Gizmo key
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The gizmo key is a key commonly found on the B foot joint of certain models of flute that closes the low B tone hole without closing the low C or C# hole. This facilitates the performance of a fourth octave C.
The gizmo key was introduced by Verne Q. Powell (Powell Flutes), in response to criticisms of the B foot joint by performers such as Jean Pierre Rampal, who believed that the lengthened tube made it harder for them to produce the highest notes. It is now commonplace on the instrument.
[edit] References
- Nancy Toff, The Flute Book (Charles's Scribners Sons, 1985). The Development of the Modern Flute, pp. 23-24