I’m just wondering if anyone can tell me how much the temperature can affect the tone and also the tuning of a flute. A few days ago I rethreaded the foot joint of my flute and this really seemed to correct some problems that I’d been having. For the first time since purchasing the flute I really started to achieve a tone that I felt was bordering on the acceptable ( I won’t attempt to describe what that sound is like! ) , and I was hitting it reasonably consistently. I then had to go away for about a day or so during which time I was unable to practice. The next time I picked up my flute I could scarcely play it at all, it seemed to be somewhat out of tune and the tone that I had previously achieved had apparently become impossible. Fortunately I had recorded the sound or I would really have felt that I had just been fooling myself. I have spent the last few days beating myself up and contorting my lips into every shape imaginable. Finally I I remembered to pull the tuning slide further out from it’s usual position , which has made a difference but not for very long. The only thing that seems to have dramatically changed in the last few days is the temperature which has suddenly become intolerably hot. My flute ‘squeaks’, (don’t have a sound clip to demonstrate ‘squeaking’), and it kind of feels like I am overblowing it even when doing so very softly and with very little volume. It is, as always, probably something I am doing wrong, but I hope it IS caused by the summer weather if for no other reason than it confirms my belief that heat is only enjoyable to snakes, lizards and other disgusting things that crawl underfoot. My flute is cocus wood if that has any bearing on the subject. If this problem is not just me, but also the weather…what can I do? It won’t get cold again for awhile.
Squeaking sounds like a flute problem to me - a leak somewhere around the middle preventing the low notes from forming. Try suck tests of each section and see if you can discover any leakage. If not couple them into pairs and repeat the suck test, in case the leakage is at a joint. If any leakage at all, track it down and eliminate it.
Temperature doesn’t affect wood much at all, but it does “dry the air”, and that dries the wood, which can cause cracking, particularly where the parts are metal lined. But the suck test should reveal such things.
Another diagnostic approach is to play just the head, then add the barrel, then the left hand, etc. How far do you get before you can’t get a good response?
Terry
As for the overall tuning … Sound travels faster in warmer air. So the warmer the air column within the flute, the shorter its effective length and the sharper the pitch. Pulling the slide out to compensate in warm ambient conditions is perfectly normal.
You’d love it down here. 105F / 41C yesterday in the back yard, and 78F / 25C right now at 1 AM.
Don’t like to sound sycophantic…but wow I got a reply from Terry McGee!!! Hell I’m just a redneck working in the patch and these things impress me. When I was a kid flute doctoring came in pretty much one form… according to my teacher and to several others as well the answer to any flute problem was to seal all holes with sellotape, stand the flute on it’s head and fill it with almond oil and then leave to sit overnight. Strange thing was that it always seemed to work AND it made me a better player to boot…or maybe not. Strange as it mght sound some of these guys were actually pretty good flute players AND they practised what they preached. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
Anyway Terry thank you for your advice… I’m embarrased to admit however that I have no idea what you mean about these various tests. I would hate to take up too much of anyones time explaining it to me but I had strong suspicions that the my flute was leaking at the joints before you had brought up that point , hence my attempt at rethreading as already mentioned. I can’t see any signs of the flute having cracked but there may be something hidden somewhere. Actually the tenons(?) have been swelling to the extent that I have to wait several hours after playing before I can dissassemble my flute.
I hate to say anything bad about my flute simply because after 20 or so years of not having played anything at all just to have anything to play has been a real blessing…but… as a warning to others this particular flute arrived with the threads barely in place at all, the threads themselves being ordinary cotton normally used for sewing on buttons and one of the rings ( if thats the correct term) fell off after a couple of days - the others are simply hanging on and will fall off anytime from now. It would be a real Lark to tell where I bought it from but I am not going to do so.
The patch here in Alberta should get going again pretty soon and as soon as it does I shall be putting in an order for one of of Mr.McGee’s flutes ( probabably the Pratten I’ve decided…but maybe the…) . Anyway I know for certain that when I have such a flute in my hand I can only look to myself for the solution to any imperfections of any kind…and that will be such a goddamned relief.
Certainly sounds like leaky joints are a fair bet - and the swelling after playing is also due to unsuitable thread and/or lack of joint grease. Liberal application of grease (lipsalve will do if you haven’t any “cork” grease) may both get you a seal and prevent the swelling, but it does sound like proper re-lapping of tenons is in order, regardless of other leak sources. I take it we are talking a keyless flute here, so joints or cracks are the only possible leak sources? (You will find tips on thread lapping by searching the forum or on various makers’ websites.)
Suck test = take joint, block one end airtightly (may need helper, or against leg or palm of hand, or carefully use a cork that won’t stress the wood), cover finger holes and suck. If you get a good vacuum (your tongue and lips and finger-tips get pulled in and stay there), no leak: if you can draw air through, even only slightly, there’s a leak. Blowing hard may show you where it is by sound/feel. If you have no keys, it’s pretty simple. Then gradually assemble the flute as Terry prescribed and repeat tests.
Good luck!
to seal tenons, Casey Burns has suggested using the seals that are used to seat toilets. The seals themselves are inexpensive, can be purchased at just about any hardware store, and there is a lot of product there. I’ve tried it and found it to provide a great seal; you don’t need to apply very much, just a little. I’ve used the toilet seal on one of Casey Burns Box Wood Flutes.