There's a long verbose video about it here, and just a quick demo… A wider, slower air stream is needed to produce a solid tone. It is sometimes called the "gentle giant" of the flute family because of its gentle sound. Contemporary musicians using the contrabass flute include Paige Dashner Long, Andy Findon, Laura Hyder, Madeleine Bischof, Pierre-Yves Artaud, Matthias Ziegler, Stefan Keller, Ned McGowan, Peter Sheridan, Patricia García, Sérgio Morais, David Lamont and Vinny Golia, who also plays all the other sizes of flute, and has recorded with it on the CD Music for Like Instruments: The Flutes, in a quartet with three other flutists. 'Nola' by composer Benjamin Yusapov, was commissioned by the International soloist Matthias Ziegler, for multiple Low Flutes and orchestra. Since the instrument is played by blowing across the opening, it is known as a transverse flute. It is reported that while it might be thought that an instrument made from PVC would be inferior, the PVC allows for a louder instrument if the wall thickness is kept small. The instrument is surprisingly agile and produces a lot of noise. It is pitched in the key of C, three octaves below the concert flute (two octaves below the bass flute and one octave below the contrabass flute). Its range is similar to that of the regular concert flute, except that it is pitched two octaves lower; the lowest performable note is two octaves below middle C(the lowest C on the cello). Visit chiffandfipple.com for lots of info on PVC flutes and their construction. KOTATO FLUTE - Best Contra Bass in the World! : Trillkeys € 500.-B-ext. Numerous composers have written for the contrabass flute, including Wil Offermans, Robert Dick, Thomas Seelig, Andrew Downes, Catherine McMichael, Phill Niblock, and Günter Steinke, Juan Cerono, Nicolás Medero Larrosa, Fernando Curiel, Mariano Rocca, Angeles Rojas, Jorge Chikiar, Esteban Sebastiani, Valentin Pelisch, Ezequiel Menalled to name only a few[citation needed]. It is used mostly in flute ensembles.Its range is similar to that of the regular concert flute, except that it is pitched two octaves lower; the lowest performable note is two octaves below middle C (the lowest C on the cello). The pipe length is 37‑1/2 inches. It is seen often in flute ensembles, however it is recently being used in solo and chamber music situations. The bore is wider than what one usually finds in a metal double contrabass flute. Mine is numbered SBC 008, and privately I call it ‘Bill who is Resting’, although ‘Felix Leiter’ would have been a more recognisable reference. Contrabass Flute. The Contrabass Flute is the lowest of this range and comes in F# minor and comes with or without a side-blown mouth piece for easy playing. Ease of arpeggiation is moderate and thus equivalent to the rest of the flute family. In April 2008 the well structured[citation needed] concerto "Bantammer's Swing" for contrabass flute and chamber orchestra by Ned McGowan was premiered in Carnegie Hall. Hogenhuis flutes -Subcontrabassflute in C, MP3 of Jelle Hogenhuis subcontrabass flute, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Double_contrabass_flute&oldid=986834424, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 3 November 2020, at 08:29. A flute when blown can be considered a vibrating resonant column of air with two open ends. Composers of such pieces include Peter Senchuk, Toby Caplan-Stonefield, Lawrence Ink, Phyllis Avidan Louke, and Judy Nishimura, among others. Contrabass flutes have also been made from PVC pipe, by the Dutch flute maker Jelle Hogenhuis. It's not just a matter of making it longer, there are many relationships to keep in mind. Site . Due to the price and rarity of this instrument, few people have explored this instrument. The Japanese firm of Kotato & Fukushima sell their double contrabass flutes for US$48,000.[1]. As a virtuoso solo instrument, even a few concertos have been composed for the contrabass flute. Contrabass flutes sound two octaves lower than the concert flute and are approximately twice as long with a larger diameter than the bass flute, requiring even more air and a slightly wider aperture. It is reported that while it might be thought that an instrument made from PVC would be inferior, the PVC allows for a louder instrument if the wall thickness is kept small. USD $ 530. Opt. At present, the subcontrabass flute is an instrument that must be custom ordered. It's warm tone may seem not loud at first hearing, but carries in an impressive way. Sometimes referred to as the "gentle giant" of the flute family, the contrabass retains the facility for trills, as found elsewhere in the flute world. Though the upper register can lack strength, its sensitivity and lyricism can be used to great effect; and a good instrument can readily reach the high A or B (above middle C). Tim. In addition, the PVC appears to produce a broad tone.[2]. It is reported that while it might be thought that an instrument made from PVC would be inferior, the PVC allows for a louder instrument if the wall thickness is kept small. Like the recorder, whistle, and pan flute, the contrabass flute is a member of the flute family. All types of Western concert flute are transverse flutes as well. completed a project I started off on about twelve years or so ago. 7 years ago. Sometimes it’s helpful to think about blowing into a pop bottle to play a note, to get the air stream wide enough for the larger flutes. We have a PVC contrabass (shown below) that was skillfully crafted from a drainpipe, but it isn't easy to play and has a limited life span. The third release in our brand new Experiments range, this library was performed by renowned flutist Gareth Mclearnon, who is known for his virtuosic performances across blockbusters such as Alien Covenant, Horizon Zero Dawn, Mary Magdalene and many more. The contrabass flute is one of the rarer members of the flute family. The contrabass flute requires much greater volume of air to produce sound than most other wind instruments, and composers who write for this instrument might consider more frequent breaks in phrasing than one would when writing for smaller flutes. Oct 2, 2017 - I finally! Not that I spent twelve years on it, it just took me that long to get around to finishing it. Double contrabass flute: | | ||| | Maria Ramey playing a double contrabass flute ... World Heritage Encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. Our current PVC contrabass flute. Fundamental notes are B 2 (topmost flute) to B 5 (bottommost flute), ranging from about 5 feet to about 10½ inches. The Contrabass Flute, a full two octaves lower than the C-flute, is the 'Gentle Giant' of the flute family. Contrabass flutes are only available from select flute makers. Contrabass flutes have also been made from PVC pipe, by the Dutch flute maker Jelle Hogenhuis. The flute is made from 1‑1/2 inch PVC pipe, Schedule 40, plus a slip coupling and a spigot plug to match. Despite the tendency of the larger sizes of flute to be softer than their higher pitched relatives, the double contrabass flute has a relatively powerful tone, although it usually benefits from amplification in ensembles. It doesn’t matter if you are a first-time flute player or a professional musician, we are all part of a unique, heartfelt community that is spreading the joy of music throughout the world. Although bass flute and contrabass flute are welloverlapping instruments one cannot deny the special experience the contr’alto in G will give the player. Jelle Hogenhuis has developed a relatively low-cost contrabass flute (made from PVC tubing), and is reported to be working on similar bass and subcontrabass flutes. Featuring a mighty Contrabass Flute, we captured a range of cinematic textures, harmonic embellishments and explosive articulations. Some contrabass flutes are made out of PVC pipes. [2], Although the PVC instrument was designed to be an ensemble instrument it was soon discovered by various solo artists who saw the merits of the instrument for their musical purposes. 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