The bass flute is part of the flute family and sounds one octave lower than the concert flute. Its tubing is twice as long, measuring 146 cm (57 in), and requires a J-shaped head joint to allow the player to reach the embouchure hole. Its lowest note is C3 or B2, which places it in the tenor range. Because it produces soft sounds, it is often difficult to hear in large groups unless amplified or played with light scoring. However, its unique tone in the lower range can be very effective in solo performances, small ensembles, and flute choirs. The "bass flute in F" made by Kotato & Fukushima is classified as a contra-alto flute.

Alternative terminology

Before the middle of the 20th century, the term "bass flute" was sometimes used in Great Britain to mean the alto flute. For example, the part written for "bass flute in G" in Holst's The Planets and many works by Britten referred to the alto flute. In 1910, Abelardo Albisi created a bass flute called the albisiphone. This instrument was used in musical pieces by composers such as Mascagni and Zandonai during the first half of the 20th century.

Range and construction

The bass flute can play notes starting from C3 (or B2 if it has a B foot joint), which is one octave below middle C, up to C6, two octaves above middle C. Music written for the bass flute sounds an octave lower than it is written, matching the usual range of a concert flute (C4 to C7). Notes above A6 are rarely used because they are hard to play and sound less clear unless the flute is designed with a tapered curve. Since most flutes are not tapered through the curve, the pitch of notes starting at written D6 and higher is often too high. Players can adjust the pitch using their mouth position or try different fingerings.

Bass flutes usually have a C foot instead of the B foot found on other flutes. The shorter tube reduces air resistance, making the flute respond faster and sound brighter, livelier, and more resonant. The shorter tube also makes the instrument lighter and easier to hold for long periods.

Bass flutes are often made with silver-plated bodies and head joints. Many have trill keys, which help players play certain difficult notes and perform trills between notes that are otherwise hard to reach. Kotato bass flutes use a graphite rod that attaches to the bottom of the instrument and rests on the player’s chair between their legs to reduce weight. Jeff Amos created adjustable rods for similar purposes. Some manufacturers add a left-hand thumb support called a crutch to help players hold the instrument more easily. Dutch flute maker Eva Kingma designed a vertical bass flute that rests on the floor, allowing the instrument’s weight to be supported by the floor instead of the player’s hands.

Repertoire

Many composers are creating more music for the bass flute. Examples include Katherine Hoover's Two for Two, Bill Douglas's Karuna, Sophie Lacaze's Archelogos II, Mike Mower's Obstinato and Scareso, Gary Schocker's A Small Sonata for a Large Flute, Lorenzo Ferrero's Ellipse and Shadow Lines, Sonny Burnett's Stone Suite, Catherine McMichael's Baikal Journey, and Ennio Morricone's Secrets of the Sahara. Other important works include Tristan Murail's Ethers for solo bass flute and small ensemble, Brian Ferneyhough's Mnemosyne for bass flute and tape, Mario Lavista's Lamento a la muerte de Raúl Lavista for solo bass flute, Michael Oliva's Moss Garden for bass flute and tape, John Palmer's Inwards for bass flute and live-electronics, Shiva Feshareki's She Cried, and Marc Tweedie's Zoli, written for flautist Carla Rees. More studies and concert etudes are being created to help musicians learn how to handle the instrument's challenges, such as balancing it, using fingers correctly, controlling the air stream, and overblowing. Low flute specialist Peter Sheridan has commissioned and arranged new compositions in this area, including a set of Etudes for Low Flutes by Hilary Taggart. The sixth movement of Claude Bolling's Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio, Versatile, has the soloist playing the opening melody on a bass flute. Morton Feldman's Crippled Symmetry and John Cage's Seven2 both include parts for the bass flute. Hans Pfitzner's 1917 opera Palestrina features an early (true) C bass flute part. Another piece with the bass flute is John Mackey's The Frozen Cathedral (2013), which uses the instrument in two sections.

For a detailed list of music for bass flute and contrabass flute, see Repertoire Catalogue for Piccolo, Alto Flute and Bass Flute (2004) by Peter van Munster (Roma: Riverberi Sonori). Selected music organized by skill level with descriptions and information about bass flutes is available in The Alto and Bass Flute Resource Guide by Falls House Press. A growing collection of works for bass flute is also published by Tetractys, a company specializing in low flutes.

Other use

A few jazz musicians have used the bass flute. These include flutist Jeremy Steig, who first used it on his 1975 album Temple of Birth. Saxophonists Henry Threadgill, Brian Landrus, and James Carter, as well as drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, who sometimes played the bass flute as a second instrument, also used it. Hubert Laws played the bass flute on his recording of "Amazing Grace," singing the first verse on the bass flute, the second on alto flute, and the third on soprano flute. Later, Steig began using the Kotato & Fukushima bass flute in F.

In electronic music, Jack Dangers, leader of the group Meat Beat Manifesto, has occasionally used the bass flute.

The bass flute appears in George Bruns' music for The Jungle Book and the original Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.

Perhaps the most famous work featuring the bass flute is the album Wave by Antônio Carlos Jobim.

The soundtrack of Guerrilla Games' Horizon Forbidden West includes the bass flute in several songs, such as "By The Cold Light of Stars," "As Certain as Stone," and "These Stones Unturned."