Flute not sounding good lately?

Irish Flute
1

Hey people,

I went to play one of my flutes yesterday that I haven’t been playing a lot lately, mainly because I hadn’t been hitting if off with it more recently. I thought it was because the times I chose to play it maybe I was tired, or my lips weren’t working right, or I didn’t warm it up enough…you know, some days are much better than others for being able to play well on the flute, so I would just put it back in the box, and thought I’d spend more time with it later. Hopefully I’d connect better with it then.

So this happend more than a few times within a week or two, when I realized it was happening just about everytime I would pick it up. Don’t I like it anymore, or am I just not playing this one well, in comparison to my other flutes, which maybe I’ve become accustomed to their different embouchures a little better than it?

Then I decided to check the cork position, and guess what-it was almost out the top of the flute! The bottom octave wasn’t too bad, but the top wasn’t pretty! That’s what made me look. So I adjusted it, using my dowel with all the cork positions I have marked on it, and wow, was I surprised at how it played then-amazing, an then I remembered why I liked this flute so much from the start-it was singing again! I’m glad it wasn’t me, and equally glad it wasn’t the flute.

It seems that every year I’m reminded that this is a problem we all face at times, but I just don’t know why I don’t think of it sooner! Guess I’m allowed a few cobwebs at my age, but I just wish sometimes I’d be a little quicker about it. So, I thought I’d mention it in case someone was wondering also what was going on with their flute or their playing-maybe it’s as simple as that-check your corks first!

There are other simple explanations at times too, like air leaks at the joints, tuning slide, keys seats or the cork, or even a hairline crack that is hard to see and seals up as you play. Good time to humidify your flute too, if you don’t do it in the Summer-that heat in your home in Winter can really sap the humidity from the air and cause people and flutes problems.

Flute on!

Barry

2

I check cork, tenon threads and do a quick suck test (I have keys) every time I pull it out to play.

Its the only way to be sure… its not you.

:wink: :smiley:

Seriously though.

Its like checking the tires on your car or doing a walk around if you happen to be a private pilot.

If you are going to crash and burn its best not to let it be your vehicles fault.

Entropy happens!



:stuck_out_tongue:

3

How do you perform a cork test please .

Ballygo

4

Aanvil, great post–I don’t do it as often as I should, but I do try to inspect my flute from time to time and make sure nothing is amiss.

I think there’s value in just taking each piece of your flute out of its case and eyeballing it.

Look at the wood–does any part of it look particularly dry or discolored? If you have a keyed flute, do any of the keys look bent? Do all of the pads seem to be in good shape? Are any of the pins trying to work their way loose? Do any of the tenon corks look discolored or torn? Are all of the rings tight on the wood? Is the tuning cork still tight in the headjoint (as well as positioned correctly)? Does the tuning slide look dented or corroded? Is there fungus growing in the embouchure hole? (ha ha only serious…)

Look at the cloth you use to wipe out the flute after playing. Is it stained? Does it look clean? Smell it–does it smell bad?

Usually IrTrad players seem to keep their flutes and cases, etc pretty clean and in good order…but you would be amazed (and disgusted) at the condition of some of the flutes I’ve seen played in school bands through the years.

–James

5

Hi Barry,

Long time no see! The same thing happened to me some months ago, on my M&E, R&R. I hadn’t played it in a while. When I did play it, it wasn’t sounding right. I got frustrated and put it away. A week or two later, I figured I’d better check on the flute, and this time, nothing came out. :astonished: I looked at the wind hole, and was shocked at what I saw…the internal tuning cork! It was a chore, but I did get it tuned. :smiley:

