Is trying to half-hole or cross-finger a G# on a keyless flute feasible or is it a pipe–er-- flutedream? What’s your experience?
Cheers,
Aaron
On large-holed flutes, I can second-octave G-sharp reasonably well by half-holing. How well this works for first octave G-sharp varies from flute to flute.
On medium or small=holed flutes you can usually get a fairly good second octave G-sharp with ( x x o | x o x ).
There is a fingering that combines the two techniques ( x x o | x d o ) where d=half-hole. This works in the second octave on pretty much every flute I’ve tried it on, but it isn’t the friendliest fingering for fast passages or for certain intervals.
On some flutes with smallish holes you might can get the cross-fingered first octave G-sharp of the Baroque flute ( x x o | x x x ), but not many Irish flutes can produce this one.
For me at least, the bottom line on hitting G-sharp dependably in every circumstance is have a keyed flute and use the key.
–James
Hi Aaron,
Like everything else involved with playing the flute, it just takes practice. I still find it a bit tricky with some tunes, the second part of The Reconciliation for example, and tunes with descending phrases that have a G# in the middle, trying to hit the A-hole (no pun intended) only half way on the way down the octave can be a bit of a crap shoot for me. Say 8 times out of 10 I can get by just fine by half-holing. That said, I’ve got block mounts for 8 keys on my flute and a G# is the only key that I would really like to add.
All the best,
Wes
Depends on the flute. Typically, flutes with large holes half-hole the G# well. Other flutes may work better with cross-fingering. My M&E responds well to these:
xxo_xxx in the first octave
xxo_xox in the second
third octave? you’re on your own! 
For third octave G-sharp, try this ( o o x | o o o ). Note that it takes a sharp attack and a good bit of wind.
This works on almost all flutes. You’ll probably rarely, if ever, need this note in Irish music, though.
–James
Aaron - if this is on your Dixon 3 piece which has small holes, I think half holing is impossible unless you have freaky small little fingers… 
I use either XXO XXO or XXO XOO depending on octave (one works high, the other low, but I’m at work and can’t recall which is which). You do have to lip it up or down a bit, but it works very well. I play several Bach pieces where the G# is prominent with these fingers. They’re not pure notes - more of what I’d call blue or shaded notes - but they’re passable.
Eric
Half hole dat sucker, I say.
On some flutes, half-holing isn’t too bad. My Hamilton responds well to half-holing, in particular.
On others, half-holing can be anywhere from difficult to impossible. Some flutes just won’t speak a half-holed note.
That said, if you have a flute that lets you learn half-holing, and you do get good at it, half-holing is a valuable skill to have, especially if you double on whistle or low whistle.
–James
Thanks for all of the tips, folks. I’ve been playing my Olwell bamboo mostly because I can get a better hard D, more bark on the second octave D, and more volume. Plus it’s an easier embouchure switch from the Olwell bamboo to my vintage German flute.
I can get a passable low G# by playing XXO XXX and lipping it a bit. My half-holing still gives me a dirty tone but I’m practicing it. I’ve been coming across some good tunes in A minor and I like the more Irish tone of my Olwell bamboo though my German flute is 8-keyed.
Thanks again.
Aaron
Thinking of this discussion i tried half-holing the G# on my 6-key Cotter last night, and i was surprised to find out that it doesn’t speak at all! I had moderate sucess with the cross-fingerings, especially xxo_xho
This flute has moderately large fingerholes, so i thought the half-holing would work.
g