Question for people who shift the body joints on keyed flutes.
I’ve been considering a keyed rudall flute for a while now, and I’m curious if it’s possible to reach all the keys on it if I shift the body joints askew from each other. The one key that comes to my attention is the long-F, as shifting the body pieces will move that key farther away from its intended finger.
Thelong F key touch may not come down in the rt place.
There’s a bit of cork that, when the key is depressed,
comes down on the block of the Gsharp key.
Terry mcGee has a page about this problem… On some flutes, the long F is bent upwards, so that you can reach it, with the two bodies not in-line. This can be seen on a portrait of Nicholson:
(this picture comes from Dave Migoya’s website… Maybe he’s got a better version where this is more visible)
I shift the left hand section forward, opposite from Nicholson, just like how Aaron Olwell positions his (but being a flute maker allows Aaron to have any keywork he wants). I suspect my preference will make the normal position of the long-F too far for my pinky to reach. The obvious answer is to explain how I want it to the flutemaker. However, what if I later want to re-shift the sections so that the holes are in a line again (or if I want to make minor adjustments between these two positions); Is there a way to position the keytouch so that it can be reached with either allignment?
Moving a key touch is not beyond the abilities of most (I hope) local band instrument techs. Unless, of course, you’re talking about an original Rudall.
