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Woodwind instrument | |
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Classification | |
Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 421.121.12-71 (Side-blown Aerophone with tone holes and keys) |
Playing range | |
Tessitura of the contrabass flute is C2–C4, sounding two octaves lower than written. | |
Related instruments | |
Flutes: |
The contrabass flute is one of the rarer members of the flute family. Typically seen in flute ensembles, it is sometimes also used in solo and chamber music situations. Its range is similar to the regular concert flute, except it is pitched two octaves lower; the lowest performable note is two octaves below middle C (the lowest C on the cello). Many contrabass flutes in C are also equipped with a low B (in the same manner as many modern standard-sized flutes are). Contrabass flutes are only available from select flute makers.
The contrabass retains the facility for trills, as found elsewhere in the flute world. The contrabass' ease of arpeggiation is moderate and thus equivalent to the rest of the flute family. The contrabass flute requires a much greater air volume to produce sound than most other wind instruments, and a broader, slower air stream is needed to produce a solid tone. The upper registers (middle C and above) lack the tonal strength found in its cousins; the strongest register is arguably between G2 and G3. The low register (below G2) has similar qualities to the bassoon. [1]
Contemporary musicians using the contrabass flute include Paige Dashner Long, Andy Findon, Laura Hyder, Madeleine Bischof, Pierre-Yves Artaud, Matthias Ziegler, Stefan Keller, Ned McGowan, Peter Sheridan, Patricia García, Sérgio Morais, David Lamont, Patrick Shaw Iversen, Vinny Golia and André 3000. Golia plays all flute sizes and recorded the CD Music for Like Instruments: The Flutes with a quartet of three other flutists.[ citation needed ]
The contrabass flute in C is produced by Jean-Yves Roosen (France), [2] by the Japanese firm Kotato & Fukushima, Eva Kingma, Pearl, Di Zhao, and Christian Jäger from Munich. Jupiter Flutes has created a student model for flute ensembles. Kotato & Fukushima is one of the few sellers of double contrabass flutes.
Contrabass flutes have also been made from PVC pipe by the Dutch flute maker Jelle Hogenhuis. [3] If the wall thickness is kept small, the PVC creates a louder contrabass. PVC can also sustain more rough treatment.
New solo and chamber music is being composed for this instrument. Performer Peter Sheridan has commissioned numerous works from composers worldwide, including Alex Shapiro, Patrick Neher, Vinny Golia, Bruce Lawrence, Adrienne Albert, and Sheridon Stokes.[ citation needed ] As a virtuoso solo instrument, some concertos have been composed for the contrabass flute. Catherine McMichael composed a concerto for low flutes and orchestra in 2006 entitled 'Three Philosophies', in which one of the movements features the contrabass flute. In April 2008, the well-structured[ citation needed ] concerto "Bantammer's Swing" for contrabass flute and chamber orchestra by Ned McGowan premiered in Carnegie Hall. In 2010, the 'Lyric Concerto' for contrabass flute and strings was commissioned by Sheridan from the late Australian composer Bruce Lawrence. 'Nola' by composer Benjamin Yusapov was commissioned by the international soloist Matthias Ziegler for multiple low flutes and orchestra. Numerous composers have written for the contrabass flute, including Wil Offermans, Robert Dick, Thomas Seelig, Andrew Downes, Catherine McMichael, Phill Niblock, Günter Steinke, Juan Cerono, Nicolás Medero Larrosa, Fernando Curiel, Mariano Rocca, Angeles Rojas, Jorge Chikiar, Esteban Sebastiani, Valentin Pelisch, and Ezequiel Menalled.[ citation needed ]
Furthermore, the contrabass flute is utilized more in the flute choir, with most newer pieces including a part for the instrument.[ citation needed ] Though the part is either a duplicate or simplification of the bass flute part for many pieces, some of the newest repertoires include an independent contrabass flute part. Composers of such pieces include Peter Senchuk, Toby Caplan-Stonefield, Lawrence Ink, Phyllis Avidan Louke, and Judy Nishimura, among others.
One variation is a "contrabass flute in G," or a contra-alto flute technically, as it is pitched a fourth below the bass flute and an octave lower than the alto flute. Another instrument is the sub-contrabass flute in G, pitched one octave below the contra-alto flute or two octaves below the alto flute in G. Kotato & Fukushima also produce a "sub-contrabass flute in C", or double contrabass flute pitched a full octave below the contrabass flute.
The contrabass flute is one of the unusual instruments that were chosen to create the signature sound of the Horizon game series. [4]
The double bass, also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched chordophone in the modern symphony orchestra. Similar in structure to the cello, it has four or five strings.
The saxophone is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to produce a sound wave inside the instrument's body. The pitch is controlled by opening and closing holes in the body to change the effective length of the tube. The holes are closed by leather pads attached to keys operated by the player. Saxophones are made in various sizes and are almost always treated as transposing instruments. A person who plays the saxophone is called a saxophonist or saxist.
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B♭ clarinet, it is usually pitched in B♭, but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B♭ clarinet. Bass clarinets in other keys, notably C and A, also exist, but are very rare. Bass clarinets regularly perform in orchestras, wind ensembles and concert bands, and occasionally in marching bands, and play an occasional solo role in contemporary music and jazz in particular.
Contrabass refers to several musical instruments of very low pitch—generally one octave below bass register instruments. While the term most commonly refers to the double bass, many other instruments in the contrabass register exist.