6

I think in general rather too much is made of precise cork positioning - in that I’ve spent ages over the years fiddling with pushing a cork back or forward a few mm to try to get octaves in tune only to find neither my ear nor the tuner recognised any difference! And so far as I can determine, it makes no difference whatever to tuning of the scale within the octave, as some folks seem to believe (and fiddle with it accordingly but pointlessly - I’ve never read any serious flute literature that mentions it doing that) though stopper location certainly does affect the ease of response of either the 1st or 3rd 8ves. Given the amount of pitch variation embouchure adjustment allows and which happens semi-spontaneously by ear, I’ve often wondered why everyone from Quantz on fussed about moving the cork proportionally and in the opposite direction to moving the tuning slide (for tuning the 8ves), to the extent that R&R invented their Patent Head which does it automatically (and yes, I do play one! - probably just as well :astonished: :laughing: ). I’m sure they were all quite right and it’s just my poor ear…

That said if a stopper is drastically out of place, it does exactly what the OP said. On Monday evening I collected an antique English 8-keyer I bought recently on eBay and, although in need of some repair and complete overhaul, it was soundable down to low D if one held some pads shut…but I was wondering why it seemed hollow and hard to sound when it wasn’t leaking too badly down-tube. When I got it home, further and closer inspection showed the stopper cork was way out of place up-tube. Putting it in roughly the correct location made a huge difference! (Having it too near the embouchure also screws things up.)

Similarly, my ex-pupil and young friend who recently bought an Aebi 8-key from another C&Fer started having problems with getting it to give its full voice a couple of weeks back. (It had been fine on arrival.) We discussed it by phone. He fussed around with his embouchure, re-lapped all the joints, did suck tests, and found the head was leaking. He thought it might be a leak from around the embouchure hole between the wooden and liner tubes down to the tuning slide socket…which would have been a sod to cure! When he brought it to me, we tried filling that socket with water, putting a cork in the tuning slide end and blowing through the mouth hole to see if there were any bubbles - nothing… The tuning slide itself was a little loose after cleaning and applying fresh grease, so we expanded it a little to a snug fit and were sure that wasn’t leaking. We pulled out and greased the stopper, but still a suck test leaked. We just couldn’t determine where from… Eventually (not before time!) I took the crown off, put water in the top-end cavity, covered the mouth hole, blew up the tuning slide and… bubbles! The stopper was leaking, despite fresh and generous grease! This Aebi stopper is turned from acetal polymer in two parts with a sealing ring compressed between them - this was faulty. I replaced it with a piece of plastic wine cork cut to size and pierced to take the centre spindle, reassembled, and - it worked. The difference was amazing. It has been fine since. (Now he can only blame his embouchure!)

7

Hi Lyn! Yes, what happened to you (and me) is why I wanted to mention this-because even if everyone knows it can happen-the cork shifting position, sometimes it doesn’t seem like much is wrong until it really gets far from where it should be. We just put the flute away thinking we weren’t playing well that day, until we found the cork way out of position.

If we had thought to check the cork (stopper) first, we could have found the problem, put it back in place and not missed all that time on the flute that we did. If you only have one flute, or especially are a beginner trying their hardest to learn, then it really hurts because you’re not playing at all, or getting very frustrated at least.

So, get a dowel, and mark your cork position at the center of the emouchure hole when it’s playing well (and well placed), and remember to check it when things go bad. Or, do a flight check like was suggested before playing.

Barry

8

I run into this frequently in the shop when playing a flute that has been sitting around for awhile unplayed (usually one of my prototypes). Adjusting the thread wraps to correct tightness and checking the cork position (23mm on my flutes) always serves to restore the voice of the instrument.

Sometimes however, this is a sign that the flute needs oiling! Especially on more porous woods like boxwood, etc.

My workshop is exposed to the out of doors and wasp queens like to come inside and overwinter. Occasionally, I have found one of these inside a flute part that has been on the pins too long! Fortunately they prefer the narrower bores of pilot bored wood or bagpipe chanter bores.

Casey

9

Ahhhh. I bet you don’t take them out. Why would you bother? Is that what is known as a “free reed”? Could account for a lot! :smiling_imp:

10

Thanks for the helpful tips Casey. Good to be reminded of the cork placement on your flutes too, at 23mm. Maybe I should check my oil!!!

And outh!!! That muth thting! :astonished:

11

Geez Casey,
I thought you’d have gotten all the bugs out of your flutes by now! :laughing:
Arbo