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 many works by Britten, the music for "bass flute in G" actually used the alto flute. In 1910, Abelardo Albisi created a special flute called the albisiphone, which 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 and don’t sound their best unless the flute is specially made.

These flutes usually have a C foot instead of a B foot, making them easier and more pleasant to play. They are often made with silver-plated parts and include special keys to help with certain notes. Some designs, like those by Kotato, use a graphite rod to support the flute’s weight, while others have added thumb supports to help players hold the instrument better.

Repertoire

Many composers are now writing pieces for the bass flute. Some of these include Katherine Hoover’s Two for Two, Bill Douglas’s Karuna, and Sophie Lacaze’s Archelogos II. Other notable 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 pieces for the bass flute include Tristan Murail’s Ethers, Brian Ferneyhough’s Mnemosyne, and Mario Lavista’s Lamento a la muerte de Raúl Lavista. There are also works by Michael Oliva, John Palmer, Shiva Feshareki, and Marc Tweedie. The bass flute appears in pieces like Claude Bolling’s Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio and Morton Feldman’s “Crippled Symmetry.”

Other use

Some jazz musicians have played the bass flute. Flutist Jeremy Steig started using it in 1975 on his album Temple of Birth. 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 on his recording of "Amazing Grace."

In electronic music, Jack Dangers has used the bass flute as the leader of the Meat Beat Manifesto.

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

One of the most famous albums 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 songs like "By The Cold Light of Stars," "As Certain as Stone," and "These Stones Unturned."