Gemeinhardt Alto Flute 11ACD - New

A curved headjoint brings the embouchure hole closer to your body. That shortens your reach and moves the instrument’s weight in toward you, which helps players with shorter arms, younger students, and anyone who gets shoulder or neck strain. A straight headjoint gives a more traditional feel and balance, and many players prefer its response and projection. If you aren’t sure, a model with both headjoints lets you switch as your comfort and playing needs change.

The fingerings are the same, so most flutists play recognizable music right away. The main adjustments are:

• It takes more air. The tube is wider and longer, so plan for more frequent breaths at first.
• The embouchure is more relaxed and open, with a slightly larger aperture.
• Notes respond a little more slowly, so articulate a bit earlier and more deliberately.
• The finger stretches are wider, especially in the left hand.

Most players feel at home after a few weeks of regular practice.

The alto flute is pitched in G, a perfect fourth below the concert flute. It reads treble clef with the same fingerings you already know. When you finger a written C, the note that sounds is the G below it. Alto parts are written already transposed, so you read them just like regular flute music. Shop Alto Flute Music

A few things are different from the concert flute:

• Stand: use an alto-specific peg or stand, since regular flute pegs are too small.
• Cleaning rod: you need a longer, alto-length rod and a larger swab.
• Thumb rest or crutch: an add-on thumb rest or support can help with balance and hand comfort.

Care is otherwise the same as your flute: swab after every use and keep it in its case. Read: Top 5 Low Flute Accessories You Didn't Know You Needed

It’s a core voice in flute choirs and flute ensembles. You’ll also hear it in orchestral works such as Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, and Holst’s The Planets, in film and studio recording, in jazz, and in a growing body of solo and chamber music. Many wind ensembles and churches use it too.

A straight-headjoint alto is about 33–34 inches long, compared with about 26–27 inches for a concert flute. It weighs noticeably more. Some players find that the weight is easier to manage with a curved headjoint flute as opposed to a straight headjoint flute.

Silver-plated headjoints give a warm, focused, reliable sound and are a great fit for most ensemble players. A solid silver headjoint usually adds more color, flexibility, and projection, which advanced and professional players often prefer. 

Yes, but you’ll need to transpose. To match concert pitch on an alto, read the part up a perfect fourth: a written C on the C-flute part is played as a written F on the alto. Many players choose music already written for alto in G.

The fingered range is the same as the concert flute. It starts at low C, or low B on models with a B footjoint, and goes up through the third octave. With a C footjoint the lowest sounding note is the G below middle C. A low B footjoint adds the F♯ below that. Its strength is the low and middle registers, where the sound is warm, dark, and velvety. Above the high E or F the notes get harder to produce, and most repertoire stays below that.

Yes! We offer free trials on alto flutes, either in our store or shipped to your home. Simply submit a Trial Request Form and a Resident Flutist will contact you to finalize the details.