Treble flute

The treble flute is a member of the flute family. It is in the key of G, pitched a fifth above the concert flute and is a transposing instrument, sounding a fifth up from the written note. The instrument is rare today, only occasionally found in flute choirs, some marching bands or private collections. Some 19th-century operas, such as Ivanhoe include the instrument in their orchestrations.

A limited number of manufacturers produce G treble flute, including Myall-Allen and Flutemakers Guild. The flutes have many of the same options as their larger C flute cousins, including sterling silver bodies, trill keys, and soldered keys. It is very similar to a piccolo, and plays in the same range, although, because it is a slightly larger instrument, it has a different quality at the upper end of its register, and it has an extended lower register, as compared with the piccolo. The instrument should not be confused with the Alto Flute, also in G, which is a larger instrument that transposing down by a fourth to the octave below the treble flute.