View source for Alto flute

The '''alto flute''' (sometimes called the bass [[flute]] – although there is a true bass flute that is used in drum and fife bands) has the same range as the concert flute, but is pitched a fourth lower (in G). Like the [[clarinet]] it is one of the [[transposing instrument]]s - in this case the composer writes the music a fourth higher than it is meant to sound. Its relationship to the “normal” flute is much the same as the [[viola]] to the [[violin]].

There is little well known original concert music featuring the instrument.  A popular composition by the Japanese film composer Toru Takemitsu, “''Towards the Sea''”, is scored for alto flute and guitar; and various contemporary composers are using it in ensemble music. It is more often found in transcriptions of music for concert flute or other instruments or in [[jazz]]. 

[[Category:Wind Instruments]]