FIRST, if you have not heard actually “low flutes” or you just want a couple of great links for reference, head over to YouTube. You can spend hours finding out about sizes, materials, music and more. These low flutes are now solo instruments in their own right as well as now being included extensively in flute choir compositions!
Get Low With This Enormous Flute
World’s Largest Flute: the Subcontrabass
Jose Valentino Beatboxing on Double contrabass flute
Concerto AURORE / Sunrise Concerto – Sophie Dufeutrelle (extrait)
You’ve got the idea, just look up low flutes on YouTube.
Next, if you are the type that likes books –
Alto & Bass Flute Resource Books
Christine Potter; Falls House Press, 2005
- Fingerings for intonation issues
- Repertoire recommendations
- Composer guidelines
- Tone, Tonguing
- History of the instruments
An Artist’s Guide to Alto and Bass Flute
Irene Maddox; Alry Publications Etc., Inc.
- Fingering Charts
- Hand Stretching Exercise
- Musical Excerpts
… and much more.
On to the web…
Dana Sheridan
- Repertoire for low flutes – Graded, with comments about difficulty
- Pictures
- Audio samples
National Flute Association members:
nfaonline.org/committees/lowflutescommittee
- Separate alto and bass flute repertoire lists
- Low flute manufactures list (Long!)
And just when you thought that you had seen every possible list showing music difficulty grading and instrumentation, get a load of the instrumentation list included here:
Abbreviations as follows:
alfl = alto flute
bfl = bass flute
cbfl = contra bass flute
CD = compact disc included/available
fl = flute
pf = piano
scbfl = sub contra bass flute
alfl/bfl: one player switches between alto and bass
alfl(bfl): the piece could be played on either instrument
alfl, bfl: one person plays alto, a second person plays bass
The NFA Pedagogy Committee has a list of article links which includes:
The Alto Flute in G and the Bass Flute in C: The Flutists approach to Playing These Instruments by Sarah Baird Fouse (Volume 1)
For recommended brands to try, where to find instruments, music for alto and bass, a description of performance aids and, a listing of recommended low flutes repair people, go to:
Christopher Potter Alto & Bass