The Evolution of the Baroque Flute     |     home
Introduction   |   Early Origins of the Flute   |   Types of Flutes   |   Common Materials   |   Development of the Flute   |   Drawings   |   The Hotteterre Family   |   Makers of Baroque Flutes   |   Composers of High Baroque Flute Music   |   Fun Flute Facts   |   Bibliography
Types of Flutes
    There were four main flutes used during the Baroque period...
        ...the treble flute...
        ...the alto flute ...
        ...the tenor flute ...
        ...and the bass flute.  
(However, in Martin Agricola's 1528 drawing of the four flutes, the alto flute and the tenor flute were so similar     it was assumed they had the same range and would play the same parts) (3).

    Each of the flutes were pitched a perfect fifth apart (except the alto and tenor) and had a range of about two octaves (3).  A usual flute ensemble consisted of a treble flute, two tenor flutes, and a bass flute (2).  However, since the bass flute had a very small range and weak sound, it was often replaced with a sackbutt, the precursor of the trombone (2).