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
Transposing instrument in these families have differing ranges, with the members sounding lower as they get larger; but an identical pattern of fingerings on two instruments in the same family produces pitches a fixed interval apart. For example, the fingerings which produce the notes of a C major scale on a standard flute, a non-transposing instrument, produce a G major scale on an alto flute. As a result, these instruments' parts are notated so that the written notes are fingered the same way on each instrument, making it easier for a single instrumentalist to play several instruments in the same family. Instruments