Flute The wood is usually African Blackwood. The standard concert flute is pitched in C and has a range of three octaves starting from middle C or one half step lower when a B foot is attached. This means the concert flute is one of the highest common orchestra and concert band instruments. The piccolo plays an octave higher than the regular treble flute. Lower members of the flute family include the G alto and C bass flutes that are used occasionally, and are pitched a perfect fourth and an octave below the concert flute, respectively. The contrabass, double contrabass, and
The Magic Flute troupe, tenor Benedikt Schack (the first Tamino), and had contributed to the compositions of the troupe, which were often collaboratively written. Mozart's participation increased with his contributions to the 1790 collaborative opera "Der Stein der Weisen" ("The Philosopher's Stone"), including the duet ("Nun liebes Weibchen", K. 625/592a) among other passages. Like "The Magic Flute", "Der Stein der Weisen" was a fairy-tale opera and can be considered a kind of precursor; it employed much the same cast in similar roles. The libretto for "The Magic Flute", written by Schikaneder, is thought by scholars to be based on many sources. Some works