I wonder if anyone has a 19th century manual which shows a correct
pinkey position.I’ve just add low keys on my flute and put the pinkey on the block,
right between Eb and C sharp keys. I found that this position
can develope some tension, but I haven’t found any better.
please share your thoughts.
please don’t say me “roll the footjoint”! 
m
Roll the footjoint! 
I had the same problem. I think the solution is to use the so-called “Rockstro grip”, which frees the pinky from having to help support the flute. Then it’s free to stay where God intended it to be, resting lightly on the touch of the D# key ready to open the key when needed or keep it closed when not (you’ll have to grab some fingering charts). The Rockstro grip also frees the left thumb so it can operate the Bb key.
If you’re going to use your flute as if it were keyless, then rolling the foot keys out of the way is not a bad idea.
g
hi michel,
nicholson’s tutor only mentions briefly that the pinkie should be on the touch of the Eb/D# key. this is where i prefer to have my pinkie. it is a very comfortable position with no stress on the finger. i much prefer it over placing the pinkie on the body of the flute.
the touches of the C/C# keys vary in length on flutes. sometimes, based on how the foot joint is positioned or aligned, they can jut out and interfere with the finger that is trying to cover the lowest tonehole. so what i have found is to align the foot joint so that i can comfortably rest the pinkie on the touch of the Eb/D# key and not have the touches of C/C# keys interfere with the finger that is covering sixth tonehole. on my flutes the C/C# touches are slightly off center from the sixth tonehole. this works for me.
when i know i will be utilizing the C/C# keys, i try to remind myself to double check the alignment of the touches before i start playing the tune(s) so when i come to the point in the tune i won’t have to ‘guess’ at the location of the touche(s) and misfinger. i hate reaching for a key and not finding it.
hope this helps.
Ooo,this is great!I’ve been wondering about that lately.
If I should have my pinkie on the Eb/D# key,I mean.
When I was just playing silver flute,someone told me to roll the footjoint so that I couldn’t put my pinkie on the Eb/D#.I,of course,ignored him.It felt too weird.
So now,on my wooden flute,I put my little finger on the Eb/D# key too. But then,a few weeks ago, when Patrick Olwell played my flute,he rolled the footjoint.
I figured,well gosh,he knows what he’s doing,maybe I should roll the foot joint.
Now I feel reassured.I think.Am I doing this right??? Is there a “right”?
-Kelly
kelly,
i am by no means an expert. many great players turn the FJ out of the way. but as i stated earlier the pinkie on the D# key is most comfortable for me. it’s simply a preference. and i am also a sneaky player as i like to utilize the D# key as a way of venting and ornamenting tunes (as well as using C#) . why? cause i have them on my flutes and i like to use them.
but many itrad fluters don’t bother with them. since they don’t plan on using the keys, then they get them out of the way. so either way is ‘correct’.
Glad someone’s raised this - when I first moved onto a keyed flute (spring 2003), I had difficulty finding a place for my wee finger so used to roll the foot joint, and rest my pinky on the wood.
However, over the past year, and a change of flute (to a Wylde), I now find that I can put the footjoint in it’s correct position - middle of the C# key lining up with the D hole, so the Eflat key is slightly lower. I have started to vent the high notes with the Eflat key, as they have truer pitch vented. But my right hand has also become more secure, so that I don’t need to rest my little finger when I’m not venting a note, apart from when playing middle C#.
If you can get comfortable balancing your pinky on the Eflat key, it will be in place for when you need to play the odd Eflat, or low Cnat / Csharp - which certainly come up in Scottish music.
How do most of you feel about using the Eflat key to vent notes? I’d be interested.
regards,
Pamela
This looks cool too if you roll out the foot so that the keys face directly at the audience. If I were you, I would keep it this way for every tune I knew I was not going to use these keys in.