Contrabass flute

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Contrabass flutes in G and C

The contrabass flute (sometimes also called octobass flute) is one of the rarer members of the flute family. It is used mostly in flute ensembles. Its range is similar to that of the regular concert flute, except that it is pitched two octaves lower; the lowest performable note is two octaves below middle C (the lowest C on the cello). Contrabass flutes are only available from select flute makers.

Sometimes referred to as the "gentle giant" of the flute family, the contrabass retains the facility for trills and flautando, as found elsewhere in the flute world. Ease of arpeggiation is moderate and thus equivalent to the rest of the flute family. The upper registers (middle C and above) lack the strength of tone found in its cousins; the strongest register is arguably that between G1 and G2.

The contrabass flute requires much greater force of breath to produce sound than most other wind instruments, and composers who write for this instrument might consider more frequent breaks in phrasing than one would when writing for smaller flutes.

Contemporary musicians using the contrabass flute include Madeleine Bischof, Pierre-Yves Artaud, Matthias Ziegler, and Stefan Keller. Vinny Golia also plays the contrabass flute, along with all the other sizes of flute, and has recorded with it on the CD Music for Like Instruments: The Flutes, in a quartet with three other flutists.

The contrabass flute in C produced by the Japanese firm of Kotato & Fukushima sells for US$20,000[1], and that made by Eva Kingma sells for US$16,000.

Contrabass flutes have also been made from PVC pipe, by the Dutch flute maker Jelle Hogenhuis. It is reported that while it might be thought that an instrument made from PVC would be inferior, the PVC allows for a louder instrument if the wall thickness is kept small. PVC also permits more rough treatment, as the plastic instrument can be bumped without denting.[2]

Instrument maker Eva Kingma produces a "contrabass flute in G," pitched a fourth below the bass flute and an octave lower than the alto flute; it is, thus, technically, a contra-alto flute.