cork in headjoint

Irish Flute
1

Hi

I wonder how to adjust the cork piece inside the headjoint of my Rose flute. Does anybody have idea about it?

I’ve been told it was for intonation, or for tuning :confused:

Thanks

Philippe

2

You adjust it by moving it a little bit to one side or the other. The best way to do this is to use a wooden dowell that’s just about the same diameter as the flute head.

Now… most people don’t touch the cork. The position of the cork mostly has to do with how the flute octaves relate to one another. If your flute is in tune in the low notes but out of tune in the high ones, tweaking the cork may help. The higher the note, the more they’re affected. The usual method is to make sure that the 3 Ds are in tune with each other.

If you’re a newcomer to the flute or if octaves out of tune isn’t your problem, then it’s probably better to leave ze kork alone.

g

3

Although it varies somewhat, one of the old rules of thumb (and seems to apply to many makers today) is the cork should be located the diameter of the head piece from the center of the embouchure. Usually it is 19 mm. So that would be 19 mm (or whatever the diameter is at the tube) back from the middle of the emb.
I’ve seen makers not have the cork in the right position. It varies, but at least that should be worthy of a check.

4

See: http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=895&highlight=adjust+cork

and: http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=9324&highlight=adjust+cork

and, of course: http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/Stopper.html

Just to get you started.

Griff

5

Thanks to all

19mm seems to be good.

Philippe