Hey guys,
Sorry I haven’t been around much these days (school keeps me busy!). As some of you know, Chas sent me a couple of PVC flutes. I can’t play them! 
I can play the first couple of notes (even that was a great exercise for my fingers!), but forget about playing anything on it. But perhaps a fife would be better? They sound like whistles, but are played like a flute, right?
Sara,
Don’t give up on a D flute until you’ve tried a Casey Burns Folk Flute or a Burns Small-Handed. The Folk Flute can be setup for small hands also. It’s quite nice.
I find a fife (even a “folk fife” designed to play in the first and second octave) a bit harder to play than a flute - they take a more focussed embouchure. Not impossible (I can manage, and my own embouchure is still so/so), but harder.
But just about any conical-bore Irish flute will have an easier reach than a cylindrical flute like your PVCs. I started out on a Dixon 2-piece and found that even a Pratten-style flute (famous for their large holes and reach requirements) like a friend’s Hamilton was quite a bit easier to handle.
Currently, I play a Jon C R & R model (easier still) and a Burns Folk Flute (standard, not the small hands version). I have no problems with the R & R model, but even my rather small older daughter (4’ 11") can play the Burns.
If I were you, I’d drop Casey an email and ask for his advice.
Casey Burns has a Web page where he suggests you measure your hand-span. He says if it’s less than 7.5 inches from the thumb to the pinky you might fit his small-handed flute.
If your hand measures smaller than that, then you really do have a small hand and a small-handed flute might be a good choice.
Hi Sara,
Folk fifes have a nice sound in the lower register and aren’t that much harder to blow, especially in the lower keys. But don’t give up on the idea of a full-fledged flute. There are other models to choose fromfor small-handed players.
As well as the other recomendations, take a look at Sweetheart Flute’s folk fifes and Resonance flutes. The Resonance model is much smaller than my old Pratten style with nice small holes. It might still be too big for your hands, but check it out, what the heck. I had to get used to it being so much smaller.
You could always play an F flute. These are ideal for smaller hands. Ralph Sweet’s F flutes are inexpensive and play well even with an undeveloped embouchure. Copley’s F flutes play beautifully.
You can use a flute capo™ (http://www.flutecapo.com) to get into the right key for ITM.
What on earth is a flute capo? (I couldn’t get the link to work.) I’m a guitar player, so I know about capos and what they do. But one for a flute? The mind is boggled.
And Sara, I struggled with a PVC flute in D, too. The Casey Burns Folk Flute was the solution for me.
Or consider a higher-pitched PVC flute with offset holes.
Sara, don’t give up based on the stretch of the PVC flutes. Even a “normal” conical flute will be much easier on the hands. Also, you might want to give it some time. When my wife first started on the wooden flute she found the stretch very difficult. Now she’s playing an A415 traverso, which has a stretch somewhat larger than the first wooden flute that bothered her.
I agree with Chas. Give it some time. There aren’t many things you do with your hands on a daily basis that require them to stretch like they do when fingering a flute. You should find that if you work at it on a regular basis, the flexibility of your hands, and therefore your stretch, will increase.
I agree with Chas. Give it some time. There aren’t many things you do with your hands on a daily basis that require them to stretch like they do when fingering a flute. You should find that if you work at it on a regular basis, the flexibility of your hands, and therefore your stretch, will increase.
I THOUGH I HAD THAT PROBLEM AT THE START. YOU WILL GET USED TO THE STRETCH, TRY GETTING A FEW LESSONS.
GOOD LUCK. 
lol and I thought I was the one who made that up. 
why not a full-sized Siccama flute?
would work perfecdtly and you’d get to play in D with everyone else!
dm
Oh, dear! Don’t give up so soon!
Hands don’t automatically fit this instrument. You have to work at it a bit every day for a while. It may seem impossible, but your hands will adapt to the flute in time.
Cylindrical PVC flutes can be a bit large. It will be easier if you play using piper grip. Cover the holes with the second joint of your fingers rather than the tips.
One of Mr. Burns’ fine small-handed flutes will likely suit you just fine. They are narrower and the holes are smaller, so your little fingers won’t poke inside.
I also play the fife, in addition to the I Flute…it does indeed have closer spaced fingerings and is played in a transverse position, as the flute. I also find it an enjoyable instrument to play, though the pitch is quite high…and it is also an enharmonic instrument, i.e., played with a limit of accidentals.
Yes, and I just want to add that you may choose pipers’ grip just for the lower hand and manage with the other grip with the upper hand.
Im curious about the "small hand" designation. Im a male guitarist by nature dabbling in flutes and have always thought that my finger span was better than most but when measured from outer edge thumb to outer edge pinky I barely make 8 inches. What would be considered an average finger span? Maybe I should be looking into a different flute,too.
I consider my hands as on the larger size:
Measuring outer edge thumb to outer edge pinky just over 9 inches or 230mm.
But for flute playing I find the stretch from index finger to ring finger on a flute more significant. From outer edge index finger to outer edge ring finger on the flat I can measure 135mm, but I could not stretch this far on the flute, perhaps max 110mm.
My Aebi Bb designed for a larger stretch has 95mm distance between upper edge hole 1 and lower edge hole 3 (left hand stretch) and 93 mm distance between upper edge hole 4 and lower edge hole 6 (right hand stretch), and I can play this quite comfortably (without piper’s grip).
A friend with ‘smaller’ hands could not get a comfortable stretch on my Allan D flute for the left hand. This flute measures 80mm between upper edge hole 1 and lower edge hole 3, with holes in line. But she felt very comfortable with the Allan Eb flute, which measures for the same holes 75mm outer edge to edge distance. Holes on the Eb are also in line.
So 5mm can make all the difference!
75mm is also about the distance on a Boehm system flute, about because the keys are so big, so you can even get away with a little less stretch.
Hans… thank you for the response. using your information I looked closer at my own finger span. From outside index finger to outside ring finger left hand my comfortable reach is 100mm while my right is only 85mm. Being a right handed guitarist this makes sense. I`m readjusting my hand positioning with much better results, I get a kink in my neck but the fingering is improving.