I’m in search of a keyless wood flute with comfort as the number one priority, and quality a close second. Ideally, I’d like something with a tapered bore, lighter weight (though the extra heft of silver rings/tuning slide is worth it to me), and with holes that are smaller/more closely spaced/offset.
The two that have caught my eye so far are the small-holed Rudall from John Gallagher and the keyless blackwood flute from Copley & Boegli. Both can be customized to meet my criteria, but I’m not able to try them locally and want to make an informed decision. They’re very similar in price, so that’s not a concern. Does anyone have insight on these flutes? Anyone tried either or both of them? How might they compare? Any other makers who I should consider?
Casey Burns does an excellent version for small hands. It’s an option on both the folk flute and his reguar flutes. I have an Eb flute from Solen Lesouef that is light and easy to play. Depending on your circumstances, Eb could be an option. You might also consider a Grey Larsen Preferred model from Terry McGee. They are light with small holes, and very good flutes.
Even with small hands you can play a large-holed flute after the Pratten style.
While I don’t think that small hands are a real problem, I agree that the smaller diameter of the body and the smaller holes of a Rudall-style flutes make it easier to play. I’ve actually compared the Gallagher small-holed Rudall, and its holes are definitely smaller than my Solen Lesouef. The embouchure of the Lesouef is easier than the Gallagher; obviously, I’m more used to my regular flute.
I think it is pretty common to make Rudall-inspired flutes with medium-sized holes.
@maestrosid - I’ve definitely thought about the Casey Burns flutes. I know it’s silly, but I just am not as taken by the look of them. Of course, that doesn’t mean they should be taken off my list… As for the Grey Larson Preferred - I’ve heard that some people have had issues with the tuning, so I’m a little hesitant. Not sure if that’s true of the more recent builds, though…
@tstermitz - I know you CAN play any flute with small hands - I’m just not all that interested in doing so A flute that isn’t comfortable won’t get picked up very often (especially given the number of other instruments lying around my house) - and where’s the fun in that?
Did you play the Gallagher? If so, any thoughts on it? He mentioned to me that he often angles the tone holes to effectively bring them closer together, which I’m interested in.
Just for the sake of having more information… regarding the Grey Larsen Preferred- I had written to Terry in June of this year and I asked for brief feedback regarding the Grey Larsen Preferred (GLP) and another model of his. He replied with: "I’d go with the Rudall 5088 style of flute if given no other reason to do otherwise. If you knew you were going to find flute playing a bit of a struggle, I’d opt for the easier-to-play GLP. " So while I can’t speak to the tuning, it seems as though Terry markets the GLP as being easier-to-play, but it may be lacking some of the qualities that his other models do better at.
As for the flutes you had originally asked about, I can’t give any input.
However, for reference, do you already play a flute? If so, what are you currently playing?
Here is a maker who makes flutes for people with small hands. Good quality for a decent price too. I’ve played one of Tim Adam’s “new design” flutes and was impressed. http://www.adams.se/flute/index.html
Oh, lovely! I hadn’t heard of the Adams flutes before, I will check them out.
I have a background of classical flute, but my primary instrument for the past several years has been whistle. I also play a bit of fiddle, bodhran, mandolin, and guitar. I’ve tried a handful of simple system flutes in the past and wasn’t much interested in pursuing it because of the discomfort with the reach (in addition to smaller hands, I have some joint issues). However, a friend recently acquired a one-of-a-kind flute that was so comfortable and easy to play, it encouraged me to do some research. Since I’m fairly new to Irish flutes, I expect to form habits around whatever instrument I end up with, so I don’t have many other stylistic preferences (embouchure shape/size, etc.).
Bryan Byrne’s flutes (rudall copies) are very comfortable. You can get them
with medium holes and also with small holes. I’ve been playing the former
for over a decade. We are not hearing much about his flutes lately, but
they are well thought of.
I believe Blayne at the Irish Flute Store has a small holed Gallagher Rudall for sale. He has an excellent return policy if you try and don’t like.
I’ll second the Grey Larsen Preferred and Casey Burns ergonomic flutes. They both are wonderful responsive flutes, the GLP with very small holes. I played one for several years, and to some extent regret selling it. They turn up fairly frequently used. I think the Casey Burns Folk flute, or at least the one I have, stands up to some very high-end flutes in terms of tone and playability.
Glenn Watson does a small bored flutes with not spaced holes. I met Tara Diamond a couple of months ago and she was very surprised with my flute, she said it is very confortable even for small hands, and my flute has bigger holes than the standard watson flute.
Aside from the large, Pratten style, you have a lot of easy-playing choices, and I don’t think you need to worry or over-think that part of it. Nor do I think you require specially designed flutes. Rudall-style, or medium-hole Rudall, “Larsen Preferred” (Firth & Pond), … you should be fine. Probably avoid a cylindrical flute in terms of finger spacing. (My Bb cylindrical whistle is a bit uncomfortable for my right hand, but my conical Rudall-style (medium) flute is very comfortable.)
