Wow, I’ve been playing the flute for about 9 years now…with a number of breaks. I get a nice, rich, reedy tone and can play trad. tunes well…recently got a Baroque Traverso…yikes what a humbling experience. Can barely get anything other than a wispy, wimpy sound out of it. And the second octave…fougeddabouttiiittttt. This should be an interesting project.
What kind of traverso did you get, Corin?
I’ve been listening to the Bach flute sonatas on my way to work. Really something.
It’s just an Aulos Stanesby Jr. I didn’t want to dump a lot of money when I’m not sure how seriously i’ll pursue it. I just got a Johann flute sonata CD myself today! That and one of LeClair.
I recently picked up my baroque flute after a 2 year gap of playing the Irish flute, and discovered the following.
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Since the embouchure hole is small and round (at least on mine) it’s a mistake to cover the hole, because the sound is choked.
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The undercut is different, so I had to change the direction of the airstream to thinking more about aiming a the far edge rather than down into the hole. There’s a more noticeable difference in the direction the airstream goes in the first and second octave when I play the baroque flute.
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Support from the diaphragm makes a big difference.
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I had a tendency to force the sound on the baroque flute rather than to draw out the sound. Baroque flutes when working well resonate beautifully under the fingers. When you can feel that buzz, things are working right. For me, that happens with a looser top lip than with the Irish flute. You still want a small aperture between the lips, but less tension and more support from the diaphragm does it for me.
I have an Aulos. I’ll get it out and see if I notice anything else.
Hugh
Don’t EVER play it within a couple of hours after playing the Irish flute. The sound is thin and tiny compared to an Olwell or Seery.
I was really displeased with my traverso sound until I played it in a really bright room – little on the walls, picture window, ceramic tile. Then I realized I could (and needed to) back off to get the purer, sweeter tone that’s characteristic of the Baroque flute. You might try it in a bathroom or another really bright room.
Best of luck. Keep it up; it’s a really wonderful instrument. I have the Aulos Grenser, which I really like.
Thanks for those points Hugh…It will be interesting to see how well I do going back and forth. I did notice that once I backed off a bit, things went better.
Too late Chas! except I did the reverse, I blasted away on some tunes with the Copley after playing the Aulos…sounded like a foghorn in comparison!
I’m probably going to pursue Baroque and Early Music a bit…to what extent I’m not sure. The big questions at this point are 1) can a self-taught trad. player who is just learning to read music and negotiate theory become a Baroque Flautist?..and 2) will becoming musically literate and “trained” ruin my trad playing? Irish music remains my first love and I don’t want to set myself back. Anyone have experience with this backwards transition? The pure mechanics apart that is.
Yes, listen to a lot of good baroque music (Barthold Kuyken, Jed Wentz, Jan De Winne, Rachel Brown). Read ‘On playing the Flute’ by JJ Quantz and ‘Method for the One-Keyed Flute’ by Jan Boland and you’ll do just fine.
Why would it? It’s just a different style. Notes are notes. On paper an Irish ‘jig’ and a French ‘gigue’ look exactly the same. It’s the way you play them that makes the difference.
Playing in different styles can be difficult though, only few musicians succeed.
Luc
Thanks Luc! I’ve actually got both of those books now. The general consensus seems that that pair is the best way to go. As far as the two styles go, that’s the question. I’ve found it easier in the past to pick up other instruments in one style, fiddle, bouzouki etc. for Irish than to switch to another style. My foray into Bluegrass was pretty dismal! It’s tough sometimes to get away from playing everything like an Irish tune! I do listen to a lot of baroque stuff though so that can’t hurt.
Rachel Brown has written a book too I haven’t seen it but it should be interesting.
http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521813913
Going in that direction is fine – The few times I went from Irish to Baroque, though I always felt like I was doing something wrong because no sound was coming out of the damn thing. 
I concur with Luc on the questions, although I’d go a bit further and say that, if you have a pretty good handle on the Irish flute and Irish music, taking up the traverso and studying Baroque music has the potential to help your Irish playing considerably. I find that the small embouchure hole has caused me to direct my airstream much more efficiently, so that I can get a bigger sound out of the Irish flute with less effort. Also I think all the cross-fingerings have helped finger dexterity. It also gives you a whole new outlook on the importance of phrasing, thinking of tunes in pieces, etc.
I love what flutefry said about “drawing out the sound” from a traverso. That’s a great description. About a month ago, I received my Rod Cameron C. Grenser–wow! I’ve fallen in love with it. I was trying to play through the Blavet concerto, which has a long high E (above the staff). I remember playing that piece on Boehm flute and struggling with that awful note, perhaps the hardest note on the Boehm. But on the traverso, I tried “drawing out the sound” and the high E just came forth. I thought, “I never knew high E’s could be so much fun!”
So, pardon my ramblings, but I’m just getting to know this instrument. It’s a wholly other beast than an Irish flute. I love both kinds of instruments for their own qualities.
Jeanie
Your post, Corin, brought back some memories.
I, too, have an Aulos Grenser (AF-2), which I purchased in the mid-nineties, just to give it a try. Moreover, while I did eventually adjust to the airstream, I also grew tired of the tonal qualities of cross fingerings.
With my sincere regards to the many adherents of authentic Baroque performance, however, let me suggest, please, that an authentic Baroque instrument could be considered independently of Baroque music. Or, the music is one thing, and the instrument another.
That said, I fully enjoy exploring Baroque music on my more modern instrument, with no regrets.