still waiting for that darn Seery flute-thing to come across the water from UK…
Meanwhile, I have tested grips and stuff holding my Overton LowD transversally. AND, there are a few things I cant figure out…:
I see many flute players hold their flutes with the LH finger all bent and funny, seems it may be called Roxthro or smth…
It is not natural for me, I think I must hold the fingers straight, both LH and RH.
But the hard part is holding the flute UP, i.e. getting it to stay horizontally at my level (as opposed to falling to the ground…).
Holding it up with the thumbs underneath will get tiring I think, so I have found a way to hold it with the thumbs not all under it, but kinda resting along the side but slightly on the underside. This supports it horizontally as well.
Problem now is, I seem to “pinch” the flute slightly between LH thumb and index finger. This kinda ties up the index finger for action besides holding.
ANY tips for getting around this? If I let go with the LH index finger, letting it rest like the other fingers; the flute is prone to roll over and even fall down…
I had the similar problem with the LowD - which is held vertically and hence MUST be pinched somehow, with alternating fingers of course. This should not be the case with the flute, since it is held horizontally and hence could be balanced!
Here’s how I grip the flute. I’m not saying it’s the right way or not, but it works for me both on keyed and keyless flutes.
My RH thumb is directly underneath the RH tone holes (specifically, it’s just beneath the F# tone hole). I also use my RH pinkie to push off on the side of the flute just beyond the silver ring on the foot of the flute (we’re talking Seery here - this won’t work on my keyed flute).
My LH thumb isn’t really underneath the LH tone holes but slightly more to the side of the flute that is facing my body. I also use the side of the knuckle joint (well the first joint where my finger bends - whatever it’s called) for the RH index finger as a counterpoint for the thumb. This joint and the thumb create a pincher holding the flute.
Also, don’t forget there is a slight pressure pushing the flute against your lips, so that’s another point of stability.
Once you’re used to holding a flute, it’s sure a heck of a lot harder to describe it than it is to do it!
Getting used to holding the flute will take a little time. Don`t forget your right hand pinky. This little diget comes into play when you have to use the left hand index or middle finger. I remember going through hell when I first started just trying to keep the flute stable. It seems to take care of it self. Now I barely ever use my right hand pinky. That started when I got my first keyed flute. Nowhere to put my pinky so I learned to not use it. Just hang in there and it will come
I don’t think the Rockstro grip really comes naturall for anyone, it didn’t for me at least and it didn’t for most other flute newbies I’ve heard of. It does seem really awkward from the beginning, I had to spend atleast several weeks of learning it. I started out with a form of pipers grip with fingers flat like you describe it and covering the holes with eighter the first or second pad under the fingers, not the tips. This works great for many players, atleast it does until one decides to get a keyed flute and discover that few of the keys are really playable with pipers grip. I decided that I needed to get rid of this grip fearly early, the longer you spend learning one grip, the harder it will be to swich to another. It was difficult to get the hang of it but now I’m finding that the Rockstro is signifficantly better than pipersgrip for me in terms of sensitivity, stableness and freedom of movement, also the potential fingering speed has increased with Rockstro.
There are some things one need to think of tough. The trick in Rockstro grip is to support the flute on three or four different spots. First the lower lip, then the left hand, what you need to do here is to curv the left hand slightly, angling the bottom inwards and supporting the flute with the back of the first knuckle. If you get that right it will seem very naturall to cover the holes with the finger tips. The third supporting spot is the RH pinky or thumb. The trick is that the lip press the flute outwards, the left hand presses it inward and slightly upward and the RH pinky presses it outward and slightly downwards. With these three supporting spots you should be able the take all the fingers off including the thumbs, but not the RH pinky ofcourse.
This was a very short tutorial in my Rockstro grip. There are many better places to look to in learning this. A teacher is of course the best, but there is also Grey Larsens new book “The essential guide to Irish flute and tinwhistle” which I highly recomend buying if you are serious about learning the flute. The book has a long chapter on holding the flute and Grey is sertainly a better and more reliable teacher than I am.
Hope I could help a bit anyway.
It’s odd, but my grip seems to be morphing into the Rockstro method more and more all on its own. My original grip was pretty identical to Jayhawk’s. Both get the job done, but I’m finding that my fingers relax better, and keeping the flute close to horizontal is very natural, almost automatic: this is because my right elbow stays down, now. I brace with my right thumb, though, and set the pinkie down as best facilitates the fingering; I prefer to leave it free for use on keys. If you’re playing unkeyed, this isn’t an issue, of course.
