The treble flute is a member of the
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
family. It is in the key of G, pitched a fifth above the
concert 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), flutist (in Ame ...
and is a transposing instrument, sounding a fifth higher than the written note. The instrument is rare today, only occasionally found in flute choirs, some marching bands or private collections. Some 19th-century
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s, such as ''
Ivanhoe
''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...
'', include the instrument in their orchestrations.
A limited number of manufacturers produce G treble flutes, including Myall-Allen and Flutemakers Guild. The flutes have many of the same options as their larger C flute cousins, including sterling silver bodies, trill keys, and soldered keys. It is very similar to a
piccolo
The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...
, and plays in the same range, although, because it is slightly larger, it has a different quality at the upper end of its register, and it has an extended lower register, as compared with the piccolo. The instrument should not be confused with the
alto flute
The alto flute is an instrument in the Western concert flute family, the second-highest member below the standard C flute after the uncommon flûte d'amour. It is the third most common member of its family after the standard C flute and the ...
, also in G, which is a larger instrument that transposes down a fourth to the octave below the treble flute.
Since the demise of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
flute
consort __NOTOC__
Consort may refer to:
Music
* "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses''
* Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles
* Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...
s, this treble flute in G seems to have all but disappeared. Only the flute bands of Northern Ireland and Scotland that have converted from the traditional "simple system" flutes to Boehm system silver flutes make extensive use of the treble flutes in G. Current instrumentation of one of these ensembles typically would be: Solo piccolo in C, Solo treble flute in G, 1st, 2nd and 3rd treble flutes in G, Solo flute in C, 1st and 2nd flutes in C, 1st and 2nd alto flutes in G, bass flutes in C, (and contrabass flutes in C), 4 percussion.
Side-blown flutes
G instruments
{{Flute-stub