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
Members of the western concert flute family is sometimes referred to as a "contrabass flute in G". An instrument in the key of G, pitched a fourth below the contrabass flute in C and two octaves below the alto flute in G; it is sometimes also called a double contra-alto flute. The double contrabass flute (sometimes also called octobass flute) is pitched in the key of C, three octaves below the concert flute (two octaves below the bass flute, and one octave below the contrabass flute). Its lowest note is C, one octave below the cello's lowest C. Despite the tendency of the larger sizes of flute