Bass flute
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The bass flute is the bass member of the flute family. It is in the key of C, pitched one octave below the concert flute. Because of the length of its tube (approximately 146 cm), it is usually made with a "J" shaped head joint, which brings the embouchure hole within reach of the player. It is usually only used in flute choirs, as it is easily drowned out by other instruments of comparable register, such as the clarinet.
[edit] Alternate terminology
Prior to the mid-20th century, the term "bass flute" was sometimes used, especially in Great Britain, to refer to the alto flute instead ( for example: the part for "bass flute in G" in Gustav Holst's The Planets).
[edit] Range and construction
The instrument's sounding range is from C3, one octave below middle C, to C6 two ledger lines above the staff. Bass flute music is written an octave higher than it sounds which is the typical concert flute range (C4 to C7). Notes written above A6 are not often used as they are difficult to produce and have inferior tone. Because manufacturers do not taper the flute body through the curve, intonation of all notes beginning with written D6 and higher tend sharp. The player can bend them in tune through blowing technique or use alternate fingerings.
Bass flutes often have a C foot rather than the B foot common to other flutes. The shorter tube reduces acoustic resistance which quickens the response and brightens the tone, making it more lively and resonant. It also makes it lighter so it doesn't wear out the arms of player.
Bass flutes are most often made with silver plated bodies and head joints. Most basses come with trill keys which allow the player to stabilize some otherwise unstable middle register notes as well as trill between otherwise impossible notes. Kotato basses have solved the weight problem of bass flutes by designing a graphite rod which screws onto the underside of the instrument which then rests on the chair seat between the players legs. Other manufacturers have added a left hand thumb support called a crutch which helps some players to physically control the instrument.
[edit] Repertoire
Many composers are beginning to write more for the bass flute including Katherine Hoover's Two for Two, Bill Douglas's Karuna, Mike Mower's Obstinato and Scareso, Sonny Burnett's Stone Suite and Catherine McMichael's Baikal Journey and Ennio Morricone's Secrets of the Sahara. Tristan Murail's Ethers is scored for solo bass flute and small ensemble and Tan Dun's Paper Concerto for Paper Instruments and Orchestra has a major bass flute part.
For an extensive list of repertoire for bass flute and contrabass flute see: Peter van Munster, Repertoire Catalogue for Piccolo, Alto Flute and Bass Flute, Roma: Riverberi Sonori, 2004 and the website [altoflute.net] for a searchable and downloadable catalogue. Selected repertoire graded into ability levels with short descriptions and information about basses can be found in The Alto and Bass Flute Resource Guide published by Falls House Press.
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