The alto recorder in F, also called the treble recorder, is part of the recorder family. Before the 17th century, this instrument was usually in G4 instead of F4. Its standard range is from F4 to G6.
The alto recorder is larger than the soprano recorder but smaller than the tenor recorder. Because of its size, it produces a pitch that is between the soprano and tenor recorders. It has a similar shape to the soprano recorder but is bigger in all parts, which makes its pitch lower for the same finger positions.
The F alto recorder is a non-transposing instrument. Its main scale is in F, which is a fifth lower than the soprano recorder and a fourth higher than the tenor recorder (both of which use a main scale in C). This means it uses F fingerings, like the bassoon or the low notes of the clarinet, instead of the C fingerings used by most other woodwinds. The music for the alto recorder is usually written at the actual pitch it sounds, but sometimes it is written an octave lower than it sounds.
History
Recorders have been made in different sizes since at least the 15th century. However, people did not use the same names for these sizes until the 20th century, when the instrument became popular again. In the early 16th century, books by Virdung, Agricola, and Ganassi described the smallest of three recorder sizes (tuned in fifths) as an instrument with a lowest note of G. This size was called "discant" because it matched the highest vocal part in music from that time. Virdung also called it "clain flöte" (meaning "small flute" in modern German), and "sopran" or "soprano." At this time, recorders were made in one piece. This type remained common until the 17th century and early 18th century, but around 1650, they began to be made in three parts.
People sometimes called this instrument the "flauto italiano," especially after about 1670, when a new type of recorder appeared in France. This French version was named "flûte douce" (meaning "sweet flute"), which today would be called an "alto" or "treble" in F. Unlike the bright-sounding "flauto italiano," which was easy to play in the high range, the "flûte douce" had a rich, full sound in the low range but was weak in the high notes. This new recorder was first made in Paris and later in London under French influence. The redesign is usually credited to the Hotteterre family, especially Jean Hotteterre, though evidence for this is not very strong.
In 1696, Johann Christoph Denner and Johann Schell asked for permission to make the French-style recorder in Nuremberg. This version quickly became the most common type of recorder across Europe. In most languages, the word "flute" referred to this instrument: German "Flöte," Dutch "fluyt," Italian "flauto," and Spanish "flauta." In England, it was often simply called "flute," but when needed to distinguish it from the transverse flute or other recorder sizes, it was called "common flute" or "consort flute."