Cut ornamentation techniques: which one?

Irish Flute
1

There are three techniques for cuts that I’ve read about:

  1. use two fingers for all cuts: L3 for notes D-G and L1 for notes B-A. This is the technique in the Bill Ochs tutorial for whistle.

  2. use the finger above the lowest note. So then two Es would be a flick of R1. This is the one recommended by Grey Larsen b/c he says it gives the crispest cuts.

  3. flick the finger of the lowest note. Thus, for two Es, R2 would be flicked quickly on the beat of the second E.

#3 is the easiest and most natural to me and appears to be the same technique for trilling a note, but repeated quickly. Grey Larsen says that the technique does not work for a descending scale - say, going from E to D, where D would have to be flicked as the lowest note.

Would flicking the R2 finger not work here (eg, E-F-D)?

Are cuts most frequently done to separate identical notes or is it as common to use cuts to separate/enhance different notes?

2

Cuts are not exclusively used to separate the same note. I used to use the Bill Ochs technique, which works well on whistle. Then I learned the Grey Larsen technique, and now I use a hybrid. Most of the time, I use L1 to cut B and A, L2 for G, L3 for F#, L3 for E, and R1 for D. (I tend to cut e with R1 when approaching from another note.) These fingerings give me the cleanest sounding and snappiest cuts with the best response on my flute.

3

I cut with different fingers depending on the context in the tune and on the effect desired.

–James