The contrabass clarinet (also pedal clarinet, after the pedals of pipe organs) and contra-alto clarinet are the two largest members of the clarinet family that are in common usage. Modern contrabass clarinets are transposing instruments pitched in B♭, sounding two octaves lower than the common B♭ soprano clarinet and one octave below the bass clarinet. Some contrabass clarinet models have extra keys to extend the range down to low written E♭3, D3 or C3. This gives a tessitura written range, notated in treble clef, of C3 – F6, which sounds B♭0 – E♭4. Some early instruments were pitched in C; Arnold Schoenberg's Fünf Orchesterstücke specifies a contrabass clarinet in A, but there is no evidence such an instrument has ever existed.
The contra-alto clarinet, E♭ contrabass clarinet, is a large clarinet pitched a perfect fifth below the B♭ bass clarinet. It is a transposing instrument in E♭ sounding an octave and a major sixth below its written pitch, between the bass clarinet and the B♭ contrabass clarinet.
The alto flute is an instrument in the Western concert flute family, pitched below the standard C flute and the uncommon flûte d'amour. It is the third most common member of its family after the standard C flute and the piccolo. It is characterized by its rich, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range. The bore of the alto flute is considerably larger in diameter and longer than the C flute and requires a larger column of air (volume of air) from the player, though it also requires a slower airspeed. This gives it a greater dynamic presence in the bottom octave and a half of its range. Its range is from G3 (the G below middle C) to G6 (4 ledger lines above the treble clef staff) plus an altissimo register stretching to D♭7. It uses the same fingerings as the C flute and piccolo, but is a transposing instrument in G (sounding a perfect fourth lower than written).
The bass flute is a member of the flute family pitched one octave below the concert flute. The tubing length is twice as long at 146 cm (57 in), which requires a J-shaped head joint to bring the embouchure hole within reach of the player. Despite its name, its lowest note of C3 or B2 places its lowest octave only in the tenor range. Its soft dynamic range means in large ensembles it is easily obscured unless amplified or lightly scored; however its unique timbre in the low register can be very effective, especially in solo works, small ensembles, and flute choirs. The "bass flute in F" produced by Kotato & Fukushima is a contra-alto flute.
The Western concert flute is a family of transverse (side-blown) woodwind instruments made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a “flautist” in British English, and a “flutist” in American English.
The alto clarinet is a woodwind instrument of the clarinet family. It is a transposing instrument pitched in the key of E♭, though instruments in F have been made. In size it lies between the soprano clarinet and the bass clarinet. It bears a greater resemblance to the bass clarinet in that it typically has a straight body, but a curved neck and bell made of metal. All-metal alto clarinets also exist. In appearance it strongly resembles the basset horn, but usually differs in three respects: it is pitched a whole step lower, it lacks an extended lower range, and it has a wider bore than many basset horns.
The subcontrabass flute is a member of the Western concert flute family. With the length of tubing ranging from 15 feet (4.6 m) to 18 feet (5.5 m) long, it is the second largest instrument of the family after the hyperbass flute.
The contrabass saxophone is the second-lowest-pitched extant member of the saxophone family proper. It is pitched in E♭ one octave below the baritone saxophone, which requires twice the length of tubing and bore width. This renders a very large and heavy instrument, standing approximately 2 metres tall and weighing around 20 kilograms (44 lb). Despite this, it was used in marching bands in the early 20th century.
The bass saxophone is one of the lowest-pitched members of the saxophone family—larger and lower than the more common baritone saxophone. It was likely the first type of saxophone built by Adolphe Sax, as first observed by Berlioz in 1842. It is a transposing instrument pitched in B♭, an octave below the tenor saxophone and a perfect fourth below the baritone saxophone. A bass saxophone in C, intended for orchestral use, was included in Adolphe Sax's patent, but few known examples were built. The bass saxophone is not a commonly used instrument, but it is heard on some 1920s jazz recordings, in free jazz, in saxophone choirs and sextets, and occasionally in concert bands and rock music.
The term violone can refer to several distinct large, bowed musical instruments which belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted instrument, and may have six, five, four, or even only three strings. The violone is also not always a contrabass instrument. In modern parlance, one usually tries to clarify the 'type' of violone by adding a qualifier based on the tuning or on geography, or by using other terms that have a more precise connotation. The term violone may be used correctly to describe many different instruments, yet distinguishing among these types can be difficult, especially for those not familiar with the historical instruments of the viol and violin families and their respective variations in tuning.
The contra-alto flute is a large member of the flute family, pitched between the bass and the contrabass. It is a transposing instrument either in G or in F. The instrument's body is held vertically with an adjustable floor peg similar to that of the bass clarinet. The instrument maker Eva Kingma calls her contra-alto flute a "contr'alto flute in G," while Kotato & Fukushima call their instrument a "bass flute in F." Kotato & Fukushima's instrument sells for US$17,500.
The hyperbass flute is conceptually the largest and lowest-pitched instrument in the flute family, although it is extremely rare. It first appeared at the turn of the 21st century, and only two are known to exist. With tubing reaching over 8 metres (26 ft) in length, it is pitched in C, four octaves below the concert flute (three octaves below the bass, two below the contrabass, and one octave below the double contrabass). Its lowest note is C0, one octave below the lowest C on a standard piano, which at 16 hertz is considered at or below the threshold of human hearing.
The clarinet family is a woodwind instrument family of various sizes and types of clarinets, including the common soprano clarinet in B♭ and A, bass clarinet, and sopranino E♭ clarinet.
A flute ensemble is an instrumental chamber ensemble consisting of members of the flute family.
The western concert flute family has a wide range of instruments.