Bass flute

The bass flute is a special kind of instrument that belongs to the flute family. It plays notes that are one octave lower than a regular concert flute. Because it is much longer—about 146 cm or 57 inches—it has a curved part near the top so the player can reach their mouth easily to play. Even though it is called a "bass" flute, its lowest notes are not as deep as you might think; they fall into a middle range called the tenor range.

This flute has a soft, gentle sound, which can sometimes get lost in big groups of instruments unless it is made louder with special equipment or played in a special way. But its unique sound in lower notes can be very beautiful, especially when played alone, in small groups, or in special groups of flutes called flute choirs. There is also a special version called the "bass flute in F" made by Kotato & Fukushima, which is known as a contra-alto flute.

Alternative terminology

Before the mid-20th century, some people in Great Britain called the alto flute the "bass flute." For example, in Holst's The Planets and works by Britten, the music for "bass flute in G" used the alto flute. In 1910, Abelardo Albisi made a special flute called the albisiphone. It was played in music by Mascagni and Zandonai and other composers in the early 1900s.

Range and construction

The bass flute can play notes from C₃ (or B₂) up to C₆. It sounds one octave lower than written music. Written notes above A₆ are hard to play.

These flutes usually have a C foot instead of a B foot. They are often made with silver-plated parts and include special keys to help with certain notes. Some designs use a graphite rod to support the flute’s weight, while others have added thumb supports.

Repertoire

Many composers now write music for the bass flute. Some of these pieces are Katherine Hoover’s Two for Two, Bill Douglas’s Karuna, and Sophie Lacaze’s Archelogos II. Other famous works are Mike Mower’s Obstinato and Scareso, Gary Schocker’s A Small Sonata for a Large Flute, and Lorenzo Ferrero’s Ellipse and Shadow Lines.

More music for the bass flute includes Tristan Murail’s Ethers, Brian Ferneyhough’s Mnemosyne, and Mario Lavista’s Lamento a la muerte de Raúl Lavista. There are also pieces by Michael Oliva, John Palmer, Shiva Feshareki, and Marc Tweedie. The bass flute is used in works like Claude Bolling’s Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio and Morton Feldman’s “Crippled Symmetry.”

Other use

Some jazz musicians play the bass flute. Flutist Jeremy Steig began using it in 1975. Other jazz players like saxophonists Henry Threadgill, Brian Landrus, and James Carter, and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson have also used it. Hubert Laws played the bass flute in his recording of "Amazing Grace."

In electronic music, Jack Dangers has used the bass flute. He leads the Meat Beat Manifesto.

You can hear the bass flute in George Bruns' music for The Jungle Book and the Pirates of the Caribbean_ ride.

One famous album with the bass flute is Wave by Antônio Carlos Jobim.

The music for the game Horizon Forbidden West by Guerrilla Games uses the bass flute in some songs.