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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 piccolo. It is characterized by its rich, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range. The alto flute is larger than the normal C flute. With its diameter and length greater than that of a c flute, it requires much more air from the performer. The alto flute is constructed of three parts: the head joint, the body joint, and the foot joint. Those pieces include an embouchure hole and tone holes.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 bore of the alto flute is considerably larger in diameter and longer than a C flute and requires more breath from the player. This gives it a greater dynamic presence in the bottom octave and a half of its range.

It was the favorite flute variety of Theobald Boehm, who perfected its design.

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. The head joint may be straight or curved.

British music that uses this instrument often refers to it as a bass flute, which can be confusing since there is a distinct instrument known by that name. This naming confusion originated in the fact that the modern flute in C is pitched in the same range as the Renaissance tenor flute; therefore, a lower pitched instrument would be called a bass.

There is some speculation as to when the true first alto flute was created, but the most valuable and altering creation came from Theobald Boehm. After years and years of creation and changing, the first mass produced alto flute was created by Randall Carte & Co.

When it comes to the people who pioneered the flute, there are many names that hold a lot of importance in the subject. Christine Potter and Paige Long are two of the bigger names when it comes to the alto flute and its music.

Design & Construction of the Alto Flute

Comparable to every flute, the basic design of the alto flute includes the head joint, the body joint, and the foot joint. The alto flute along with the other low flutes (bass and contrabass) are constructed at a longer length than the concert flute because they require larger columns of air to accurately achieve precise tone and pitch. With this being said, the alto flute is about 1 inch in diameter and 34 inches in length [3]. This compared to the concert flute makes it ¼ of an inch wider in diameter and almost 8 inches longer in length[1] (these measurements may vary depending on the type of head joint---curved or straight---and whether or not a person is measuring the overall length of the flute or the sounding length of the flute, which is the length measured from the middle of the embouchure hole to the end of the flute) [4]. Alto flute headjoints are built in ‘curved’ and ‘straight’ versions. The two different headjoints change the balance of the instrument, with the straight headjoint providing a better tone when playing the instrument. However, the curved headjoint could be a better option for those flutists who have smaller arms and/or smaller hands. The head joining is slightly tapered to accomplish precise tonal quality and it includes an embouchure hole. The body and foot joint of the alto flute are composed of either closed or open tone holes.Which type of hole (open or closed) a player may choose depends on the skill level of said player and how that person wants to affect their ability to perform different techniques whilst playing [2]. The tone holes on the alto flute are slightly smaller than those of the modern concert flute. According to page 26 of The extended alto flute: The history and development of the alto flute, with a study of modern alto flute design and its effect on extended techniques in alto flute repertoire and pedagogical materials, a dissertation by graduate student John Edward Davis, “the averaged and converted alto flutes show that their tone holes are relatively smaller compared to the c-flute”[1]. The arrangement of the holes can differ depending on the maker of the flute.

History of the Alto Flute

While there is no exact date that the alto flute was created, the earliest alto flute was developed by Theobald Boehm in the 1850’s when he made the alto flute in G. There is however, some research that shows this happened in the mid 1850’s, around 1854-55, when he was 60 years old [7]. Some problems with the original alto flute design included the long length of the tube, troublesome cross fingerings, inconsistent intonation, finger holes that were too wide across, and how far one’s arm had to be stretched in order to reach the finger holes, particularly the left hand’s [6]. The creation of this alto flute was to rid other lower pitch flutes of their current problems. The new flute design by Boehm had rational key systems and levers that were created in order to shorten the length that fingers needed to stretch. New changes were also made in modification to the bore size of the flute in order to support the low register of G. Along with the bore size, the placement and sizes of the keys were changed to compliment the new, larger bore [6].

The first widely produced alto flute was created by Rudall Carte & Co. in London, 1891. They took many of Bohem’s ideas and adjustments to create their alto flute. This alto flute was the lowest flute in the family just under “Bass Flute G” [6].

Performers & Pioneers

There have been a number of specialist alto flute players that have emerged in recent years. Some of these people have been named the ‘pioneers’ in the playing and pedagogy of the alto flute.

Americans Christine Potter and Paige Long had quite the influence on the alto flute knowledge and use.

Christine Potter established a connection with the alto flute while she was studying at the university of New Mexico. As she became more experienced with the flute and fell more in love with the instrument, she began to compile a repertoire of music and publishers that included parts for the alto flute. At this point, she had such a repertoire that she wanted to make sure that her findings were available online to people who were also interested in playing the instrument. In doing so, she was connected with other flute players like Carla Rees, and the two specialists put their information together and created a compiled list of music. Potter had the opportunity to perform at a convention in Chicago showing how the alto flute could be considered a low solo instrument. This was received very well and Potter was invited to perform with different concertos around the country. At a 2012 Las Vegas Convention, Potter performed the world premiere of a low flute ensemble that she had been working on with other low flute specialists. The performance garnered excellent feedback from the audience, inspiring Potter to reach out to other performers and music composers around the world to perform her own and other peoples pieces. Potter has commissioned thirteen pieces since then that feature the low flute as well as produced a number of her own arrangements and compositions. She holds the distinction of being the initial individual to chair the National Flute Association Low Flutes Committee and pioneered what is called the International Low Flutes Festival in Washington D.C, bringing flutists of all skill levels and age together to give the low flute center stage of their performances. This along with conducting many competitions, Potter has been an important performer and pioneer in the generation of usage of the alto flute as well as the study of the alto and other low flutes.

Paige Long initially played violin in a faculty orchestra in her place of employment. She was offered a position to play piccolo and took the position to open up new opportunities for her. She was offered a flute teaching position a year later. Whilst in this position, Long started a flute choir to attract more people and was allowed to purchase an alto flute and a bass flute. The choir became very popular, but she knew she needed to improve the quality of the lower sound. She attended a convention where she heard a low flute ensemble, and becoming more interested, she intended to gather more low flutes for her own ensembles. At a convention three years later, Long had the opportunity to purchase the first alto flute in all of North and South America. Paige Long spent many years and much money to try and incorporate the low flute into many ensembles, and is one of the biggest advocates of the low flute in music [5].

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References

Edward Davis, J. (1997). The extended alto flute: The history and development of the alto flute, with a study of modern alto flute design and its effect on extended techniques in alto flute repertoire and pedagogical materials (pp. 20–33) [Text; Dissertation-Reproduction [electronic]]. https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/288758

Music, P. (2022, October 19). Alto Flute - Musical Instrument Guide. Phamox Music. https://phamoxmusic.com/alto-flute/

Avidan Louke, P. (2009, February 27). Article: Getting Started Playing Alto, Bass and Contrabass Flutes. Web.archive.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20090227055802/http://palouke.home.comcast.net/~palouke/ArtBigFlutes.htm

McGee, T. (n.d.). A guide to the lengths of flutes. Www.mcgee-Flutes.com. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from https://www.mcgee-flutes.com/flutelengths.htm#:~:text=given%20most%20often.-

Tedjamulia Read, A. (2023). The History and Pedagogy of Low Flutes (pp. 20–30) [Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations]. https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:887398/datastream/PDF/view

Rees, C. (2013). Brief Background & History of the Alto Flute. The Kingma System Alto Flute: A Practical Guide for Composers and Performers. http://www.altoflute.co.uk/01-background/history.html#:~:text=The%20alto%20flute%20was%20first,’Bass%20Flute%20in%20G’.

Team, T. (2023, August 2). What is an Alto Flute? https://www.tonebase.co/flute-blog/what-is-an-alto-flute