The contra-alto flute is a large member of the flute family, pitched between the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

and the contrabass. It is a transposing instrument either in G (a perfect fourth below the bass and one octave below the

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

) or in F (a perfect fifth below the bass and a major ninth below the alto). The instrument's body is held vertically with an adjustable floor peg similar to that of the

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common Soprano clarinet, soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays no ...

. 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.

References

Side-blown flutes {{Flute-stub