Just got my Tipple in the mail today, my first flute! Man, I can already tell this going to be a powerful instrument once I get the hang of it, but it’s gong to take paitence to let my lips catch up to my fingers.
Anyway, I know some people do this, but playing whistle I’ve never found it necessary to lift the 1st finger when playing middle D on whistle: the note sound fine with all fingers down, and it’s less finger logistics to deal with.
I was wondering, do flute players do this? Lifting my 1st finger deffinitely makes it sound different on the flute, but I’m not sure if it’s better since my isn’t embersure very good yet. Just wondering if this is a common practice or not.
From Brad Hurley’s page: "Jack (Coen) observed that most of us opened the topmost tonehole when we played the high D, but said that it’s not necessary and just makes for more work. "
My take on it is that, on some (few) flutes the middle D is MUCH more in tune with it vented, on others (most) it’s not. Try playing the note with finger vibratto, using the top hole. If you don’t notice any vibratto, then it doesn’t make a bit of difference; most likely there will be a little difference in character with it vented vs. not vented and you can use your own judgement as to when/whether to open the top hole.
That’s interesting. I’d say the opposite, actually; most if not all flutes I’ve played are more in tune with the top hole vented. I’ve not played many flutes that were in-tune without it vented. Just my opinion, though.
Not 30 minutes ago I’d just discovered that I’ve been doing it “wrong” on whistle for, oh, around 16 years now.
I have never used a vented 2nd D. I blame a variant finger chart at some point in my misguided youth.
So the newbish question becomes: when playing legato, how does one avoid that unpleasant chirping noise from an imprecise cross? It seems far less apparent to my ears when using a closed 2nd D. Guess I just need to practice some more.
I’ve been known to play it both ways; vented (with finger up) you get a nice, well-vented, even timbre.
Unvented (with finger down), you get a more veiled note that tends to be a little raspy around the edges and will take a lot of air. This is a note you can just thrash the hell out of if you want to. On many flutes you can make it “bark” or “growl.”
Are we really all talking about the same D here? On my flute, there is a low, middle and high D (never attempted and uberhigh D if such a beast is possible).
If we’re talking a true high D, I always vent or use OXX OOO. Middle D I don’t ever vent because when vented it just sounds too danged perky - sort of like a high school cheerleader trying to get the crowd motivated when the team is losing by 40 points at halftime…give me the more edgy, darker all fingers down middle D anyday.
I’ll let Stuart shake his pom poms if he is so inclined…
I think it depends on your flute and on which sound you prefer. On some flutes there’s hardly any difference in tone between a vented and unvented second-octave D. On others there’s a big difference. Where there’s a difference, play it both ways and see if you have a preference. If you don’t have a preference, play it whichever way feels most comfortable.
