Hi to all! I would like purchase a flute, but I have a problem: my little hands!
I have a Dixon polymer flute (inexpensive) but the distance and the big holes it’s no good for may hand.
Any suggestions?
Thanks to all!
Hi silvio,
my first flute was a dixon aswell, i sold it are it was diagnosed as totally
out of tune and unplayable by two good players. the dixon three piece are much better!
but i’d sujest an M&E flute in Eb or F. http://homepage.tinet.ie/~mandeflutes/
BTW:do you use piper’s grip at least on your right hand ?
Check out Casey Burns’ website for his small-hands and ergonomic models: www.caseyburnsflutes.com
Shoot, here’s the generic suggestion list:
Tipple (PRobably has spacing too wide for you cause it’s cylindrical)
M&E
Ralph Sweet
Casey Burns Small-Hand
Seery
Dixon 3-piece.
Run a search on those and you will get scads of info.
Phil Bleazey’s Rudall model is a very small-holed flute, and one of the easiest-playing flutes out there. You might also look into an antique Meyer or nach Meyer; those are small-holed with a very comfortable stretch. Mine has good sound, not great tuning.
Also search the archives of the board, this question comes up pretty regularily.
A few random observations:
The Dixon 1- and 2- piece flutes are cylindrical, and have a much greater hole spacing than most conical-bor flutes.
That being said, I had the same problem with my Dixon 2-piece at first. But unless your hands are really small, you can adjust. These days, I have a lot of other issues with it (Dixon cylindricals are, charitably, not even the easiest to play or best sounding cylindrical flutes out there) but I can handle the reach without too much problem.
Reference: I measured 8 inches reach thumb-to-pinky (call it just over 20 cm) On Casey Burn’s site, he recommends a small hands model for folks who measure 7.5 inches (18-19 cm) or below, so I’m on the edge of “small hands” territory. My standard Burns Folk Flute (same reach as his standard Ergonomic flute) is very easy to handle. And I’d imagine his small-hands model would be easier still.
You could probably manage just about any “real” flute more easily than the Dixon cylindrical, but if you really need a flute for smaller hands I can heartily recommend the Burns flutes.
FWIW, I understand that the offset-holes Tipples are pretty easy, too (inexpensive), and the Terry McGee GLP (Grey Larsen Preferred) models are also an easy reach (not so cheap) are other options. I believe that there is a small-holed version of the Seery polymer, too (mid-price range), but I don’t know how it compares. However: even a friend’s Hamilton (modelled on a Pratten, I believe - large holes and reach) is a lot easier for me than the Dixon.