I recently returned from a flute junket to Rhode Island, home of the Healy Flute Company. I thought I would give a little field trip report to this forum. When I left home, I had been struggling with a bad case of tendonitis for about three weeks. I could barely hold on to my flute and was wondering if my days as a small-handed flute player were over. But in the space of two days, Skip Healy made a flute to suit me and during that time I was actually able to play it for several hours with tendons intact! I am back home now and rapidly reducing my levels of tune deprivation.
What really made the difference for me is that Skip turned the body joint down so that the tube has a smaller outside diameter. That reduced the weight of the flute and makes it easier to get my hands around it. The thinner walls also vibrate more freely. I asked Skip to offset the third and sixth holes while he was at it. He then made a headjoint tailored to the way I play. It has a cork stopper faced with a silver disk. The instrument is very responsive, in tune with itself, and lightweight. So I now have a flute that fits my small hands even though the tone holes are large and even though compromises were NOT made to the scale.
Part of what makes this flute so beautiful is the keywork custom-made by Dave Skillen, Healy Flute Company’s silversmith. A thirty-year veteran of the Haynes Flute Company, Dave’s work is just flawless. When I’m not playing the flute, I can just gaze at it!
I probably don’t need to tell you how exciting it was to watch Skip and Dave create this flute before my very eyes. (Notice the lack of a long waiting list.) I heartily recommend flute junkets to Rhode Island.
