I had been playing around with a Ralph Sweet D fife whistle combo and could never get any decent sound out of the second octave on the fife. I used to play Barri and alto Sax jazz concert bands and for a present my girlfriend now fiance bought me a bamboo sax from Eric the Flute maker. Any way she came to visit me here in Moz. and brought the funny little bambo instrument with her.
So I soaked a new reed and tried desparatly to get some sound out of the silly thing, apparenly a year with out playing any saxophone had left me with no muscle in my face and no air in my lungs so after a ten minute battle I was getting some sound out and I picked up my fife and immediately started to be able to play decently in the second octave. So Apparently I was not blowing hard enough and something about the sax changed my embchure.
Unfortunatly I am sending the lovely thing back to the US because the dry season climate here is even hard on diamond wood, it is funny the land in which the great tone woods grow, the climate destroys flutes. I’m thinking of trading/selling it to buy a flute in derlin, I think that will survive here better. Anyway just a ironic story
I had a similar experience. I bought a flute from Doug Tipple years ago and couldn’t get a sound out of it. I promptly put it away. I picked up a clarinet last year and after blowing on it for a while, I tried the flute again. Bingo! I could play an octave. I think I would’ve had the same results (or better), however if I’d have practiced more on my flute.
Speaking as a Sweetheart fan, I am sorry to hear that you are sending it away, but I can understand your environmental considerations, in regard to wood. Too bad that it is so dry where you are.
If you are considering a Delrin fute, and if ITM could be your pleasure, then let me suggest one of Rob Forbes’ flutes, in the key of D and made of Delrin; http://www.forbesflutes.com He offers a “standard” end cap, and an “adjustable” end cap, but in my experience the standard end cap works quite well.
Put that Sax away, and get on with the flute, please!
Cork Wrote:
“If you are considering a Delrin fute, and if ITM could be your pleasure, then let me suggest one of Rob Forbes’ flutes, in the key of D and made of Delrin; http://www.forbesflutes.com He offers a “standard” end cap, and an “adjustable” end cap, but in my experience the standard end cap works quite well.”
How do these play? I went to the site and they are quite inexpensive but I’ve not seen them mentioned on the forum. Anyone here played one?
BTW I don’t know how to get those “someone wrote” things in the white text box -how do you do that?
thanks guys - I did a search and found some good things written about them. How is the hand position - I am using a Burns folk flute with ergonomic hole placement and it just feels great & comfotable to play. A Delrin would be nice for all the obvious reasons and it sounds like the tone is really strong which I like.
Thanks for the info on the forbes, I really enjoy ITM and have been scratching my head trying to figure out which polymer flute would be the best value, I have been looking at Seery and M&E. But reading about the forbes sounds like a very good option. Now I just need to figure out how to sell my Sweet whistle/fife. I’m in Mozambique but I have a visitor who is going to the US in January who could sell it for me.
Y’know, the same think used to happen to me with my little Yamaha “fife” and my brother’s trumpet. I think it is somethign to dow ith the strength of the embouchre. Too bad that you have to send it back!
When I was a youngster I studied with Anthony Salvatore, who was at the time first trombonist for the New Jersey Symphony. He would warm up by playing flute for an hour before a performance on trombone. I don’t know why this trick works, but it does. Whistles and saxophones, fifes and trumpets, flutes and trombones. There seems to be something to it.
