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,
Jazz flute call for it. The timbre and the limited dynamic range of the instrument and its associations with classical music caused it to be perceived as unsuitable to big band ensembles and unable to swing convincingly. Before the use of amplification became common practice in the 1930s, jazz flute players were restricted to the upper range of the instrument to be audible. Among the earliest jazz flute recordings is "Shootin' the Pistol," performed by the Cuban clarinettist and bandleader Alberto Socarras with the Clarence Williams band in 1927. The first jazzman to make extensive use of the flute was Wayman Carver,