Alto Flute

Recently – well, about a month ago – I got an alto flute. I have wanted one since first playing one when I was about sixteen or seventeen. I was at a family gathering at Christmas at an uncle's house. My cousin, who plays saxophone, had an alto flute checked out from his school over the Christmas break. I had a lot of fun playing it that day. From time to time, over the next couple of years, I'd get a chance to try one out at a music show. But then, those shows started to go to other cities, and so I didn't get to go to them, anymore.

I was finally in a position to get one, but it wasn't so easy. I wanted a Gemeinhardt 10AS, but they are phasing it out. They're phasing it out because they're moving their manufacturing facility to China, and they will change the model number to 11AS. I got one of the last four made in Elkhart, Indiana, there corporate home. I see nothing wrong with making flutes in China, but I think it oughtn't be necessary to stop making them in Elkhart. I know it's a matter of costs, but I think that it shouldn't be that, either: a Chinese flute maker ought to be paid the same as an American flute maker.

The alto flute is amazing to play. First, the sound! It is low and full and quite wonderful. I know it's only a third lower than my low-B on my C-flute, but the big diameter of the tube makes encourages a lot of low harmonics (or rather discourages the high ones). As well, it makes some nice sounds in its upper registers, and it has virtually the same range, only a fourth lower. I was thinking that I wouldn't have the full range, but I do, and easily.

Then, there is the size. It's big. I have a straight head on my flute, as opposed to the curved one that doubles back. The latter kind is for smaller players. At 6’ 5”(or 195 cm), I'm not small, and this flute feels like the first instrument I've ever owned that is the right size for my body. It does, though, weigh a bit more, so it gets to feeling heavy after a while...but, I'm getting stronger. It does take a bit more wind, too. That was the first question my friend Randy asked me at the music store. He thought'd take a lot more wind. It doesn't take a lot more, but it takes more than I often realise. I can't play quite as long a phrase on a breath as I can with other, smaller flutes. I'm getting used to that, and I hope that my wind is increasing to make up for it.

I’m able to do more things with my embouchure on this larger flute. I need to be more conscious of my embouchure, especially when playing the notes between d’’ and g’’ (actually a’ and c’’), as those can be slightly uncertain at first. The flautist’s trick of playing chords on overtones is easier on the alto, and available on more notes than just low c and c-sharp. You can play with this effect all the way up to f, and you even get this effect on one or two notes in the next octave (I am, by the way, using the names of the pitches as they are apparent to the player; you’ll need to transpose those down a fourth to get the actual pitch; alto flute is a transposing instrument).

The effect of the alto flute on people is interesting to watch. The instrument is not well known, and so it is strange to most people, even musicians. Many love it’s lower sounds, and the richness. I’m finding that it has a great deal of flexibility and a lot of possibilities given the contrast in the qualities of the different registers.

I’ve also gained a new appreciation for my other flutes, especially (so far) my c-flute. It seems so much smaller, all of a sudden. I see it’s possibilities in a new light. Getting an alto flute was almost like getting two new flutes.

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