I saw M&E have 6type different key irish flute, how come ?
I know how to play white flute anyway, which key of flute is the most popular one ? what’s different between them ? Thanks
( I mean M&E KEYED irish flute, not keyless )
There are 6 keys available on the M&E flute (and this is true of other makers as well):
Short F
Long F
C-natural
B-flat
A-Flat
E-Flat
Michael Cronnolly doesn’t make an 8-keyed flute, but some other makers also add
low C-sharp
low C-natural
What keys you need depends upon the tunes you want to play and the key signatures you want to play in.
Best wishes,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
6key = 6hole ?
Also, where can I find some inexpensive plastic keyed irish flute ? Thanks.
On 2003-01-05 18:38, lkthomas wrote:
6key = 6hole ?
Also, where can I find some inexpensive plastic keyed irish flute ? Thanks.
All Irish flutes have six tone holes (finger holes) and an embouchure hole (hole you blow over).
The number of keys varies from zero to 8.
As for an inexpensive plastic keyed Irish flute, I don’t think there is such a thing. Adding keys makes things get expensive fast.
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
I saw M&E cost 650USD, any other brand cost less than that ?!
Thanks.
$650 is very inexpensive for a keyed flute. Most keyless wooden instruments are more than that.
6 hole means the flute has six holes for the fingers. ‘6-key’ means it has the keywork mentioned above: long F, short F, C natural, B flat, A-flat, E-flat.
But again, LKT, you absolutely do not need to have they keywork to play most Irish stuff.
If you want a cheap keyed instrument, just keep your eye on Ebay (and other places) for a German 19th-century (Meyer, nach Meyer, etc.) keyed flute. But the M&E will probably be much more in tune than any of those.
Stuart
you absolutely do not need to have they keywork to play most Irish stuff <— why are you saying that ?!
isn’t keyed flute can help to do a small adjustment for the song ?
Thanks.
LKThomas, a lot of really good players don’t use the keywork unless they want to play the odd tune in a weird key that needs notes you can’t get easily on the simple-system flute. Remember Cathal McConnell’s flute, with all those keys rubber-banded shut? He’s got it gimmicked up so the keys won’t leak.
And think of all the stuff you’ve ever heard played on whistle! None of that is played with keys.
So I’m just saying that you REALLY really REALLY don’t NEED them. Cost-benefit, they cost a lot and are used seldom. When you need them, you do need them, sure, but that’s not all that often. Particularly for session music, which almost never needs funky keywork.
Stuart
On 2003-01-05 20:48, lkthomas wrote:
you absolutely do not need to have they keywork to play most Irish stuff <— why are you saying that ?!isn’t keyed flute can help to do a small adjustment for the song ?
Thanks.
The vast majority of Irish music is in the keys of G and D and their related minors and modes.
Keys simply aren’t necessary for these tunes, and in fact, trying to use them before you are ready can really slow down your progress in learning to play.
Best wishes,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
Postscript: Stuart, I didn’t see your answer until I had already posted this. I think your answer is even better than mine; I never thought to mention the whistle as an example.
[ This Message was edited by: peeplj on 2003-01-05 22:00 ]
hmmmm, so which brand of plastic/wooden keyless flute are inexpensive ?
On 2003-01-06 06:19, lkthomas wrote:
hmmmm, so which brand of plastic/wooden keyless flute are inexpensive ?
If you want conical bore, which is the more traditional, there are Dixon, M&E, and Seery.
If you expand your search to include cylindrical bore, then the prices go way down, and I suspect this is the market you are looking for.
Check out Alan Mounts flutes–Alan is a regular on these boards and his flutes are always well spoken of:
http://www.geocities.com/zozm/
Best wishes, whatever kind of flute you get.
–James
http://www.flutesite.com