well above the two or three harmonics that are the practical limit for most woodwind instruments. An overtone flute has either no tone holes, or relatively few tone holes for a woodwind instrument. To make melodies, one plays it high into the overtone series. One series of harmonics is achieved by overblowing with the end of the tube open and another is achieved with the end closed. This means that most overtone flutes are limited to producing only those