Foot of Flute Not Aligned - Is this OK?

Irish Flute
1

Hi

I have had a 4-keyed, McGee Rudall Refined flute in African Blackwood for about 2 months, and I love it.

My question is this: For ease of fingering with my right hand, I have turned the third joint of the flute (which has the 'f, 'e and 'd holes) (the fourth is the foot joint with the two non-fingered holes) slightly away from me, resulting in the holes of the third joint being slightly out of alignment with the holes of the second joint.

I have never done this before, but it results in less stress on my right hand when playing. Am wondering if other people also do this and whether this may result in intonation or other problems.

Note: I do not turn in the embouchure hole on the head joint towards me; it is more or less lined up with the holds on the second joint.

Thanks for your time.

Jeff Zajac

2

Absolutely no problem as far as I am aware. What you will often also notice is the C & C# holes of the footjoint turned out on an 8-keyed flute, to avoid the little finger of the right hand clashing with the double-action keys.

As for the mouth hole not being turned in, again, no problem. There can be a tendancy to turn this hole too far in, a mistake most commonly made (certainly in my own experience) when your blowing is not just spot-on. Turning the hole towards you can make it easier to blow but can also sacrifice some dynamics and tone. Having said that ,everyone is different and I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules.

Cheers

Graham

3

no problem, I know guys who hate dealing with the Eb key on songs that won’t require it so they turn the last foot joint away from them…

4

Absolutely no problem in rotating any of the joints for most comfortable access. Indeed, check out what Charles Nicholson, the master of 19th century flute playing, thought was a good idea in this regard:

http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/Nicholson's%20Flute.htm

I just bet you haven’t tried rotating it as much as he did!

Others - give this a try. It may not suit but it costs nothing to find out. Pratten’s owners, you’re going to have to twist a lot harder than the rest of them …

Terry

5

And Terry’s “costs nothing to find out” phrase doesn’t apply in this case! :smiley:

6

Yeah, NOW you tell us, Terry!
:wink:

7

Terry, thank you for sharing this. I did give this a try. It lets you keep your right wrist straighter and it’s very, very comfortable. You end up with your elbow higher up in the air, but that’s not bad.

My next flute is definitely going to have a separate section for those holes!