Hello everyone. I’m new here, so I thought I should introduce myself. My name is Michael and I live just outside of Nashville, TN. I’ve played jazz saxophone/flute for years as well as drums and guitar. I’ve always loved Irish Trad music, so I recently (it’s being delivered today, in fact) purchased a 6 key Irish flute. I also play Irish mandolin and have for years.
I’ve lived in Nashville for about 1.5 years. Before that I lived near Columbus, OH. I recently found a local session so I’m looking forward to learning some songs on the Irish flute and bringing it and my mandolin and meeting some people.
Anyway, I look forward to getting to know you all and learning from you.
Welcome to The Chiffy Michael…
This is such a nice place to visit,sometimes I think I’d like to live here ..
Happy tunes to you from weedie in Australia…
I bought an M&E 6 key flute in ebonite. It sounds great, but the key work it kind of rough. It works fine, but I’m not sure I need the keys. Any thoughts?
over the long term you will probably be glad you have the keys, but you don’t positively need
them for most tunes. Also it’s possible to half-hole and cross finger some of the notes the keys
play, though the keys are generally easier. As long as the keys work, I reckon you are
doing OK.
I have the keyless version of the same flute. It’s a great instrument, though I now mostly play a blackwood Skip Healy. A member of this message board (and leader of one of Seattle’s sessions), mkchen, has the 8-key ebonite M&E. You might be interested in his postings describing some of the modifications he’s made.
I spoke to the the guy i bought it from (Irish Flute Store) and he suggested i get a keyless, which does sound less complicated since I’m a beginner on the Irish flute. That said, he suggested a Garry Somers keyless flute, which is what I ordered. I sent back the M&E. It was a nice flute, but a bit too much to start out on. So now I’m waiting on my Garry Somers keyless. I got the medium hole rudall version instead of the large bore, again for ease of use since I’m a beginner. I’m sure it’s the first of many, but i feel good about it and can’t wait until it arrives.
I’ve owned one of those for a couple of months now. I would say you have made the right decision on a flute that should last you as long as needed. The smaller bore is a bit easier to fill, so you won’t run out of air as quickly. Still plenty of volume for sessions as well.
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