Hey folks, I’m curious if any experienced players here have any tips for switching between multiple flutes. I find that when I play my large-hole R&R style flute for a few months, switching to the pratten is pretty difficult unless I’m going to play it exclusively for a while. I end up with an inefficient embouchure on the pratten to the point of hyperventilation, and then when I go back to the R&R I’m overblowing like crazy. Do folks here mostly just play one flute at a time, or do you “get to know” multiple instruments side by side and just build a skill of “remembering” how to approach each flute in its own right?
I’d say, for me personally, it ends up being the latter. Its not that I want to swap back and forth intentionally, for my own playing or practice. I just have a large flute collection (antiques and modern) and make several different models of flute myself, so I quite often swap back and forth to compare requirements and response etc. You can learn and internalize the differences. However, if your main interest is the music and optimizing your playing, you might be better sticking to a single instrument and getting really dialed in on it.
I do think there is some value (at least in the long run) to developing some versatility as a player though, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say that its necessary, or even that important.
One thing that might be going on in your specific case is that Pratten’s tend to require a bit more air to “fill the flute” and get it to produce the same resonant response you can get on a Rudall. This is especially true talking about originals.
I think it has more to do with the bore profile than the embouchure cut. So its not just a matter of adjusting your embouchure, but also adjusting your expectations regarding air requirements when you are shooting for the same level of resonance.
You get to a point where your embouchure can quickly adjust to any flute you pick up…
But that’s only a quick & dirty adjustment!
For my embouchure to fully adjust to a new flute takes a week or two of playing only that flute a few hours daily.
Back in the 1980s when I was playing regularly with a band I switched between (going up in pitch) these wooden flutes: Alto in A, C, D, Eb, and F. I didn’t seem to have any issue switching between them.
I have two flutes from the same maker, one keyed and one un-keyed, which are nominally the same. They play the same way but are different enough that if I have been playing one at home I take that one when I next play with others.
I also have flutes in G, F and a piccolo. If I haven’t played one of those for a time it takes a while to be happy with the sound. But a workout on the higher pitch flutes never does any harm for the D and probably helps.
The two flutes I play the most are my main one – a blackwood 8-key Peter Noy “Nicholson” model in D, and a blackwood 6-key Lehart low Bb flute. Basically a Rudall-type on steroids.
I spend more practice time on the Noy D flute because that’s the one I have taken to sessions and where most of my repertoire sits. The low B flat is for tunes in G dorian, slow airs, and just kicking a few tunes down into the lower register for fun.
The bore size and air column in the Bb is significantly larger than the D flute, so it takes a bit more effort, more air to get it resonating. And the embouchure feels a bit looser, if that’s the right word.
I also have an Olwell bamboo flute in D that’s fun to pick up once in a while. The embouchure feels about the same as the Noy keyed D flute. The main difference is the hand hold. It’s so lightweight compared to the blackwood keyed flutes that it feels almost weightless, like it wants to float up in the air out of my hands.
For me, the change in how I have to hold these very different flutes is much more noticeable when switching back and forth than any embouchure differences, because that’s basically dialed-in now and I don’t have to think about it.