Lowest-pitched flute

The "hyperbass flute" measures 15 m (49 ft) in length and is tuned as C, but four octaves below the concert flute, with its lowest note being C0 – one octave below the lowest C on a standard piano. At 16 hertz, this note is below what is generally considered the range of human hearing (20 to 20,000 Hz). The first example was made by Florentine craftsman Francesco Romei for Italian flautist Roberto Fabbriciani (the inventor of the instrument). In August 2010, flute specialist Peter Sheridan commissioned the first fully chromatic hyperbass flute from the Dutch maker Jelle Hogenhuis. The hyperbass flute does not have a complete range, but can play six fundamental notes (CCC, GG, D, A, e C) and the harmonics based on these notes.

The hyperbass flute is the largest and lowest pitched instrument in the flute family.