I did play the Gallagher small-holed Rudall. I would require more time to get used to the embouchure, and I have no opinion there. The holes are quite small, which means you can play very quickly - is that the same as easily? Coming from whistle, that would be an obvious familiarity.
I’m not even intermediate on flute, so don’t quote me on all this; Just my observations.
I can’t. If I could I would. After several years of playing my Burns small-handed Folk Flute I could manage something requiring a bigger finger reach, but not by much.
There seem to be two issues. Reaching the holes to cover them and having fingers wide enough to seal them. I have fat, short fingers. However, so far as I can see all the flutes with closely spaced holes have small holes to allow them to be positioned where they are.
If I were shopping for a flute I would ask makers what the hole spacing, hole size and diameter was for their normal and small-handed versions and see how that limited my choice. There are many more options available than when I started.
The makers can’t do magic or change the physics. There are compromises. I they have a small-handed version I would be surprised if they recommended it over their ‘normal’ flute to someone who could play either.
A note. I briefly owned a Gallagher small-holed keyed flute, and gave it up because it was too heavy for me. It may have been the keys, but if you wish to avoid heavy it would be helpful to get feedback from people who play the keyless version. How many grams?
Casey Burns also recently posted on making flutes for players with hand issues, where he made suggestions about using a one inch dowel as a mock flute to get measurements for a player’s unique needs.
You could try something similar and use Doug’s measurements too see what might work for you. Ultimately you’re going to need to try some flutes to see what best suits you. You have had some excellent suggesions.
Somers makes a very nice Delrin Ruddall that has small holes. You also asked about the Copley early on. His flutes are based on a different historical model. I had one of his basic wooden flutes that I liked quite a bit. It was light (thin walled), with a bit larger diameter and fairly small holes. He is also very approachable and would be easy to work with.
I’ve been doing smaller handed flutes longer than anyone else, starting with a question back in 1985 from Mickie Zekley of Lark in the Morning fame. He asked me if it was possible to make a Pratten flute that could fit smaller hands. I told him I would get right on it. After a few prototypes I brought him some attempts.
Mickie is very honest in his flute appraisals and will bluntly tell you if the flute passes or if it is crap. Its the best and at the same time the harshest kind of review. The very first time I met him was a Seattle Folklife Festival. I had only been making flutes for 3 months and had a table full of them to sell. Mickie comes up to my booth and tries all of them then says “These flutes play like crap!” I explained that I had only been making flutes for 3 months and he said “Oh - in that context they aren’t that bad. But meet me after Folklife and I’ll show you how they should play.” Mickie generously took me under his wing then and I was given access to his flute collection to measure. I treasure our friendship!
So I expected we would have to work on several examples before we hit on something that worked. Instead, the first few I brought him worked fine and passed his evaluation. What is funny is that the small handed model of 1985 which I developed then, nicknamed the “Honkette” (my otherwise Pratten-derived flutes were given the moniker “Honker” by Richard Cook) is now essentially what I call my “Large Holed Standard”. I’ve been pushing the holes closer and closer together ever since.
The challenge is to maintain the voice of the flute. Smaller holes tend to radiate the sound less. Intonation problems arise in the 2nd octave. I’ve had to do a lot of iterative exploring in terms of bore parameters, hole placement and tone hole treatment to find what works. Beyond that the outside aesthetics are secondary and can be modified from the shapes that are currently employed - some of my clients prefer a more streamlined look at the sockets. I am actually working on these aesthetics next year, as I’ll have more time since I’ll no longer be accepting new keyed flute orders (I’ll make the occasional one to sell, and will still be offering retrofits). See elsewhere re my engraving activities.
What really matters is how it plays even with the smaller and more ergonomic hole placement. From the maker’s perspective this can only be discerned by making several flutes. In 1985 when I was exploring this, I was numbering my flutes and was around the 300 range. I stopped numbering at 500 and figure now that I have made over 3500 flutes, about half of them small handed instruments. Every single flute has been an exploration, to improve what I am doing always.
To answer the ordinal inquiry, I’ve played both the Copley & Boegli keyless w/o slide and the Gallagher small hole Rudall. The C&B has a pretty big stretch between r2 and r3, similar to my Gallagher Pratten six-key. The Gallagher small hole rudall I found to be very comfortable with a smaller stretch. I found the Gallagher small-hole to have a voice similar to the Gallagher Pratten and to be consistent bottom to top with good intonation. I did not spend as much time with the C&B, but it is a quiet flute compared to the Gallagher. The materials and workmanship of both flutes were very nice.
If I were looking for a new flute with a short stretch, i’d look at the Gallagher.
I’ve heard a Gallagher flute, and it was an absolute cannon. Even if the Copley is on the loud side, I wouldn’t be surprised if its softer than the Gallagher.
There was a Gallagher for sale with4 keys for a very reasonable price on Facebook recently.
I don’t think it was the smallest holed one but not sure.
I certainly considered buying it.
The Wood was Purple Heart I think.
If anyone is interested I could put in touch with owner.
A flute that isn’t comfortable won’t get picked up very often (especially given the number of other instruments lying around my house) - and where’s the fun in that?