I just received a Bryan Byrne keyless rudall,
which is delightful–impeccably crafted in an
elegant and understated way, wonderfully
alive and expressive, with easy access
to an in tune third octave. Very good volume.
I’ve played it only an hour and I’m working
to get full control of the low D, as Bryan told
me I would need to. He said the flute would
be ‘elusive’ for a couple of days, and then
I would better understand what it’s about.
If I’m not yet in touch with what this flute
is about, please send a search party if you
don’t hear from me in two days.
Well, a species that can make things like
this can’t be all bad…
I had an M&E Rudall on loan and found the D to be elusive on that flute. On most flutes I’ve tried I can honk out the D pretty easily but in the case of the M&E I had to really focus my embouchure and blowing to get the sound I wanted. When I did it gave a powerful, reedy tone but it took a lot of focus.
The world is full of flutes with elusive Ds, but a couple of days rarely fixes them, or their new owners.
This site frequently carries the plaintive cries of those who, in spite of persevering, can’t get a decent D readily.
I doubt if Mr Byrne’s flutes would be classed with any of the deficient flutes being complained of, but we have to wonder, (at least for the next two days !)
Congratulations Jim. Nothing more fun than a new tooter!
Do let us know on that low-D.
One of the things that I fell in love with about my Burns Rudall is the solid and rich low-D.
I also played a Johnny Gallagher Rudall for about a week once and found that flute to have one of the most astonishing low-Ds anywhere. I was careful to only play that note near open windows so as not to punch holes in the sheet rock.
The elusive D in this case is simply the “Rudall D,” which is blown differently from the D on a Pratten-style flute. Most people who pick up a Rudall-style flute the first time will have trouble getting the bottom D; it will sound flat and weak.
The trick, at least in my experience, is to “lip up” a little on that note (blowing more across the hole to sharpen it), tighten your lips a bit (almost as if you were heading up into the second octave) and give it a good punch. This produces a very free, resonant, loud bottom D, every bit as satisfying, if not more so, than the bottom D on a Pratten-style flute.
It will indeed take a bit of getting used to…when I switched to a Byrne from a Pratten-style flute it took me a few weeks before I could get a strong bottom D consistently. Some people find it more quickly than others (and some never do!).
It isn’t just the low D that’s elusive, but the flute itself
and ‘what it’s about.’ I suppose I’ll find out what this
all means. I think it’s its Rudall-nature, I’ve never
played a Rudall before, you see.
I’m trying to keep my hands off it, meanwhile.
Anyhow this seems like an extraordinary
instrument so far. If it gets a good deal better,
please come and save me.
I think what you’ve expressed there is the thing I love most about fluting, the long road of discovery one undertakes while exploring the potential of a truly great flute. It’s a wonderful ride.
Bryan’s quite a guy, isn’t he? You’ll enjoy the flute!
I agree, the Byrne is my first and only Rudall-esque flute, too, and although I am now convinced I’m a Pratten-esque kind of gal, I enjoy playing the Byrne very much! It is indeed an elegant flute, with quiet power all its own.
I guess my stress buster is a loud honkin’ flute, though.
It’s also the fact that it was made by Bryan. His flutes are outwardly simple and inwardly complex…there’s a lot going on inside! He referred to my flute as being “mysterious,” and I agree.
I’d never call a Byrne flute “easy to play,” but I find most easy-to-play flutes to be boring after a while. The thing that’s so distinctive about all of Bryan’s flutes that I’ve played (about 10 or so by now, mainly during visits to his shop but also during my travels) is that they have soul and a unique voice. They don’t sound like every other flute out there, and I like that. And once you get the hang of playing them, they “honk” just as well as any other flute. I’ve played in a few big sessions with Pratten-style flutes all around, and people tell me it’s the Byrne they hear most clearly, because of the focused tone.
I still have a byrne on loan and I love it more and more every time I pick it up. I find it to be effortless when compared to my hammy yet I’m getting complex, interesting, and dirty sound out of the byrne that you can’t get from easy blowers like grinters, copley’s and olwells. I may end up having to buy the thing cause I like it so much. The hammy is still ALOT louder though.
When I called he said he would make a flute for me
and it would take maybe a couple of months.
We talked at some length about what I wanted.
Lovely fellow. I don’t get the impression he’s
making lots of flutes; he seems to be doing
a good deal of work repairing violins.
i’m only playing it an hour a day and my grip just
changed, so I’m not exactly sure where
things stand. Lots of changes happening,
including in relation to my other flutes.
My yearly sea change after the St. Louis Tional.
Anyhow the flute is more alive than my other
flutes, the second octave is sweet and the flute
has good power, but I can’t consistently
bring the bottom D up to key, nor am
I able to get the volume in the bottom
equal to my prattens, though the
second octave seems louder than
my Prattens.
I think this is going to take some time.
Bryan said that this is a wonderful flute,
and I have faith that I can
find out why.
I’m having a little experience with the Rudall/Pratten thing myself. I got two flutes from Terry McGee today (for the store, not for me )
One is a Rudall 5088 and the other a Pratten. Both are fantastic, powerful with great tone but they really do want a different sort of approach.
I find the Rudall to be more intuitive and forgiving but then my primary flute is a Rudall Burns. It’s interesting how we develop according to the instrument we bond with.
The Pratten is a serious flute though…a bit like a Porche, a bit sacry on the curves when your going about 90 mph, but I can see how a guy could get hooked on one of these.
)