well, all this talk about antique flutes… i decided to put some time in on my german flute. what i discovered is my “8-key” german flute has 10 keys. 
can anybody help me identify the extra keys?
in particular, what’s that long key down the side (past the c and c# keys)? (ps excuse the rubber band, i was having trouble getting it to seal, and don’t need the c#, so i thought to help myself out and pin it down : )
cheers,
eric
here’s another photo, that shows all the keys a little better:
B, C, C#, Eb, short F, Long F, G#, Bb, C nat & a trill key? (finger 1st octave and trill to 2nd…across the break)
It was easier to do it by hole than touch…
really? wow, i’ll have to check it all tomorrow. (everybody’s gone to sleep now : )
i had my tuner out today, and the good news is, with the headjoint pushed all the way in, it plays reasonably in tune at a440. 2nd octave A is flat and the B comes out almost a C, is that normal (do i need vent something)?
but you’re saying if i close all the open keys i’ll get a low B? cool.
cheers,
eric
I suppose those are German silver (nickel) keys, but for actual silver hardware you’d want to avoid rubber bands, as the sulphur causes tarnish.
Doesn’t the D note sound much flatter with that low C hole closed all the times?
Well-spotted, Lorenzo. You’d think so, being a normally “open” key for venting.
Eric, there’s no need to band that C key closed at all, unless you’re really going for a low C and/or the low B. And it should be messing up your low D. As for the 2nd octave notes, pretty weird for A to be flat and B to be sharp. Have you experimented with your head cork position?
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/question-for-seery-owners/56395/4
Any remaining anomalies are either your embouchure, or (finally) the flute.
Boxwood head?
Pretty sure it’s the typical “cracked” ivory head found on German flutes.
hi,
@kkrell: i’m pretty sure it’s nickel silver, but thanks for the warning
@ID10-t: yes, it’s ivory. it had a terrible split in it when i bought it, but Jon C did a great job patching it up. i think the whole flute together is quite beautiful i’ll post a picture of the whole thing together a little later.
@kkrell: i am going for the low c; that is why i banded it up. i’m trying to play down by the sally gardens in the key of C, so i need the low C (transposing down instead of up). it doesn’t appear to be making my d flat according to my tuner; maybe because that low b key is also venting?
i definitely suspect my embouchure is at least partly to blame… i checked later on my M&E flute and i’m doing the same thing on it (blowing the A flat and the B sharp). the F is also a little flat… i’m adjusting pulling the head out farther, and that seems to be correcting some of it. i hard/read that on “irish” flutes the F# tends to be a little flat, and i think the A too? so maybe i don’t need to worry too much about it?
thanks…
eric